March 16th Workshop 2 – Family Story Book Panels: Making “My Story” Books in the Art Room at PS 373R

Our second workshop in our five workshop series took place at our Main Site in Ms. Seminara’s Art Room. Parents and students from our Main and Mini Sites gathered to learn more about the vision of our mural project and create their own story panel books. Imagery and ideas from these story panels will be incorporated into our final mural on the west side of our Main Building.

We started our workshop by meeting some enthusiastic representatives from Parents As Arts Partners, a program of The Center for Arts Education. We talked about our first workshop and some of our parents shared iPhone videos of the performance. We learned about an upcoming meeting at Snug Harbor Cultural Center where parents will be encouraged to contact their political representatives to encourage future funding for arts programs in NYC. This CAE–school partnership is generously supported by the Staten Island Foundation.

For the workshop itself our collaborating artist from the Noble Maritime Collection, D.B. Lampman, conducted the lesson for making Family Story Book Panels. She showed us her example of a Story Book. Entitled “My Story” she painted a self-portrait with water colors on the cover. Inside, on the 1st page, she painted a picture of her family. The second page consisted of a list of her favorite things. And on the third page she left room for an illustration of one of her favorite things from her list.

The students and parents worked together on their story books. Together we shared stories and ideas about the project itself. We look forward to our next workshop on Friday, April 20th when we will paint Giant Self-portraits of ourselves.

March 9th Workshop 1 – Photos from “Annie’s Journey to America” at the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor

Our first workshop at the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor on March 9th was an exciting kick-off to our 5 workshop series. Parents and students from our Main, Mini and 861 sites came to Snug Harbor Cultural Center to see a great performance about a woman, Annie Moore, who came to Ellis Island from Ireland in the late 1800′s. After the performance, which combined dance, song, and story telling, the families drew pictures about their own cultural traditions and shared stories with each other.

During the Annie’s Journey performance, the children got to actively participate and share in the piece. Annie talked about the things she brought with her on the boat from Ireland that she couldn’t put in her suitcase, such as stories, songs and traditions. We all sang a song called “The Bog Down in the Valley-O”. She danced an Irish Step dance with taps on her shoes. (This required an encore performance at the end of the show.) She showed us her drum, the Bodhran (it’s pronounced BowRun), and we all got to play on it. She told us stories about the leprechauns and their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And our students got to dress up like other children immigrating to America.

We are building toward a PS 373R Mural which will incorporate stories of our families’ traditions and each individual’s journey to Staten Island. Some drew pictures after the performance of what their families do for the holidays. Some drew pictures of Sunday dinner after church. People shared the experiences that are passed down through the generations. Everyone enjoyed the day immensely.

Because of the overwhelming response to the call and response song that we did together we are putting the lyrics below:

THE BOG DOWN IN THE VALLEY-O:
CHORUS
Oh, Roe, the rattlin’ bog, the bog down in the valley-o
Oh, Roe, the rattlin’ bog, the bog down in the valley-o.

And in that bog there was a hole, A rare hole, a rattling hole,
A hole in the bog and the bog down in the valley-o

And in that hole there was a tree A rare tree, a rattlin tree
A tree in the hole, and a hole in the bog, and the bog down in the valley-o, etc…….
On that tree there was a branch
On that branch there was a twig
On that twig there was a nest
In that nest there was an egg
On that egg there was a bird
On that bird there was a wing
On that wing there was a feather
On that feather there was a hair
On that hair there was a flea.

PS 373R Mural Project Workshop Dates – Sign Up Now!

PS 373 Parents as Arts Partners Mural Project – Call Kirsten Rorke to Sign up for a FREE workshop! (718) 816-8897 press “1″then “3″

 

Workshop 1   March 9   10:50- 1:00

Annie’s Journey to America

Join Annie Moore from Ireland as she disembarks an immigrant ship and tells her story of coming to America through music, art, and step dancing. Students and parents will be encouraged to share their cultural traditions and will make a watercolor painting together that illustrates their own family story.

At the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor Cultural Center

 

Workshop 2   March 16  10:50-1:00

Family Story Book Panels

Parents and students will be introduced to the artistic tradition of mural-making and learn about the history of murals from cave painting to street art.  We will discuss the theme of our mural and design “family story books” that will be used as templates for our mural.

At PS 373 – 91 Henderson Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301

Giant Self Portraits   Friday, April 20, 2012 from 10:50-1:00 p.m.

Parent/student teams will trace the outlines of their bodies onto large paper and paint life-sized self portraits. These large portraits will be cut out and used as templates for the design of the final mural.

At PS 373 - 91 Henderson Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301

Workshop 4  Friday, April 27, 2012  10:50-1:00

Let’s Make a Mural!

Parents and students will take the paper figure and story book templates that were made in the previous two workshops and tape them to the exterior wall of the school on the mural site. Then, we will trace around them to transfer the shapes to the wall.

At PS 373 - 91 Henderson Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301

Workshop 5  Friday, May 4, 2012  10:00-Afternoon

Let’s Paint a Mural!

Parents and students will paint in the shapes of the mural, filling in details, colors, and background.

At PS 373 - 91 Henderson Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301

PS 373R Mural Art Project – About Us!

In November of 2011 our Art Teacher, Elena Seminara, wrote a grant for our school to fund a Mural Project for one of the walls of the Main Site building. Our project was accepted, and we are moving forward with our Mural! If you would like to contact us, please email the Parent Coordinator, Kirsten Rorke at KRorke@schools.nyc.gov or call at (718) 816-8897 press “1″ then “3″.

The Center for Arts Education‘s Parents As Arts Partners Program (PAAP) is a unique school-based arts education program that engages parents and families in hands-on, interactive arts education activities with their children. The program seeks to increase parent engagement and involvement in city public schools and in their child’s education, creating shared, high quality arts experiences that align with classroom curriculum.

Parents As Arts Partners was created in response to research that indicates that parental involvement in their child’s education positively impacts his or her academic success. The arts are an effective way to cultivate this type of engagement.

This CAE–school partnership is generously supported by the Staten Island Foundation.