Happy Thanksgiving!

Best wishes for a relaxing and fun week off for everyone!  Enjoy the holiday with your family and friends! 

Next week - Finishing our iMovie Projects!!

Alice Walton - Art Collector

What to meet an art collector?  Alice Walton, of the famous Walmart stores, uses her vast wealth to buy art.  Watch this interesting video about her art collection and her Crystal Bridge Museum in Arkansas.  Click on the link below to view the video about Alice Walton's passion of life and art. 

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7387308n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Do you feel that Alice should be buying art or should she be doing something else more worthwhile with her money?   Answer this question for a GET ticket!!

New Discoveries about Vincent Van Gogh - 60 Minutes TV Show

On Sunday, October 16th, 60 Minutes showed an interesting piece about Vincent Van Gogh.  Through the use of forensic science and research of over 10 years, the authors have discovered that Van Gogh's death may have not been a suicide.  The piece details new information about Van Gogh's life and takes you through a virtual tour of his amazing art.

I have linked you to the 60 Minutes website where you can view the story and see the vibrant art of Vincent Van Gogh.  Check out the actual story and the Overtime piece.  The discovery has been published in a new book as well.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml?tag=cnav

Edward Hopper art

American Gothic

When you create your parody of American Gothic, be sure to include 2 characters, the Gothic window in the background and 1 of the characters should be holding something.  Color your final picture and give it a title.  Have fun creating your parody of Grant Wood's famous work of art!!

Picasso Project directions

Here are the directions for the Picasso Project. Be as colorful as possible and have fun putting the puzzle together. 

Step 1: Color the pieces of the 'Take Apart Art' Project. Use a variety of bright and colorful colors. You may use crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

Step 2: Cut out the pieces of the puzzle. Do this very carefully because 
the pieces need to fit together exactly. If you do not cut out precisely, 
your puzzle pieces will not fit!!! 

Step 3: Put the pieces together to make the picture. Because this is a 
Picasso painting, the eyes, hands, and feet may not necessarily be in the 
usual places. Look at the shapes of the pieces and see how they fit 
together. You may need to rearrange the pieces to make it work. The final
painting is in the shape of a vertical rectangle. 

Step 4: Glue the pieces onto a piece of construction paper. Be sure that 
you write your name on your final masterpiece

Picasso masterpieces

GATE OPEN HOUSE

GATE Open House is this Wednesday, September 21st at 6:30 PM.  The meeting is at Millennium School which is located at 17830 S. 84th Avenue in Tinley Park.  Come meet the GATE teachers and learn about the GATE Program.

GET tickets will be earned by attending the meeting.  I hope to see you on Wednesday evening!

Georges Seurat

Van Gogh's Famous Works of Art

Monet's Famous Works of Art

WELCOME TO 5TH GRADE GATE

Another school year has begun, and I am looking forward to getting to know all the 5th Grade GATE students.  As of today, I have met all the GATE students and have gone over the highlights of the upcoming school year and my expectations for the students.  You should have also received a Welcome Letter from me which explains the 5th Grade GATE program.

Our first unit is the Artist Unit.  We will be studying 6 famous artists (Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, Picasso, Wood and Hopper).  They will gain an immense understanding of the artists' style, famous works, influences, favorite subjects and colors, education and family life.  They then will apply their knowledge to art projects and other activities to further extend their learning.  The students will also use their technology skills to create a movie using the iMovie program about an artist that they will research.  The whole unit will culminate with a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago in November.

I was reading a teacher magazine which gave some suggestions for parents/students for a great start of the school year.  I thought they were terrific ideas and thought I would share them with you.

• Read, Read, Read!  Read to your child, listen to your child read, and set aside time for your child to read alone every day.
• Get to know your child's teacher by attending as many school events as possible and don't hesitate to call with concerns.  If you have a question or concern, please email or call me at any time.  
• Look for signs your child does not comprehend schoolwork.  This is best done by assisting your child with homework (when necessary).  Since the GATE students are very bright, they may not have many academic difficulties.  GATE homework may be more challenging, but important in their development.
• Make sure your child is prepared for school by getting enough sleep and eating a well-balanced, healthy diet.
• Closely monitor the time your child is spending playing video games, watching television, and using the computer for leisure.  These hours add up very quickly!
• Carefully review how and when your child is using technology and teach appropriate uses of technology.  Talk with your child about the pros and cons of using social networking sites to stay connected to friends, but let them know that you will periodically sit with them to review their site.  Adults should never assume children automatically know the pitfalls or misuses of technology.
• Get your child involved in before and after school activities.  Children who participate in sports, service or scholastic clubs, and fine arts such as band and chorus enjoy school more and are typically more motivated to do well in their academic classes.

I hope these reminders keep us on the right track to a wonderful school year!!

What are YOU reading??

I recently read an article published by Scholastic Books that stated that students need to read at least 4 books during the summer to maintain their academic skills.  Reading is definitely a great way to maintain skills and to explore the world.

What I am asking you to do this summer is to keep the other GATE students informed on what you are all reading.  Respond back to this message and tell us the name and author of the latest book that you have read,  your opinion of the book and why, and rate it by giving it between 1-5 stars (1 star is a horrible book while 5 stars would be an amazing read).

For example, I just read Things That Are by Andrew Clements.   I would say, "Things That Are continues the story of Bobby and Alicia and is the 3rd book in the series.  I liked the book because it answered many of the questions that I had after I read Things Hoped For.  I would give it 3 1/2 stars."

Let everyone know what you are reading!  Start reading some of the Rebecca Caudill books if you are having a hard time finding something great to read.  I will be reading these this summer so I will let you know what I think!!

HAPPY READING!!  HAPPY SUMMER!!!

Support the Challenger Learning Center

The Challenger Learning Center of Northwest Indiana has "launched" a campaign for votes to win a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Project grant to fund Micronaut Programs for K-2 students throughout Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois.

The public can vote for the idea 3 times a day every day in May 2011. I have included the link so you can vote to help them.

Pepsi Refresh Project

Space Shuttles last stop

Important space news happened today!  Museums across the country have been vying for the honor of having one of the retired space shuttles.  Twenty-one museums and visitor centers around the country put in bids. The winners will have to pay NASA $28.8 million for the cost of preparing and ferrying the shuttles to their new homes. The 4 new homes for the space shuttles will be in California, New York, Florida and Washington DC.

Read the article and watch the video about the space shuttles.  Click on the link below:

USA Today article and video

What do you think about the United States government stopping the space shuttle program? Do you think that it should continue or do you think it was right to cancel this program? Post your thoughts for a GET ticket!

Chocolate Taste Testing Results

To culminate the Chocolate Unit, all of the GATE students across the district participated in a scientific chocolate taste test.  They sampled 3 brands of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  The 3 brands were Ghirardelli, Jewel and Nestle (in alphabetical order).  The students were instructed to evaluate the chocolate solely on the taste.  Some people are very brand friendly and have preconceived ideas about certain brands. Not knowing the brand made this more interesting for all of the students!

Each school had their own preferences.  Bannes liked Ghirardelli, Fernway liked Nestle, Keller liked Ghirardelli, McAuliffe liked Jewel, and Millennium liked Jewel the best.

Listed below are the statistics of the 50 students who did our experiment:
                 
  Brand                       # of students          Percentage          Cost
Ghirardelli                        15                         30%              $3.89
  Jewel                              19                         38%               $2.25  
  Nestle                             16                         32%               $3.19

As you can see, the results were very close, but the Jewel brand would have to be the winner of our taste testing.  Not only did it receive the most votes, but it was the least expensive of the the 3 brands.

Mrs. Farrington's conclusion:  If you want to save money and use delicious chocolate chips for your cookies, try the Jewel brand.

Isn't it funny that the thief of the chocolate recipe was Jewel and our favorite chocolate chip was Jewel?  Another strange coincidence!!

Make a comment about the results.  Are the results as you expected or are you surprised? Let everyone know your thoughts for a GET ticket!!

Chocolate Unit

We have started the Chocolate Unit and all the students are excited to learn about something that they all love.  Listed below are some chocolate websites that may help the GATE students with their Chocolate Projects. The Field Museum had an exhibit that featured chocolate about 5 years ago.  They still have these resources on-line.  Some of the activities are interactive so these are fun to check out.  The Hershey website has tons of information as well.  I will continue to research and if I find any more good sites, I will include them on the bottom of the blog page.
I was asked by a parent if chocolate could be sent to GATE class as a treat.  Yes, it can!  In accordance to district policy, a treat has to be a store packaged product.  We would love to eat homemade brownies or cakes, BUT it is not allowed due to health issues.  If anyone would like to send in a chocolate treat, I am sure that we would love a "hands-on experience" by sampling what we are studying.  Thanks!!

Book suggestion - "Masterpiece" by Elise Broach

Looking for a fiction book with an art connection??  Try reading Masterpiece by Elise Broach.  Here's the blurb on the back of the book:
"Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays' apartment. He is very much a beetle.  James lives with his mother, stepfather and baby brother in New York City.  He is very much an 11 year old boy.
After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday.  Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing.  James gets all the credit for the picture, and before these unlikely friends know it, they're caught up in an art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could lead them to a famous long-lost drawing by Albrecht Durer.  But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help.  And that is where things get really complicated (and interesting!)   
This fast-paced mystery about stolen art, forgery, and friendship will have readers at the edge
of their seats as they root for boy and beetle!"

If you are interested, let me know and you can borrow my copy OR check it out from the library. 

Why are birds falling from the sky?

Recently in the news, there have been reports of a large amount of dead birds and fish found in Arkansas.  This reminded me of the information from Chasing Vermeer about frogs and toads falling from the sky.  If you are interested, I have connected the link from the National Geographic website about the birds in Arkansas. 
A quote from the article by a biologist is -  "I hope we can raise public awareness of what impact man-made structures can have on other species. How many migratory warblers do you want to kill just to get better cell phone reception?"
What do you think?  Is wildlife more important than our cell phone reception?  Respond back for a GET ticket!!

National Geographic article