INSPIRE Art Contest 2013

I LOVE kids' artwork!  It makes me happy!  My classroom is filled with happiness right now.  All of the GATE students have created a piece of original art to be considered for entry in the INSPIRE Art Contest sponsored by Marshall Medical Centers.  This contest is in celebration of Youth Art Month...or as we call it at AES...YAM!

Students used their 'productive thinking' talent to think of the "many, varied, and unusual" ideas they could paint that would be appropriate and inspiring to visitors and patients at Marshall Medical Center South's Women's Hospital.  Then, students used their 'decision making talent' to write their top 5 choices of topic, list criteria questions, rate their answers, and decide their best option for their artwork.  Students also used this decision making talent to decide which medium to use to create their art:  watercolor, collage, acrylic paints, pastels, or colored pencils/crayons.  These higher order thinking skills will be useful and relevant to the students in school and as adults.

Outside judges selected 15 of the pieces to represent AES in the contest.  These pieces of art have been matted and placed in plastic sleeves for a professional look.  I will be taking these to the MMCS office on Wednesday to enter in the contest.  The MMC Foundation Board will select winners.  Our contest includes schools from Albertville, Boaz, Sardis, Geraldine, and Crossville.  Good luck to our AES students!

Winning students will be notified by April 8th.  MMCS will hold a reception in honor of the winning artists on April 25th in the lobby of the Women's Hospital.  Selected artwork will hang in the Inspire Art Display for an entire year!

Artists submitting artwork to the MMCS contest:

Brooklyn - 4th          Jose - 4th              Emma C. - 3rd
Griselda - 4th            Nataly - 4th          Marianna - 3rd
Emilie - 4th               Salissa - 4th         Will - 3rd
Grace Anne - 4th      Caroline - 3rd      Jonah - 3rd
Trent - 4th                 Elaina - 3rd         Kinsley - 3rd

Happy Valentine's Day from G.A.T.E.

Happy Valentine's Day!  February 14th was a day of Valentine fun in G.A.T.E.  Third grade students created funny Valentine stories using candy conversation hearts.  Stories were written with candy hearts glued in like a rebus story!  Funny!

Sam and Giovanny created a masterpiece Valentine box for Giovanny to have for Valentine's cards.

I created a Zentangle Valentine for G.A.T.E. students...it was fun!

Mardi Gras!

What fun!  Today we had a guest to speak to 4th grade GATE students about Mardi Gras!  Mrs. Gayle Cribbs, who taught gifted in Albertville for close to 25 years, was our guest.  She was no stranger to these kids.  She was the Enrichment teacher at Big Spring Lake Kindergarten School when these students were in kindergarten.  She is also....my mom!

Mrs. Cribbs taught the students many French words:  numbers, colors, and conversational phrases.  She told a little about the history of Mardi Gras...which actually started in Mobile, Alabama.  Since 4th graders study Alabama History, we talked about the French influence in Alabama history.  She shared traditions of beads, parades, King Cake, and the Mardi Gras colors with the students.  In her best Cajun accent, she read The Cajun Night Before Christmas!

While the students learned more about the French colors and maps with activity pages, each student had the opportunity to make their own crepe!  Yum!!!  We blended the ingredients, baked the crepes, and filled them with yummy ingredients in GATE today!  They were delicious and the kids had  a great time making their own crepe!

Several students wanted the recipe for our crepes and asked if I would put it on this blog...here you go!

French Crepes a la GATE

1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 T oil
2 T sugar

Blend in a blender.  We used a crepe maker to dip and bake the crepes.  Then filled them with a variety of things:  apple pie filling, cherry pie filling, whipped cream, chocolate chips, cherries, chocolate syrup.  You could use fresh fruit or other goodies.  Enjoy!

Storybird is here!

3rd grade GATE students have been learning how to use Storybird in class.  Storybird is described as "Artful Storytelling."  Artists have donated artwork to be used through this website.  Students choose artwork they like, then use the illustrations as a springboard for their original stories.  As we publish storybirds, we will post!

Caroline finished her storybird today in class!  Enjoy!

Caroline's Storybird

Daniel also completed his Storybird.  Enjoy!

Click here to read Daniel's story.

All of the GATE classes have now begun creating in Storybird.  We are having a blast learning how to write and publish stories!  I will continue to post links to stories written by GATE students below.  Enjoy reading our books!

Griselda wrote a book about a dog.  Click here to read her story.

Nataly wrote a story about a very busy girl.  To enjoy Nataly's story, click here.

Mason wrote a science fiction story about an alien family, click here to see his story.

Want to read a story about a ROBOT?  Joshua's story is here.

Trent wrote about a GIANT MONKEY!  Click here to read his story.

Jordan's story is about INVADERS! Enjoy!

Click here to read Cole's book!

Cade's story, All the Mystical Creatures in Robert's Dream is here.

Sam's story about Bob and Kat is ready to read.

Interested in Goblins?  Read Isaiah's story here.

Will's story is here!

Adyson wrote an ABC story.  Click here to read her book.

Kinsley's book about friends is ready to read!

Daniel has published his second book.  If you like haunted houses, read this one!

Emma C.'s book about a dream is finished. Enjoy!

Olivia wrote a book about a tiger. Click here to read.

Do you like monsters?  Click here to read Tristan's monster story.

Elaina wrote a book called The Magical Bedtime Story

Another monster story?  Read Meri-Lil's here!

Want to read a funny story?  Read Brady's funny story about a funny family here.

The Weird Family by Jaylee

Kobe wrote about A Silly Life

The Boxer by Jonah

Interested in robots?  Click here to read Alex's robot story.

Click here to read about Curious the Polar Bear by Jaden

Do you like fairy tales?  Read Marianna's story The Story of an Adventure at the Forest here

Jackson wrote a funny story about an Amusement Park here

Salissa loves Cute Little Animals!

Ready for an adventure?  Read Mason's latest storybird here!

Aliens?  Jose wrote this story.

Drake wrote a Valentine's Day rhyming story!

Sage believes It's Great to be a Girl!

The Fateful Knight by Jordan

Jonathan says his story makes no sense but is funny...see what you think - Cats Like Apples

Here is another cat story,  The Leopard by Canaan C.

Read this Pirate Adventure Story by Canaan J.

David's story is about A Weird Dream

Harper's story This is my Family is ready to read

Ty wrote a book with his favorite word - MYSTIC!  Read his story here!

Ty's other story is also about a gorilla!

AES Tech Team Travels to Tech Competition at JSU

The Albertville Elementary School technology team traveled to Jacksonville State University on Friday, February 1st for the Regional Technology Competition.  Thirty five AES GATE students attended this event.  First of all, I must say that their manners and how the represented our school were super!  I was so proud to call them "mine" all day!  Thank you, students!  Each project was unique and of high quality. I was excited for the students to be able to share their projects with the judges this year.  All of the students worked diligently on their research, planning, and preparation before the technology part ever started.  Students selected the type of project they wanted to create and all were impressive!  They greeted the judges with a smile and a handshake and were able to articulate the steps they took to create each project.  I felt like a "proud momma of 35!"   All students are winners to me - I loved their projects AND their presentations!

Information Technology Test

1st place - Jackson Godwin
2nd place - Sage McCann
3rd place - Emma Woodham
Honorable Mention - Mason Abel

Website Design Individual

1st place - Amber Fitzpatrick
2nd place - Drake Bishop
3rd place - Salissa Martin

Website Design Group

3rd place - Ty Murphy, Drake Bishop, Mason Abel, Jose Patino

Multimedia Individual

Honorable Mention - Giovanny Sanchez Cortez

Video Production Individual

1st place - Emilie Adams
2nd place - Brooklyn Smith
3rd place - Kaden Landers

Video Production Group

1st place - Emilie Adams, Grace Anne Davis, Ty Murphy
3rd place - Emma Woodham, Isabella Diaz, Griselda Ayala, Brooklyn Smith

General Applications Individual

3rd place - Jose Patino

General Applications Group

2nd place - Jonathan Mosely, Natasha Snell

It is an honor and a blessing to be a part of the Albertville City School System.  I am so proud of what our system provides for our students academically, socially, and creatively to prepare them for their futures.  It is a great group of people to be associated with.  I am thankful.

Saturday night I was awarded the "Educator of the Year" for Albertville City Schools.  Dr. John Slivka was my first principal in Albertville and presented the award.  He told both funny and heartfelt stories of my years in the classroom.  He enlisted comments from former students about what they remembered from my classroom.  (Many of the comments had to do with GLITTER!)  I was given those comments at the end of the dinner...they are priceless!  I will keep them ... always!

It is an honor to be a Gifted Education Specialist, to be able to go to work each day and love what I do, surround myself with creative, bright students, and know that together we are making a difference through service learning.  I am both honored and humbled and will cherish this award.

AES Technology Team is ready for Competition!

The AES Technology Team is ready for competition!  This Friday, February 1st, is our Regional Technology Competition at Jacksonville State University.  Students have worked hard to research a variety of topics, organize their notes, and create high quality projects for judging. I am so proud of each project!  Each project is unique reflecting the personalities of the kids who created them!  We are taking individual and group projects in General Applications (printed materials), Multimedia (Keynote presentations), Video Production, and Webpage Design.  Stay tuned and check this blog after Friday to see the results!  Each project going to JSU is a winner to me regardless of the outcome on Friday!

GREAT WORK, GATE kids!  This is your time to shine!  Good luck!