Chaffee Trail Elementary Supports the Food Bank

Chaffee Trail 5th grade classes created 75 beautiful clay bowls to donate to the Empty Bowls Project which benefits the Jacksonville Food Bank.  Mrs. Woodlief and Libraian, Mrs. Miller, accompanied 5th graders Blake and Francheska to the Empty Bowls Luncheon representing our school. They were also invited to select a handcrafted bowl by another student to take home. 

Our Quilt is a Winner!

Congratulations to the Chaffee Trail Quilt Team for winning first place in the Community Vote category in the Annual Greater Jacksonville Fair Quilt Contest!  Our school has received a check for $500. to benefit the Art Department at Chaffee Trail.  Great job, Mustangs!

Art Teachers Are Students Too!

Art teachers from around the state of Florida met in Orlando last month for the Florida Art Education Association's annual state conference. Continuing education is very important for all teachers to stay abreast of new trends in art education.  

Go to The Fair and Vote For Our Quilt!

Fall is here and it's time for the annual quilt contest sponsored by the Greater Jacksonville Fair.  Each year 30 plus elementary schools submit a quilt based on the superintendent's book of the month. This year's selection is "A Cloak for the Dreamer", a story about a tailor and his three sons.   These hard working 4th and 5th grade girls (pictured) hand stitched for hours after school each day to create this beautiful quilt in their own interpretation of the story.  As pictured, they are Morgan, Bryonna, Michaela, Mrs. Woodlief, Kennedy, Rachel, Bailey, Haley and Hannah.  Last years quilt came in 2nd place in the judges vote and 3rd place for the community vote.  When you visit the fair next week, we hope you will take the time to vote for Chaffee Trail's entry. All the quilts will be on display in the (white building) exhibition hall.  The fair starts October 29th and ends November 9th.  Voting ends at 6 pm on Friday, ov. 7th. You can vote everyday so go vote for our quilt!

Duval Art Teachers Association Raise Money for Scholarships

The Duval Art Teachers Association is raffling off 8 differenat art palettes that have been painted by local artists in Jacksonville. These one of a kind works of art are worth hundreds but can be bought for $1. Raffle tickets are $1 each OR 25 tickets for $20. Each ticket can be labeled for a specific palette or can be spread amoung several palettes. The drawings will be January 16, 2009 and winners will be notifyed so you don't have to be present to win. All money from this goes to fund the Leslie Beddard Foundations which supports and encourages excellence in Art Education through workshops, education, advocacy and grants. For more information on the Art Palette raffle call 904-390-2677.

Artist in the Spotlight: Pablo Picasso

This month we featured Pablo Picasso as our "Artist In The Spotlight."  Chaffee Trial students learned about the many styles of painting used by the well known spanish artist but we focused on his most widely known style, "Cubism." After a brief discussion,  watching this slideshow and listening to the lyrics of this song, the students created a portrait in the style of Picasso.

Student Gallery for August

This Kindergarten artist took part in an author study of The Very Hungary Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  The student learned about the techniques used by Eric Carle and applied that knowledge in this collage.

Book of the Month Quilt Contest

Every year the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair partners with DCPS to sponsor a Quilt contest based on the book of the month.  Here is our 2007 entry that took 2nd place for both the Judges Vote  and Community Choice catagories winning a cash prize for our school.  We look forward to competing again this year in hopes of winning that 1st place blue ribbon!  Stay tuned for more news on this year's entry.

Art Department Service Project

As an art teacher I am constantly asking businesses an other interested persons to make donations to my art program. It's very important to me to give back to worthwhile causes and set an example for my students. I have encouraged my students to help me by collecting "pop tops" - the aluminum rings off the tops of soda cans - to donate to the Ronald McDonald House
which is a home away from home for children and their families who offer a sense of community, compassion and service in support of any family whose child receives medical care in Jacksonville, regardless of their ability to pay. The students of CTES scoured the recycle bins in their neighborhoods last year and collected pop tops to donate in the name of our school. I was invited to meet Ronald McDonald himself and he thanked all the children at CTES for their donation pop tops in the name of our Art Department!

Art Principle of Balance

It's Been A Productive Summer Break

In just a little over a weeks time my first class of Chaffee Trail students will be lined up at my door prepared to learn about the exciting world of art. The summer break has given me an opportunity to created a few exciting teaching tools using Apple technology. I have used Keynote -Mac's version of powerpoint - to help my students understand the elements and principles of design: Color and Balance> Please take the time to veiw this example of how technology can enhance art learning.

Gyotako - Japanese Fish Printing

/Users/woodlieft/Desktop/Gyotako Podcast 3.mov

Check out this video to see what kinds of cool art projects we work on in art class at Chaffee Trail Elementary. Second grade students are studying Gyotako - the art of Japanese fish printing. Notice the young artists and follow their thought processes as they work to accomplish their task.

Mac - The Laptop Cowboy

Here is an example of technology integration into the arts. Check out this "Keynote" (Apple MAC's version of powerpoint), an assignment for a class I took at University of North Florida. I created a paper mache' "character", wrote a story about him, then presented the story in a powerpoint. Mac - the laptop cowboy, was a "computer man"from the wild, wild, west. As a newcomer to our city, he became frustrated with the many challenges he faced in his new home town particularly being a "MAC alien" in a PC world.

Welcome to My Blog!

Welcome to my blog! I just can't sit still and relax over the summer like some of my teacher friends. I am here at UNF at taking a conference called "Arts for Learning, Tools For Teaching Summer Institute." Today I'm learning about creating blogs, wikis, podcasts and other exciting techno stuff taught by the fabulous Paty Savage. I hope that Ill be able to enhance my art program at Chaffee Trail Elementary by integrating more technology into my curriculum.
Stay tuned!