Catching Up!

It has been a long time since I posted, so today is all about getting caught up with what is going on.  The most exciting thing since December has been a professional exchange with a high school in Belize.    Four of us from Northside were there from April 4th to the 13th.  We were in San Pedro, on the beautiful island of Ambergris Caye.  It was the first time I had been to Central America!

Above:

Our Belizean teacher friends Miss Giselle, Miss Joy and Miss Conchita working on 

visual journals in my classroom!

I brought about ten student journals with me that students from all over the school had worked on.  I presented them to teachers at SPHS.  While I was there I worked with students during and after school on visual journals. I met some wonderful students and teachers!  We are planning to go back next year. I was invited to paint a mural on the white wall around the school.  I'm hoping to bring two students next year that can help work on the mural and document the experience.

I am hoping to establish contact with a school in England since I will be there in July.  I have written to one and if I don't hear back I have another one I will try!  I would love to visit and talk to an art teacher in England to discuss similarities and differences.  It would be great to raise money and fly someone here to visit, since I know I will be there every summer!  I love collaborative projects, and think the students do as well.

Our last day of exams (and graduation!) is Monday June 10th.  We have a lot to do until then, including an art exhibit that all schools in the county are participating in,  a yearbook party when the yearbooks arrive (sometime in the next two weeks!  YIKES!!) and getting Art III and IV Honors portfolios and exams done.

I also started a Visual Journal Round Robin a few months ago, and am really enjoying that.  It is very rewarding to get something so beautiful in the post, and then work in it and contribute to whatever theme someone picked, and then mail it off the next month to the next contributor.  I will get my book back sometime next February I think.  (I hope!!)

This summer's European trip with students is to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.  We'll be traveling June 24th to the 1st of July, at which time I will head to beautiful Suffolk!!  I can't wait to see my family again.  You'd think it gets easier and easier each year, being so far away, but it actually gets harder and harder.

One of my pages from my recent journal.  I'll post more pics from Belize later!