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back from Paris

7/23/2012

I had the opportunity to travel to Paris last week with EFtours; the trip was training for the England/France student trip I will be leading with them next year.

It was a fantastic time and a large part of that was due to the professionalism and extensive content learned while being guided around Paris by EFtours.

I am so excited for the trip we have planned next summer and cannot wait to take students on it with me. If you are interested in signing up for the trip, please check out our tour link or email me for more information.

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summer success

7/18/2012

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Nothing beats getting summer news about students who go out of their way to get involved in the Arts. I am so excited to hear that Tena's piece shown above (who also won a Gold Key at our Regional Scholastic Awards), won second place at a local Art competition at Sandy Pines Resort. Her piece placed second (and a $100 prize) among 30 other Adult entries - yes, that is right - ADULT ENTRIES. Tena is going to be heading into High School next year. It has been an honor to see this artist grow over the past three years and I cannot wait to see what else this girl makes. You can view her portfolio here to see just how amazing of an artist she is.

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we recycle

7/16/2012

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Before the school year ended, students helped me recycle well over 300lbs of clay that had been building up for the past few years. Here is a short video I made of the process and how students helped. This video is entered in the latest Next Vista for Learning video competition. It was a fun way to clean up a material that is ready to be used again in the fall! I am very happy and relieved that when I go to my classroom I have moistened clay in bags, rather than broken bits of projects gone wrong!

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summer reading

7/12/2012

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Do you like art, mystery, and and figuring out complicated puzzles? Then you need to start reading Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game by Blue Balliett.

I fell in love with the first book, Chasing Vermeer, several years ago, was incredibly excited to read the second, and I finished the last in the series just today. The series involves these curious kids in Chicago (Hyde Park) that have incredible adventures involving art.

My favorite is The Wright 3. The book is focuses on a house in their neighborhood, but not just any house - a house designed by one of the most famous architects in Art History, Frank Lloyd Wright. I have been to the Robie House and really got swept away in the imagery of the struggle and excitement in the book. There is actually a Frank Lloyd Wright House that is similar to the Robie House in Grand Rapids, MI called the Meyer May house. You can visit both houses, as they are both open for tours and have been restored to show Wright's original intent with his design.

The final book, The Calder Game, major emphasis is on work by Alexander Calder (who also has a large public sculpture in Grand Rapids, MI - La Grande Vitesse located in Calder Plaza). This book is just as filled with mystery and art as the others, and even includes mention of Banksy - a street artist that we study in 8th grade.

I hope you will take the time to check out these books (and yes, there are pictures inside - beautiful illustrations by Brett Helquist). If you do read them, or check out sculptures/paintings by the artists in the book, or if you have your own summer reading suggestions, let me know with a post below.

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back from Paris

summer success

we recycle

summer reading

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Janine Campbell

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