Goshen Center School
February 1, 2018
BELOW IS CHART FOR GIFT CARD DONATIONS
Author Visit
We have an exciting event taking place next Tuesday, February 6th. Author Sara Videtto will be visiting our school to read her book :
Turtle’s First Winter: A Read and Find Storybook!
Students will be able to pre-purchase her book through a link on her website, and she will be available to sign these copies!
Wellness
During an enrichment unit with Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Sheikh's 3rd grade class investigated the dyes used to color candies such as M&M’s. After pulling the dyes from M&M's sold in the US, students discovered the chemical dyes used to create the different candy colors along with some of the health problems believed to be associated with them. Students then pulled the dyes from the naturally sourced M&M's sold in Europe and found that those colors are created using vegetables and spices. A final enrichment session enabled the class to produce their own dyes using beets, spinach, turmeric, among others. Students learned that in February 2016, MARS candy company announced that chemical dyes would no longer be used to color the different products made for human consumption. As a culminating activity, students are using this awareness to write informational paragraphs to the candy company to help ensure this commitment is being followed through.
Winter Weather is Upon Us
Winter weather is underway and with that comes inevitable delays and cancellations. Please be sure that your contact information is up to date, so that the alert system, School Messenger, can notify you of delays and cancellations in a timely manner. If you need to update your telephone number or email address, contact Mrs. Contadini @ scontadini@rsd6.org or call 860-491-6020.
Also, please make sure your child has warm winter outerwear because we will try to go out for recess unless it is bitter cold.
Thank you.
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART
Dates to Remember
Feb. 7- Early Dismissal
Feb. 8- All School Pizza Party Grades K-6
Feb 9.- Spirit Day-Beach Day
Feb 9 - Fun Night Out (FNO) 7 - 9 p.m. - JMS for 5th & 6th graders
Feb 12.- PTO Meeting @ 4:00pm
Feb 12 - BOE and Budget Meeting 6:00 p.m. - District Office
Feb 15.- NBC Snow Monster Visit @ 12:45pm
Feb 16.- 8:00am-8:55am-Student Council Meeting
Feb 19 - President's Day - No School
Feb 20 - No School for students - Professional Development Day for Teachers
Feb 23- 6:00pm-Father/Special Guy/Daughter Dance
Tech Talk
Click here for Family Tech Tips for the Holiday.
Teaching for Artistic Behaviors (TAB). What is TAB? By Laurie Sweet
Greetings from the art world!
My initiative for teaching a new philosophy and different methodology, Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), was inspired originally by attending the National Arts Education Conference in New York City (March 2017). I attended a presentation about Samantha Varain’s MA thesis, Choosing Creatively: Choice-Based Art Education in an Inclusive Classroom. Ms. Varain’s research showed 100% engagement by students in a choice-based learning environment. When I attended the Northwest Arts Council workshop at EdAdvance (Spring 2017), the TAB model, which was originally founded in Massachusetts over 35 years ago and is a “nationally recognized education approach in teaching,” was also a top topic of discussion.
Through TAB, students experience authentic exploration and learning practices that are interest based. Centers may vary but often include: Drawing, Painting, Collage, Fiber Arts, Clay/Ceramics, Sculpture, and Printmaking. In the Region 6 elementary art classroom, an additional center may include Mixed Media, in which more than one material is used in the artmaking process. TAB aligns with the workshop model that promotes student-centered choice-based learning through centers in the art room. Choice-based art experiences support multiple intelligences and learning modalities, which in turn generate student engagement.
All elementary students are now on the journey of art center-based learning. Primary grades have more modeling and introduction to skills for the success of experimenting with various tools and materials, while the upper grades have more independence in designing and implementing an Art Project Plan. There is an openness and willingness to make mistakes and to be reflective of self and peers during the process and the final product. While one objective is to strive to develop Craft (quality work with use of materials), other objectives include: Engage and Persist, Envision, Express, Observe, Stretch and Explore, Understand the Art World, and Reflect. These Studio Habits of Mind objectives are credited to The Art of Education, which link directly to the TAB mindset.
Students have been unpacking centers by experimenting with tools and materials and generating artwork that does not necessarily look the same as everyone else’s. There may be times that students create a similar project to learn a new skill, but more often than not, the art experiences may be messy as a means of revising. The TAB journey allows for mistakes, revisions, and abandonment of a project (at times) to allow for authentic and real-world experiences.
As past practice, most 2D art projects will come home, as a collection, in a portfolio in early June. The portfolio allows for work to come home undamaged and to house a body of work throughout the academic year for displays, art shows, and assessment. Students will keep sketchbook journals to include drawings and reflections of their process.
There will be projects and/or practices in the trying out of tools and materials that come home from time to time, but the real journey will be in student exploration of projects of interest. Please do not hesitate to volunteer in the art room or reach out to me at lsweet@rsd6.org. Thank you so much.
Of note: Donations of materials such as magazines, newspapers, cardboard, egg cartons, etc. are always welcome.