Sunday, January 16, 2011

Day One A Success!

Friday January 14th started with a lot of nerves as we charged into our first day on the project with students, staff, and community members joining in together on the BEARS project.

 In the morning Grade 5 MacDonald and Grade 6 Hysert began the day.  High energy describes the session well.  After a brief introduction and overview the group went right into icebreakers. There were a few brave students who started the statue game and then a few adults were pushed into the mix.  The students quickly got comfortable in the game and creative juices flowed.

The morning turned to some hands on art activities with a co-operative drawing activity. The students from the two classes mixed up into groups of 4-6 with adults joining the groups.  It was amazing to see the creativity of the groups, and how their ideas morphed.

The sessions ended with a brainstorming session on bear themes.  It started slow with few ideas coming out but then the students exploded with ideas.  By the end, there were tons of amazing themes being floated.
The students were given a small homework assignment to consider what theme they would like their bear to be about.

The afternoon session was attended by Grade 6 FM and Grade 5/6 P.  This session had a different feel as it was quieter and more low key.  However, they creativity and interest in the project stayed high. We repeated the statue game and the co-operative art activity.

This group also exploded with ideas for the bear.  What were they? Stay tuned for that secret information.

The day finished with the third session of the day with students from the Boys and Girls club.  Children from ages 5-10 were in this after school session.  The activities were shifted to accommodate the ages of the children involved.  

We wrapped up after 4 pm with a stack of ideas for the bears, and excitement for the first day of the project to be done.

Great work!



The Bears Are Cleaned Up and Redy To Go!

Our bears have been sitting just inside the main doors of the school since they were delivered.  The Bears are chainsaw art which means they were carved with a chainsaw.  It should come as no surprise that they have some, and by some I mean a lot, of sawdust on them.

The Grade 6 students  from 6 FM took on the task of cleaning them up and getting them ready for display.  Armed with rags, brushes, and strong arms they took on the challenge of cleaning up the bears.  Did I mention that we also braved sub-zero temperatures as we scrubbed, swept, and wiped the bears cleaned?

There were only smiles and excitement as the students knew they were getting closer to making their own bears.  Many of the students were also interested in the various shapes, and themes the bears have.  The kneeling bear with wings drew a lot of attention.  The running bear also was a student favorite.
 Make sure you stop in the main lobby to check out the bears.





Sunday, January 9, 2011

First Blog!

The first 7 bears have been delivered to the school.  There is a smell of fresh cut wood drifting through the main level of the building.  Teachers, students, and community members will be starting their work on the project this Friday.   It will be a day of ice breakers and art activities this Friday.  We are still  recruiting community members to take part in the project.