Last Day of School 2015 Ridgeway Community School Part II

Our end of the school year event for health and wellness is a walk/run around the West Lake in Winona scheduled for the Saturday following the final school day.  This year was an especially exciting year with celebrity runners  joining us for our before school Workout Wednesday and then sharing stories of their love of running and staying healthy.  Students were encouraged to get fit with running or walking the track at Ridgeway Community School.

Another thing to get the students excited was to get small donations and for each dollar, the homeroom group received a shoe that was taped to the wall.  The Homeroom with the most shoes would be able to duct tape their teacher and Ms. Jodi, our school coordinator to the wall!  That bit of fun play got students very excited!  Two homerooms for going very close to being the winners--Mrs. Meyer and Mrs. Johnson.  Who would win?  Oh, my goodness, it was a tie and they both got the fame of being taped to the wall.  

 Ms. Jodi, duct taped to the wall.

Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Meyer, the two tying Homeroom teachers!

Students in each homeroom along with their teacher.

Smiles and hugs all around.

After lunch, the very exciting kickball game began with 5th Graders verses Teachers.  The rules were gone over and agreed on by both sides before the game.  Mrs. Cindy Smith making sure all was fair for both teams.

Students and teachers getting ready for the very exciting game.  The game goes for 4 innings or one hour which ever comes first.  This year, though the teachers were winning 5-4 after 4 innings, it was agreed to continue for the full hour.

In the end Teachers won 5th Graders--10 to 6.  Good game by all.

After the game, everyone excited a freezy including Mrs. Hundorf, our Special Education para-professional and out fielder.

Mrs. Langlie, our music teacher and second base player.

Mrs. Maynard, Special Education para-professional helped keep all the children safe on the playground and in the bounce house.

 

Mrs. Conway, our Special Education teacher and 3rd Base person.

 

Ms. Geier joined us for our final day.  She student taught in Mrs. Johnson's 1st Grade through the spring semester.

Mrs. Meyer, our 2nd & 3rd Grade Teacher and 1st base player.

Mrs. Anderson, 4th & 5th Grade Lead Teacher and our fabulous out fielder with some of her students, Nyah, Elise, Jocelyn. 
There were many more teachers playing and having fun with students that missed my photo eye.

Mrs. Anderson and Tyler.

Ms. Eischen, Art Teacher and Nyah.

Last Day of School 2015 Ridgeway Community School Part I

The last day of school is filled with finish up, clean up, awards, lunch and play ball--the especially thrilling kickball game: 5th Graders verses the Teachers. (See Last Day of School 2015 RCS Part II)

 
Elise during wrap up time in Mrs. Anderson's room.

 Ms. Ashley giving out 100% Attendance Awards!

Students participate in accelerated reading at Ridgeway Community School.  After they read a book, they can  take a multiple choice quiz and gain points depending on the difficulty of the book.  The students above received a Bronze Metal.

Silver Metal Award Winners.

Gold Metal Award Winners.

Crowning achievements for two of our teachers.

A special gift for our friend, Nyah, whose family is moving.  A canvas painting of thumbprints from everyone in our school creating a growing tree.  The leaves of the tree are Grades 2-5 students.  The trunk and roots are the Kinders and 1st Grade students. Three 5th Grade students added rootedness with their thumbs at the base of the tree.  All the fruits and flowers are the teachers favorite colors.  The red thumb prints are strawberries--one of Nyah's favorite fruits.

The canvas was provided by Mrs. Cindy Smith--a loving parent of one our 5th Grade student's, Nathaniel "Viggo" Smith.

Art Show at Ridgeway Community School 2015

Every year, Ridgeway Community School has an art show to showcase the work that the children in Kindergarten through Grade 5 have created over the year.  Art Show opened May 6 and continues through May 28th.  Art fills the halls, the library, the gymnasium and the art room.  The art is bright and colorful and happy. These are the bright faces of Ridgeway Community School hanging in the library.

The 1st Grade created pandas, cows, pigs, and sheep with chalk pastels, tempera paints, oil pastels and watercolors.

The second and third grade art was Splat the Cat, foxes, and sunglasses portraits.

The fourth and fifth grade students created one point perspective,  value studies from light to dark in one color, and an artwork inspired by Friedens Hundertwasser.

 Lots of art in the halls.

The Kindergarten art on the front bulletin board.

 

Art inspired by Piet Mondrian by the 4th & 5th graders. 

 A collaborative robot on the Art/Music room door by Tyler and friends.

Finding Natural Areas in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Finding natural areas in a new city can be a wonderful adventure.  I had a day to explore Milwaukee, Wisconsin between dance events on Saturday and Monday.   Looking at art at the Milwaukee Art Museum was on my agenda.  And going to the Domes to see the desert and the tropics.  But I had a little time and the parks and trails near Lake Michigan gave me great pleasure.  Here are some photos of the places that I explored.

A beautiful sunny day with a chilly wind.  The leaf buds were not venturing out yet on April 27th.

The daffodils were blooming every where in the city.

I appreciate the shadows that the branches are casting on the earth.  Oh, we live on a beautiful earth.

Sumingagashi—Floating Ink Paper Marbling & Accordion Book in a Box Workshop

Doing Sumingagashi (sue-me-NAH-gah-she)—Floating Ink Paper Marbling in a workshop with Jill Krase at the Winona Arts Center on April 11, 2015 was an incredibly fascinating and inspiring afternoon.  After we played with floating ink and created very interesting marbled papers, we created a little box with a lid and put an accordion book inside.  Here are a few photos.

Jill Krase with a birthday cake that she brought for one of her workshop participants and shared with all of us!

Table filled with supplies including mulberry papers.

Dirk and Carol, participants in the workshop.

See more of what is happening at Winona Arts Center on their facebook page.

To find more workshops with Jill Krase, see her at Ovenbird Bindery.