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04/19/2006 Dear Parents, On Tuesday, May 9, 2006 we will host an Empty Bowls Meal. The fifth grade students are currently planning the Empty Bowls Meal to be held in our cafeteria at 5:30 on Tuesday, May 9, 2006. For $10.00 you can purchase a meal that consists of soup, bread, beverage and a handmade ceramic bowl. The Empty Bowls Meal is the fundraising activity for our community service art project. In the Fall each student (and fifth grade teacher) made a ceramic bowl. Sale of bowls will first be opened to fifth grade parents and then on April 28, 2006 to the rest of Chiles family. Monies collected will be donated to a poverty organization in our community to help alleviate hunger in our community. We are in the midst of our seventh year and already we are near completion of the eight classroom addition. Of course this calls for art. Art students have created drawings that will then be transferred to tiles and finally be installed as a border around each of the eight classroom (interior) doorways and each of the three entranceways. The process is the same that was done for our self portrait tile wall in building two. Students in my first through fifth grade will participate in this process. The student art gallery will grow throughout the year. There are some photo images of the art room which will acquaint new families. Art Sites is a list of art links that include: galleries, art activities and artists we study during the year. Check them out! Recently Susan Chou and Michael Chuo, University of Florida graduate students, visited Chiles as guest speakers sharing a PowerPoint slide show and talk about China. This program was the culmination of a three week unit of brush painting in my third through fifth grade classes. While painting, students listened to a variety of Chinese music. The fourth grade went to the Harn Museum of Art on either March 23 or March 31. Our focus for the field trip is Florida art. We also get to view the Monet since students have been learning about him and painting water lilies and Japanese bridges in the Impressionists style. All fifth grade students were offered the opportunity to paint a stool to be auctioned at the Lawton Chiles Birthday Celebration as a fundraiser for our school. Seventeen student's sketches were selected. Students spent 4-6 periods after school on Wednesday or Friday working to complete their masterpieces. Look for pictures in the Art Gallery! Units of Study Often the units of study in art correlate with the units studied in the child's classroom. The art program includes: looking at art (Art History) talking about the art history prints that we look at, as well as our own and each others using art vocabulary making art in a variety of media (pencil, paint, clay, etc.) I always incorporating the elements (line, shape, texture, color, pattern) and principals of art into the lessons. Technique and craftsmanship are embedded into each project and assessment writing is used as a form of assessment, students may write reflective pieces, narrative essays or descriptive paragraphs student artwork is displayed throughout the year both within our Lawton Chiles hallways and at the Tower Road Library, Thomas Center, Harn Museum of Art, and Kirby Smith's Board Room. Art Exhibits There is a continuous display of student art during the year as well as group displays, library displays and art shows outside of the school. Help is needed in framing artwork (gluing artwork to construction paper), typing up labels (I have purchased computer labels for this purpose and have a computer in the room) and hanging artwork. If you would like to help with any of these activities please contact me. I sure would appreciate any time you could give. Artist of the Month Each month one student is chosen as The Artist of the Month. This young artist is someone who has demonstrated a consistent focus, creativity, and high level interest in art while at Lawton Chiles Elementary School. One piece of their artwork is displayed in the frame outside of the front office for the month. They receive an art book and a certificate to commemorate this distinction. Web Art Gallery This will be a fun boost for the children to see and have their friends and family view their artwork on the Internet. If you are interested in taking photos (using the digital camera) and adding to the art galleries let me know. This is my latest passion and if you enjoy technology you will enjoy this activity. I feel it is important to display student art as often and in as many environments as possible. This validates what the children create as being worthwhile and important. It makes them feel good about themselves. If you feel that displaying children's artwork is important too, please volunteer. The more parents that help, the more we can do!
Nancy Ensminger-Sams |
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