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Photos and Stories from Around the MMSD
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Crestwood Elementary had a wonderful display of Ancient Egyptian art during October. The entire school contributed something for the project. Students studied various customs and traditions that were practiced in early Egyptian culture. They explored ideas from a 3,000 year time span. The ancient Egyptian aesthetic was interpreted in many different ways. Motifs and forms were borrowed and embellished. The intent of this display is not to create an archeological replica of an ancient tomb. The exhibit is dedicated to celebrating the art and artifacts of the past, so that we may know and appreciate more about human history. Among the many items displayed were: lifesize paintings of many of the gods and goddesses, portrait paintings of the pharoahs and queens, golden etchings of the gods, a lifesize mummy that shows its wrappings, jewelry and amulets. There was also the golden portrait head of king tut, animal mummies, the golden throne and foot stool, the small shabti figures or servants, pottery, small sculptures and make-up containers, canopic jars, a replica of a sail boat, a chariot, the game called senet, a hieroglyphic stone tablet, and a lion-headed table. Principal Howard Fried allowed the children to do a body cast of him for the golden coffin of king tut. There was also a 3-D model of a small pyramid with its valley and mortuary temples. some of the artwork is on display in the Doyle building showcases.
The 6th-12th grade American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) were invited to speak to youth, college students and educators at the 11th Annual Native American Speakers' Forum at Michigan Technological University (MTU) Oct. 27-29th. The AISES chapter of Madison have been recognized both internationally and nationally for their restoration work on wildrice in southern Wisconsin. The AISES chapter have been involved in the restoration project for the past three years. The students were presented with a carved sculpture of an eagle. They have decided to rotate the sculpture as a display in their schools. You can view their work at: http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/tnl/titlevii/wildrice/
Students in photo: Briana Lawler (lafollette), Natasha Decorah (Toki), Briant Lawler (Whitehorse), Callie Byington (West), Chelsea Thompson (Lafollette), Katie Allen (Spring Harbor), Frankie Brandon (Wright), Devon Decorah (Memorial), Vladimir Brik (Memorial), Nicholas Rolo (West), Mike Allen (Memorial) Title VII Education program AISES Advisors: Joni Theobald and Patti Christie, MTU Native American Outreach Coordinator: Lori Sherman. West High Receives Grant from ExxonMobile West High School has received a $500 grant from the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program. Rick Genin of Genin's Mobil-Hilldale (pictured left with West Applied Tech Teacher Jim Buchanan) worked with school officials to secure the grant which is one of 4,000 available to schools across the country served by Exxon or Mobil stations. To date Genin's Mobile-Hilldale has given $13,714.99 to West High. The ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program is designed to provide Exxon and Mobil retailers with an opportunity to invest in the future of their communities through educational grants to neighborhood schools. Genin's Mobil met stringent eligibility criteria before applying for and being awarded this grant including having a commitment to provide a superior buying experience for customers.
Principal Mike Deignan of Sandburg Elementary took numerous pies to the face in a recent school assembly. The opportunity to "pie the principal" was earned by Jeff Maas' class at Sandburg since they were the highest bidder in the Sandburg PTA's silent auction that was recently held at the school. The event was covered by TV and newspaper media in Madison and generated alot of excitement at the school. Fun but messy!
African Coffee Producer Visits Emerson The phrase "Think Globally, Act Locally" became real for Emerson students with a visit from the manager of an Ethiopian coffee cooperative whose coffee is sold by the Emerson PTO. On October 17th, Emerson 5th graders met and asked questions of Tadesse Meskela and his wife Rosa, whose farmer-owned coffee cooperative represents over 70,000 Ethiopian families. Mr. Meskela told the students about the challenges of life for the farmers and children of Ethiopia and explained how with fairly-traded coffee a higher percentage of the sale of the coffee returns to the growers, and the members of the cooperative use this extra money to improve their communities. Money from the fair trade premiums have constructed 4 schools, two health clinics, and a clean water supply source within Mr. Meskela's cooperative area so far. Emerson coffee sales money also directly benefits the Emerson students by helping fund educational field trips, the purchase of supplies, and special events at the school . Emerson works with Just Coffee to produce their own, unique blend of fair-trade, organic coffee and sells 3 varieties monthly. The coordinator of the Emerson coffee sales, Suzy Grindrod, Emerson teacher and parent, says she loves the sale of Eagle Roost coffee, ".because it is a fundraiser where everyone wins. It benefits our school, the communities where the coffee is grown, and a local east-side business." The 5th grade teachers used the visit as a way to expand their students' knowledge of African culture. Teacher Vince Busenbark said he was impressed with how much his students were interested in what life is like for children in Ethiopia. "They wanted to know what games they play, and what their schools are like", he said, and his students also want to exchange drawings and writings with Ethiopian children. The students presented Mr. Meskela with a collage about Emerson, Madison, and Wisconsin to share with children in Ethiopia, and cards thanking him for his visit and growing Eagle Roost coffee.
Crestwood Elementary - Nani Agbeli, (director of Sankofaa International) a dancer and drummer from Ghana, visited the second and third grade classes at Crestwood Elementary on November 7, 2006. Nani discussed life in Ghana, taught them some songs and dances from his region, and performed for each class. Students not only learned some basic words from the Eve language, they also discussed cultural similarities and differences between the U.S. and Ghana. A fine example of cross-curricular teaching, the second and third graders at Crestwood are currently studying Africa in social studies, music and art classes. Students will present a music program and art show featuring African music and art in December. This program was sponsored by the CAPT, the parent teacher organization at Crestwood.
Memorial HS graduate Andy Rifken holds a check for $1000 from Charter Communications and Bravo. The $1K grant was given in Rifken's name to Memorial for the support of digital and media arts initiatives. Rifken was selected earlier this year as one of 15 winners in a nationwide high school competition, Bravo on the Set, a national initiative that provides high school students the fundamentals of TV production.
In the photo l-r are Geof Herman - Memorial art teacher and department chair, Rifken, Bruce Dahmen - Memorial principal, Bob Pinter - Charter Communications, and Fred Haug, project manager for Bravo on the Set. Bravo is an original programming cable network, while Charter operates a cable TV system in southern Wisconsin. Midvale Elementary students and staff held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, November 10th to celebrate the major renovation projects and upgrades completed over the summer. Pictured is Principal John Burkholder addressing the students, staff and guests at the ceremony. Board members Carol Carstensen and Arlene Silveira attended and were invited to do the honors of the official ribbon cutting.
To continue the celebration, the school hosted a well-attended pancake breakfast on Saturday, Nov. 11th. The purpose of the event was to allow anyone to see the school and celebrate the good things that Midvale School has done together for its children and the community. Library Media Services -- Each year national children's book publishers send advance or first run copies of their new titles to the MMSD on a regular basis. These books are selected by library media specialists for review and added to their schools' collections. The titles are cataloged for inclusion in the library catalog and each semester the database of new reviews is edited, formatted, and then published by MMSD Printing Services. The Fall 2006 edition has just been published and distributed. The publication is a valuable resource both within and outside the district. It is used by the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) on the UW campus to pull and display titles for examination by our library media specialists. Several surrounding school districts, who also visit the CCBC, display and make selections for their own school Library Media Centers using the book review publication. The reviews are cumulated and sent to the various publishers for their reference. This professional activity benefits both our students and our school colleagues, representing a source of the latest materials for MMSD library media centers. It would not be successful without the efforts of the cataloging librarian, the automation technician, and the Library Media Services' program assistant, who support of the many LMSpecs who read and write throughout the year.
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