Artist in the Classroom: Gabrielle Senza

We were lucky enough to have Gabrielle Senza visit the 5th grade art class yesterday. Gabrielle is an artist who's work has been exhibited all over the world including the Whitney, and MOMA. She talked about her work and had examples for us to see.Then she led us in a fun project called Painting with Graphite. We explored Pressure, Texture and Emotion in graphite drawings. It was an unique project & all of the students had fun and learned in the process.
Garielle's web site are http://gabriellesenza.com/ and http://berkshireartkitchen.com/

6th Grade Art goes to The Clark

We were lucky enough to be able to visit The Clark in Williamstown yesterday as part as a free educational program at the museum. Our wonderful docents related our current project in art (Story Telling Bookends) to pieces in the galleries. The theme of out tour was "Every Painting Tells a Story" and it was amazing to find out the stories and secrets behind the paintings.
Special thanks to our parent chaperons! Ms. Bishop, Ms. Land, Mr. Skakel,and Ms. Wilson.
Photos by me (K.Malone-Smith) and D.Elizabeth Land

Save Our Schools!

RALLY TO SAVE OUR SCHOOLS!!!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=350954220135&ref=nf#/ical/event.php?eid=350954220135

http://muddybrookpta.com/

For the past week a group of parents have been organizing to Save Our Schools. We are launching a massive fundraising campaign to try and close the budget gap. Our mission is to raise $150,000 by December 17th. This may sound ambitious, but we are optimistic. We are determined to bring back some ,if not all the programs that were cut! Your kids will be bringing home a letter tomorrow with all the details….so please make sure it makes it out of the backpacks:)
In the meantime, we would love it if you all could join me tomorrow from 3ish till dusk to stand in front of the GB bushes and rally. The students have been working on signs, and we will have a huge banner as well…..we will be out there supporting our schools and teachers this week till Thursday. PLEASE come out….even if it’s just for a half hour. We need all the bodies we can get.
We really need to all come together for this……we can make it happen

December 11, 2009

Dear Parents, Teachers and Friends of Berkshire Hills Regional School District:

As you know, this month the district faced tough cuts of personnel and programming in our schools because of the Governor’s 9C cuts. This blow affected teachers in our classrooms, music, computer, math, science and language departments as well as a custodial and other support staff.

After the school committee meeting on December 3^rd, a group of concerned parents and community members have decided to start a fundraising campaign specifically aimed to bring back these important programs to our children. If every parent made a commitment to the school by making a personal donation, we may be able to close the budget gap and return some or all of the programs that were lost.

We know it’s a lot to ask this time of year with the holidays approaching, but please consider investing in your child’s education by making a donation, it will have an impact! Although we cannot dictate how the funds raised will be allocated this will be left up to the Superintendent, we can be certain that they will go right back into the school that we love!

This will be an ongoing issue as the State continues to cut education funds. Let’s make the commitment as a community to work with the school to keep our schools as amazing as they have been!

We need to raise $150,000 in one week. We need an average donation of $150 from each family. If you can give more, please do. If you can’t give that much, please give whatever you can.

THIS IS URGENT WE MUST HAVE ALL DONATIONS IN BY DECEMBER 17^th!

· Please keep in mind that our schools do not ask us to spend a lot of money on school supplies, sport fees or other extras.

PLEASE SEND YOUR DONATION TO ONE OF THE THREE SCHOOLS AND MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: SCHOOL CENTER INC. They have set up a dedicated fund for this issue. Either mail your donation or drop it off at school. THANK YOU!

Please indicate which school/s you are directing your donation to. All donations are tax deductible.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT ELENA LETTERON at metrop@bcn.net

Coil Pots!

Pollack, Marla & Abstract Expressionism

We just finished a unit in Abstract Expressionism. We studied Marla Olmstead,and Jackson Pollack. Opinions, idea and thoughts were expressed freely. We watched My Kid Could Paint That & both 8th grade classes had much to say. They argued over if Marla really painted all of her paintings, or if her father did, or if it was a collaborative effort. We talked about the value of art and if it even mattered who painted a piece of art if you like it. Many thought it does matter who the artist is, because when you are buying a piece of art, you are also buying a story of the artist. A few thought a painting should only be worth the cost of the paint & supplies. Everyone was amazed that a Jackson Pollack painting sold for 140 million a few years ago. Finally, they wanted to try an abstract painting themselves. While they all had fun splattering & dripping paint, both groups were still in opposition of what constitutes art & value of art. Many wanted to try to sell our paintings for thousands of dollars. It turned out to be an interesting thought provoking unit.

3 year old raises $500 to help children get art supplies

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/lifestyles/x593082799/Three-year-old-raises-500-to-help-children-get-art-supplies

Carboard & Glue Collagraph Prints

5th graders made Collagraph prints by creating a printing plate with cardboard & glue.

Block Printing!