Art

VAN GOGH FEVER IN GRADE 4

Grade 4 students have been working hard during the last two weeks of school, continuing their classwork online and becoming independent learners who take responsibility for their work. During Art lessons, the children have been discovering Vincent Van Gogh and his masterpieces. Inspired by the artist, they created their own pieces by choosing their own style and materials to recreate some of his most famous pieces of art. The students have caught the Van Gogh spirit, as demonstrated in their effectively drawn pieces of work.

Ms Grace

Grade 4 Teache

Grade 1’s Spring Poster

As a joint effort and cross subject project, the Grade 1 children have unified Italian, IT and Art to collaboratively design a poster that represents Spring for them. Their task was to capture an image that had signs of Spring. Then they dropped their pictures in a shared file on google drive and/or emailed them. Subsequently we have met on zoom and with the aid of google drawings the children uploaded their chosen pictures and decorated them with a “hand drawn” borders. This is the wonderful outcome!

Mr JP  – ICT teacher

Maestra Sara – Italian Teacher

CREATING CHARACTERS IN GRADE 5

This week, Grade 5T would like to introduce you to the newest UIS student, a porcupine they have named “Ricci Junior”. Now, Ricci isn’t just any porcupine. Ricci reads, writes, solves Math problems and even participates in Guided Reading groups. Two students in particular, Stella and Giorgia, have supplied him with everything he needs to feel right at home: a UIS school cap, a personal diary, a computer, and writing supplies. They have even offered him help with challenging concepts. The students have been brainstorming how Ricci could become a character for a series of children’s books, imagining all the adventures their friendly rodent could experience. Stay tuned for Ricci’s future escapades! 

Mara Tramontin 

Grade 5 Teacher

Creative Journeys 

Lately in Kindergarten we cannot seem to have enough tape or glue to keep up with the children’s crafty hands. Children have stopped needing teacher’s input on what to do in the art area and experimenting with lots of ideas and projects that stem from their curiosity and personal experiences. They are using new materials such as yarn, fabric, cork, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, cardboard and string to design products from personal use or to incorporate in their play. Sometimes it’s an exploration of properties of materials or a spontaneous joining of different textures for the pleasure of self-expression. 

This week alone, children have discovered how to join cardboard boxes to form a vehicle, and how to make a string puppet. And if you would like a new bag, a nature bracelet or a stick character, just let us know, we’re happy to share our craft!

Ms Nilva

Kindergarten Teacher

GRADE 3’s ALONG THE BANKS OF THE NILE

Grade 3 has been exploring Ancient Egypt this term, learning about what an important feature the Nile river was to Ancient Egyptian society. Even in our read-aloud stories, we have encountered characters from that far away time. The latest story was “The Little Hippo”, by Anja Klauss. This enchanting story begins on the banks of the river Nile where the hippos bask in the sun, letting the beautiful designs of water plants decorate their bodies and ends, with little Hippo finding his family again centuries later and miles away, in the Louvre Museum. Here, his family can still be visited in the form of lovely little turquoise-colored statues, along with the incredible wealth of archaeological artifacts that still guide our learning through this ancient civilization. The children drew and painted their own blue hippos, paying close attention to faithfully adding the shapes and designs of reeds, lilies and flowers that grew along the Nile. 

Paola Gandrus 

Grade 3 teacher

Spinning Webs in Grade 2

Exploring lines and surfaces in Maths has led the Grade 2’s to recognize, identify, and describe parts of lines and curves. They applied their discoveries to making spider webs in Art, by drawing horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines and curves. White card, pencils, 40cm rulers and colouring pencils were the tools used in this creative activity. The artists even managed to create optical illusions by alternating the direction the curves were facing (smiley face – sad face) and repeating the pattern throughout. Finally, to emphasize the pattern of lines and curves, the students used contrasting colours. As a result, the spider webs appear to have rhythm and movement.

Ms Artemis

Grade 2A Teacher

Life in the Scriptorium

After writing letters to oblates from the point of view of medieval monks, the grade 5’s try to “age” their manuscripts to make them look like antique parchments.

Un’esperienza Leggendaria

Qualche giorno prima delle vacanze natalizie le due classi quarte hanno avuto la straordinaria possibilità di vivere un’esperienza unica. Infatti l’autore di libri per bambini Guglielmo Donzella ci è venuto a trovare (virtualmente) e ci ha letto una storia inedita. Questo incontro rientra all’interno dell’unità didattica sulle leggende legate al nostro territorio, che ha visto impegnati gli studenti in queste settimane. I bambini sono stati trasportati nel leggendario mondo del terribile condottiero Attila, quando gli abitanti di un piccolo paesino di nome Lucente si sono messi in salvo dal capo barbaro, spegnendo tutte le luci e i falò e celandosi con il favore delle tenebre dagli occhi dei devastatori. Da quel giorno, grazie a quella trovata, gli abitanti hanno deciso di cambiare il nome della cittadina da Lucente a Buja. 

Questo incontro è stato molto toccante e proficuo, sia per i ragazzi, che per noi adulti. Riporto qui di seguito il messaggio che ho ricevuto da lui, dopo avergli inviato i disegni con cui hanno rappresentato la storia ascoltata. 

“Letteralmente commosso. È una gioia ammirare come i suoi allievi abbiano realizzato attraverso, i disegni, i colori, le spiegazioni, il racconto che ho letto quel giorno, liberando le loro emozioni, la loro personale interpretazione e calandosi in quella vicenda. Tutte le tavole sono ricche di particolari, avendo accolto le infinite sfumature che hanno fatto visita nelle intelligenze e nei sentimenti dei suoi allievi. Vi abbraccio con infinita gratitudine per avermi coinvolto in un percorso umano che non dimenticherò mai e che porterò sempre nel mio cuore. Vi auguro di avervi trasmesso l’importanza di usare sempre il cuore e la mente per qualsiasi cosa ognuno di noi desideri realizzare. Poiché con il cuore e con la mente si possono immaginare mondi, storie, incontri, progetti. 

Con affetto vostro Guglielmo”

Maestra Francesca insegnante classi 4G e 4K

ON THE MOVE! 

Things are definitely moving in Grade 5! Exploring “movement” across subject areas has got students thinking about their own gestures, fluctuations, and shifts. You can catch them creating angles and perfecting synchronization at recess time, or sculpting a Giacometti inspired structure during Art. The student artists have dabbled in exploring movement through both Pop Art and Futurism, creating a whirlwind of colorful and varied expressions of how they perceive motion. As the saying goes, “All creative activity begins with movement,” both physical movement towards new adventures and inner movement towards growth and developing new ideas. Movement has given us lots to think about!

Mara Tramontin 

Grade 5 Teacher