Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Mural Update

On Monday, February 23, the transformation continued! Sioux Trail Second Grade students partnered with Third Grade Students from Christina Huddleston Elementary in Lakeville and started to add color. I have posted several photos to help you visualize the transformation. The in-person experience was wonderful as the students were very excited to be a part of the work. There were several spots when there was a group of painters painting and not a word was being said. On Monday, March 2 the work continues!



Sunday, February 22, 2009

Mural Update

During the past week more progress was made on our mural. Jane, our artist and several students began the work of transferring Jane's ideas onto the wall. As you can see from the pictures the wall was completely primed (Mr. Glende did the final finishing touches) and the pictures are coming to life. On Monday Jane and our student artists will be hard at work adding color to the mural. Some of the Sioux Trail second grade students will be at Christina Huddleston in Lakeville painting some of their mural and third grade students from Huddleston will be here doing some painting. This is a very exciting project and we'll continue to share details.

Monday, February 16, 2009

More Media Coverage on Lincoln's Visit

Here is a link to an article from the Pioneer Press on Mr. Lincoln's visit to Sioux Trail.

http://www.twincities.com/dakota/ci_11712830

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Mural Update

The wall that the mural will be painted on continues it's transformation. This time the fifth grade students in Ms. Brandon's class are doing the work. About half of the class was applying primer to the wall and the other half was working with their Kindergarten buddies in Mrs. Kunkel's classroom. On Tuesday (2/10) they worked with their Kindergarten buddies on activities related to the 100th day of school and on Wednesday (2/11) they shared books. Here are some shots of the transformation that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday -

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mural




Sioux Trail Elementary and Christina Huddleston Elementary (in Lakeville) have been awarded an Inter-District Collaborative Integrated Student Learning Grant. The Inter-district Collaborative between ISD 191 and ISD 194 awards Integrated Student Learning Grants for projects that promote integrated learning opportunities by making voluntary contact possible for students from both school districts. This grant will provide both schools an opportunity to collaborate with one another and work in with a
rtist in residence, Jane Elias. With Jane’s help, students will create and paint murals in the cafeterias of both schools. Valspar Foundation donated paint for the murals.

The theme of the murals is friendship and making connections with others. This theme will reflect the friendships that students currently have at Sioux Trail and the new f
riendships that will be created by working with students at Christina Huddleston.

All Sioux Trail students have had opportunities to share his/her ideas for the mural with his/her teacher. These ideas have been given to the artist and will be used to create the mural. A group of students volunteered to remove the blue paper from the cafeteria wall in preparation for the mural. These students are featured in the photographs. One of the district maintenan
ce staff members, Dennis, is also featured doing a little plaster repair on the wall.

Ms. Brandon’s class has volunteered to paint a coat of primer on the wall. A select group of artists (students) will assist Jane Elias in outlining the mural onto the cafeteria wall. Second graders from Sioux Trail and third graders from Christina Huddleston will be involved in painting the murals at both schools. Other Sioux Trail students will add their painting talents to
the mural as the need arises. To finish off the mural the select group of artists will add final touches. Our goal is to have the mural completed before the midwinter break. If you are in the building, peek in the cafeteria to check on our progress. I will also keep updating our progress right here on the blog.

We could use donations of containers about the s
ize of large yogurt or cottage cheese, rags (old cotton t-shirts work best), and paint shirts. We need these items by February 23. Items can be dropped off in the Sioux Trail office.

Mrs. Birch and Mr. Glende have done all of the work behind this project from brainstorming the idea, screening artists, writing the
grant and doing a lot of behind the scenes prep work. Mrs. Birch even gets credit for writing out all of the information in this blog posting.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Pennies for Patients Update

This is the last week of the Sioux Trail Pennies for Patients collection. As you can see the students have completed the puzzle, revealing the image of our mystery guest. The mystery guest will be here on the last day of the collection; Thursday, February 12. A new piece of the puzzle along with a clue was added each time $100 was added to the fundraiser. There are twelve pieces to the puzzle, but the students continue to contribute. Last week featured trivia questions about the penny and this week students are continuing to make guesses on who our mystery guest will be. The students have received kudos for setting and achieving a goal - this is a great lesson in working hard and working as a team.