Visual Literacy
During their 7th and 8th grade years at PFS, students receive an introduction and solid grounding in the theory and practice of visual literacy. Through their work on high school admission portfolios and the annual yearbook, along with other miscellaneous graphic arts projects that contribute to school life and connect in meaningful ways to other subject areas, students gain competence and confidence using professional graphic design tools and software such as Photoshop (manipulating photographic images), Illustrator (creating vector art), and inDesign (layout of image and text). Through this once a week class, students learn to communicate a message or narrative effectively using both word and image, a critical 21st Century skill.