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Spotlight
on Science, The Arts & MI
Douglas Elementary wins $5000 Grant from NC Arts Council to support project entitled "Our Pieces Make Us Whole" September 2009
During the grant, which will take place in the Spring of 2010, we will focus school-wide on giving all students the opportunity to explore themselves and what makes them unique. Through a variety of integrated activities, students will gain an understanding of the individual differences and the commonalities that make us each who we are, and how our various "pieces" make us "whole". Students will them create representations of their unique “self” though dance, music, drama and visual arts. Our 4th and 5th grade students will work with artist, Leni Newell and our own visual arts specialist, to create original mini-batiks of these “self-images”. Then our 5th graders will work with Ms. Newell to create silk banners which will identify the things that help to make these students and our school unique - the arts, the multiple intelligences, character traits and the core subjects. These banners, created by our departing fifth graders, will be installed in the school hallways as a permanent and lasting reminder of the many different pieces that make us each who we are. While all students in the school will participate in some way in this project, we are targeting our 4th and 5th graders as the focus of the artist residencies. We hope that this project will help them to develop a strong sense of themselves, their talents and interests, as they move on towards middle school and their future.
Douglas Elementary has its Eye on Nature! Spring 2009 This month finds exciting things happening at Douglas Creative Arts & ScienceMagnet Elementary. Through the generous funding of both the North Carolina Arts Council andthe United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, students and faculty havebegun a grant projectentitled, “In Nature’s Eye”. This unique project connects the arts and the Standard Course of Study with one of the eight multiple intelligences, the naturalist intelligence. This intelligence has to do with observing, understanding and organizing patterns in the natural environment. During the project, which began in February and concludes on May 5th, each grade level will have a slightly different focus. Kindergarten students will work with dance educator, Martha Connerton, to explore directional words and opposites in their natural environment, making concrete connections to their math SCoS. First and second graders also connect the arts and math as they share a week-long residency with photographer, Charles Thomas, to explore attributes of geometric solids, patterns and symmetry in nature. Third grade students will explore also work with photographer, Charles Thomas of Charlotte’s Light Factory, to explore the science concept of shadow and light. Douglas fourth graders will take a different focus. Working with writer, Mimi Herman, students will use photography to explore perspective and point of view and create rich writing to supplement their photographs. And finally, fifth grade students will experience a truly unique way of learning as they take their fifth grade science objective, developing an understanding of the laws of motion, outdoors. With dance educator, Martha Connerton, students will explore friction, balance, momentum, force and gravity in nature. During the “In Nature’s Eye” project, all Douglas students, grades K – 5, will use photography as a part of their exploration and will be supported in generating a relevant piece of writing to accompany the photography. At the end of each project, the students at each grade level will compile their photography and writing into published books. These professionally published, integrated books will share the students’ naturalist experiences and will become a new “student-created naturalist collection” for the Douglas media center. In addition, students will host a “gallery opening”, displaying their photography for our parents and school community in a permanent “naturalist’s gallery” in our main hallway. Adding in the two artist-led professional development workshops for the teachers and an interactive family performance in May will surely make this unique grant project an unforgettable experience for our entire Douglas community.
Douglas PTA Creates Moving Landscapes Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007 By NBC17 The groups gathered about 40 minutes later in the gym to share their experiences by showcasing a landscape. For example, in the nature smart group, participants discussed Vonnoh's “Winter Sun and Shadow” and participated in an imagery experience to get in the "snow" frame of mind. Next, the group explored how the snow appeared in the artwork. Those discussions led the group to create the "dance of the water cycle" set to Tchaikovsky's "Journey through the Snow." According to one of the event coordinators Michelle Burrows, “The sharing was amazing! Dads, moms, children, grandparents, siblings, teachers, all dancing, moving, creating art and poetry together. It was wonderful!” This event was planned to coincide with the October 21st opening of a new exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art, “Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism.” Additional elements that make this PTA event noteworthy include families enjoying dinner together in the cafeteria and the way all children were included in the activities. Surveys indicate that when a PTA includes food and fun with kids, the parents will come.
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© 2007
Wake County Public School System |
