New BPS ARTS Podcast!

Here is another resource to enable more communication between bps arts educators. The new BPS ARTS podcast will feature interviews with teachers, students and others in our school community. Listen to our first interview. Greg Gazzola and Gina Quigley comment on this new blog. To hear or subscribe to this podcast just follow the instructions on the podcast icon. Give us ideas for this new resource. Which interviews or topics would you like to hear about in our podcast?

PBS Design Squad Competition

Hi Everyone,
I got an email from WGBH about the TRASH TO TREASURE competition. I'm thinking about combining this with my industrial design lesson. I'll also encourage my son and my daughter to create a few designs. Here is the information:

Recycle, reuse, and re-engineer everyday materials into an out-of-the-box invention.
Your invention should:
• Move things or people or
• Protect the environment or
• Be used for indoor or outdoor play

GRAND PRIZE
• $10,000
• A Dell™ laptop powered
by Intel®
• A trip to Boston to
see your design built

4 FINALISTS
Receive Dell™ laptops powered by Intel®

The winner and his or her product will appear on
the Design Squad™ show or Web site!
For ages 5–-19. Enter online from April 1 to June 30, 2008

Design Squad Website

Visual Arts Senior Exhibition "Handful of Madness"

Comment from Kathleen Marsh:

Hi and thanks for developing this forum! I wanted to let everyone know about the Visual Arts Senior Exhibition entitled "Handful of Madness" at Boston Arts Academy. It is up for the rest of the month...I invite any teachers who would like to bring kids to come to the exhibition, the seniors would love to host you. Let me know your good times--contact me at kmarsh@bostonartsacademy.org.

ARTS PEOPLE, LET'S TALK!

Welcome to the BPS ARTS teachers blog. Let us know what you're doing. There is so much action going on in our classrooms and so little time to share ideas! Hopefully our blog will help us communicate more often, share resources, discover new tools, and learn about what's happening with the Arts around the world. Come on, don't be shy! Let us know what's going on in your school. Tell us about the new things happening with your art program. Share new ideas with other arts teachers. Share your success and your challenges with us. We are all here to help!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS A WIKISPACE?

What in the world is a wiki? It's a software which allows communities to share information fast through the internet. When you create a wikispace you are creating a webpage that could be edited by multiple people. You also have the option to lock pages so that only the owner of that wiki could edit. You could assign privileges to specific members so they can edit pages. Wikis include many cool features to allow us to communicate. One of them is the discussion forums. This is one of my favorite features. A wikispace could have multiple pages. Each page comes equipped with it's own discussion forum. For example, we have a wikispace called BPS ARTS. Within this BPS ARTS wikispace we have the following pages: VISUAL ARTS, MUSIC, DRAMA, DANCE, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, EVENTS, DOCUMENTS AND HOME.

If you are a visual arts teacher, like me, you might visit the VISUAL ARTS page regularly. You can click on the discussion tab to leave a comment about an upcoming activity at your school, or a request for ideas for your next art project, etc. The next day, another teacher might read your comment and leave you a reply. IT'S ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION! Let's take advantage of it. Learn how to navigate through our wikispace. Leave your ideas, questions or comments. Share events with the rest of our BPS ARTS community!

BPS ARTS WIKISPACE

Grace Aznive Scholarship

It's time for the Grace Aznive Scholarship contest. Portfolios are due in the BPS Arts Office on Friday, May 23rd at 12:00 PM. Any BPS high school senior who is planning to be a visual arts major at a post-secondary institution may apply for the $1000 scholarship. Students who have already submitted their artwork to the advanced placement board may submit digital images. Awards will be announced on Friday, May 30, 2008. For more information on rules, regulations, and how to apply, visit our wikispace.