Teacher in Focus - Ms Coss

Since opening in 2021, our art department has grown into a vibrant space where students explore their creativity. Through the Art Collective and our House system, students are not just learning techniques—they are leaving a lasting mark on their school environment.

Mural Artwork by students

In 2021, when the school opened, it was a dream come true to set up and build the art room. Growing up, the art room was always a safe space for me to explore and discover, and I wanted to recreate that for our students. We are very proud of the art department and the diverse range of styles we teach. Alongside my role as an art teacher, my drive to explore creativity has led to multiple collaborations with students. I also serve as a House Coordinator, help with the school newspaper, and run the Art Collective.

As an art teacher, I am so proud of how my students have developed their love for the subject and their natural skills with drawing and creating. The current Grade 8s are the original Grade 4 students I mentored and taught when the school opened in 2021. I have taught them every year, and now we can truly see how the range of art styles and projects has influenced their growth as artists. In art, we begin with the art elements: the basics of how to use a pencil and building compositions. Every year, we follow a stage of research and learning, designing or planning, creating, and reflection or analysis of their work. We teach many styles from still life drawing and portraiture to clay, paint, construction, graphic design, and lino printing. As a previous student of an art university in Ireland, printmaking has always been my passion. I am so excited to see how my current Grade 6 students develop their own lino prints from now until the end of this year.

The Art Collective is a passion project where a group of students and I work on designing and painting large-scale murals throughout the building.This started in 2022 with a mural based on the animals from the school's house system. In the winter of 2024, we created the Junior Clubs portal wall, and in the same academic year of spring/summer 2025, the Van Gogh style inspired Wave mural was painted in the 4th floor hangout area.

This academic year, as part of my förstelärare project to show more student ownership and influence in how the school looks, I collaborated with another förstelärare teacher to create a mural based on the Friends HateLess project. For this mural, we involved every student, who together designed words that were inclusive, kind and inviting. We then chose a word from each year group and worked it into the mural. The mural took a few days, but it was amazing to interact with the students around us, especially those who had a part in designing the keywords. This mural now lives as a strong reminder of our morals and how we strive to be as a community.

Being a House Coordinator for the past 4 years has been nothing but rewarding. Every year, the house team works together on running a range of spirit days and competitions. This year, we are collaborating more with heads of department to have house points and competitions run in some lessons as well. This has worked well. We also work on organizing House Day, where twice a year students spend a day enjoying an activity either on-site or away from school. The house system grows every year and the house captains have helped with this. I look forward to continuous collaboration with our students here, exploring their creativity and building a school community we are all proud of.

Home Our Schools Solna News Teacher in focus