El Alebrije...A study of Mexican Folk Art

Working with all of Ms. Memoe's Spanish students, we combined our talents to make a unit on Mexican Folk Art.  Ms. Memoe provided the background on these unique sculptures while Ms. Baker and Ms. Miller taught the unit on creating a clay sculpture that was inspired by these Oaxacan animal sculptures.  Each student created a unique piece of art inspired by this style and then used the art to inspire a writing piece in Spanish.  It was a huge success with a each class creating a movie.  These sculptures are currently on display in the WCS Library and will also be showcased at the Dorothy Alling Library (in the Youth Display Case) through the month of January.

8:10 Spanish Class:

8:50 Spanish Class:


10:30 Class:


11:10 Spanish Class:

"Stained Glass Me"

A unit that celebrates art, science,and friendship?  Our third and fourth graders just completed a project that celebrates all three! 

Voyager Global Art Exhibit

 A night of art, reflection, and sharing. On Thursday, November 19th from 6:30-8:00 pm the Voyager hallway will be transformed for one night only to showcase a beautiful, powerful, and globally connected art installation. Students have been working on large pieces of art to match a piece of poetry since September, and we are now ready to invite the greater community in for the opening of this “exhibit”. Every member of our 7/8 community will have a personal piece on display for you to look at and read as you walk down our hallway enjoying the additional lights, pictures, and sounds produced and displayed for this event. Upon entering Voyager House there will also be a slideshow of photographs, audio recordings, and work from our first trimester on display in the Kiva, Quatt Core, and Wesnak Core.

Harbor Students Plan a Trip

Harbor 7th and 8th graders studied World Geography and to engage them on the topic, we had the students plan a mock trip anywhere in the world.  This project tied humanities, art, and math together into one awesome project.  The evening celebration showcased their hard work throughout the trimester.  Below are a sampling of the "souvenirs" that they created in the art room. 

Upper House Art

The drawing curriculum for grades 5-8 explore several styles of drawing: gesture, contour, and perspective.  Students completed their first rotation and it is amazing to see their talents.  Here are just a few examples of contour faces, a contour shoe and pattern exploration exercise.

Birch Trees

Third and Fourth graders continue to explore the vocabulary word SPACE.  This time through birch tree paintings.  Their birch tree is the foreground, the land is the middle ground, the sky is the background.  The MEDIA we used was acrylic paint for the birch trees, oil pastels for the land, and water color for the background.

Pastel Landscapes

Third and Fourth graders start their year or art making pastel landscapes.

They learn about the art vocabulary word SPACE.

In art, the word space means showing depth in a piece of art. 

 

Our next project will be birch tree paintings.

Students will learn about the foreground, middle ground, and back ground

(using a different MEDIA for each!).  

SQUIGGLES OF AWESOME PROJECT...

CONNECTING CLASSROOMS THROUGH ART! (and FUN!) Our partner class was Mrs. Bond's third grade class in Detroit, Michigan.

LAUREL NEME, local science writer to visit EQUINOX

We are very lucky to have local author and Shelburne resident, Laurel Neme, come to speak to third and fourth grade Equinox students.  Laurel holds a PhD from Princeton University, is a contributor to National Geographic, and has worked as a consultant for the US Treasury Department, World Bank, USAID, and World Wildlife Fund.  She is also the author of 2 science books - "Animal Investigators" and most recently the children's book "Orangutan Houdini".

WCS students are very lucky to have Laurel come to talk to us about her travels and science adventures.  This is talk is a celebration of our art and science integrated unit that the students recently completed.  Third and fourth graders learned about the artist Georgia O'Keefe and how she liked to paint things BIG.  Students researched the rainforest and chose images to inspired their paintings.  In their science class, they researched facts and wrote about their project.  We had a class critique and are celebrating our success with Laurel Neme's engaging presentation.

Check out some of our magnified paintings!

2015 Be Money Wi$e Poster Contest

Each year the State Treasure's office and the VT Bankers Association have a poster contest to celebrate April as financial literacy month. The poster is judged on expressing the theme, artwork, content, and creativity. The theme of this year’s contest was, “To Build a Money Plan, I will . . .” The State Treasurer will recognize the student poster contest winners at an April 9th ceremony. Students placing first in each division win a $100 cash prize and their school a $100 cash prize. When I spoke with the contact from the treasurer's office, she told me that WCS artists have really outdone themselves. She stated that WCS artists showed perseverance and grit. She said that it was obvious that our students read directions, understood the theme, and pushed themselves.
 3 honorable mention students: 
Varsha Karthikeyen (Swift 7th grader)
Grace Koutras (Voyager 6th grader) 
Abby Niquette (Equinox 4th grader)

Elementary School division: 
3rd place - Karina Bushweller - Equinox 4th grader 
2nd place - Griffin Cote - Swift 5th grader

Middle School division:  
FIRST PLACE- Maggie Warren - Harbor 7th grader

Performing Arts and the Art Department join up!

The 7th and 8th Grade Performing Arts students are busy preparing to bring Broadway to the WCS theater. On Wed, March 18, they will perform a concert full with broadway music, history, choreography, art, and costumes.

We Geek Being CREATIVE!

The Dorothy Alling Memorial Library is participating in a national campaign called Geek the Library which is designed to promote the value of libraries in communities. To “geek” is to love, to enjoy, or to have an intense passion for something. “Whatever you geek, the public library supports you. Join Geek the Library in spreading awareness about the value of libraries and the critical funding issues they face.”

Poof Pots!

Birds Eye Snowmen

Equinox 3rd and 4th graders make snowmen using watercolor, chalk pastels, and collage! This FUN one day activity had us all enjoying the snow!