🪷Welcome Back!🪷

I hope everyone enjoyed restive time connecting with family, loved ones and friends! I was able to restore visiting our only son, daughter-in-law and 3mth old grandson in NYC during our break. What joy!

So many of you have shared such warm wishes and love for August Sebastian---the newest member of our happy family. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and caring! We appreciate:)!

With Kindness,

Mrs. Vecchioni

6th graders have been exploring their own creativity and purpose since late February in a Genius Hour format. We can't wait to share our compositions with you. 6th graders are curating their own collaborative installation of artworks as part of our study.

Melia (Room 211) shared The Kindest Red (Ibtihaj Muhammad & S.K. Ali) to Kindergarten friends in March's celebration of women and women authors in our culturally responsive library events.

Thanks Melia for sharing your gifts with us!

If you would like to volunteer to read to students, please join us! Just email me, alvecchioni@cps.edu. Thanks in advance:)!

Please JOIN US! We will have great fun experiencing our latest creations and celebrating our creative spirit in our Spring Eco-Arts Fest 2024 (3:30-5:30PM). Attendance is free for all K-8 grade students and families! EVERYONE IS INVITED!

Back this spring: Critter Club Carnival!

Critter Club Carnival Games will need raffle ticket purchase (10 tickets for $5 & 25 tickets for $10). We will be providing FREE raffle ticket opportunities throughout our Art Happening. All students who complete our exhibit scavenger hunt will earn 5 FREE raffle tickets to use in our carnival games. All proceeds go to supporting Art Lab animal habitats and enclosures.

Thank you for your support!

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Please help---ready our show and hang student artworks. Many hands are needed and any & all time is greatly appreciated. Please use the sign-up below to share if you can help or just drop in.

Thank you in advance!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

-Margaret Mead

Happy Earth Day!

In celebration of Earth Day and the mighty energy of Mother Nature, we are studying local fauna and flora of our home, the Chicago River biota. We are looking at birds, insects and seeds of all sorts throughout April. Our themes will be patterns, adaptions and transformation. We will be learning from our Critter Club vivariums and Waters School Garden--- looking closely at real local birds and insects--- especially CICADAS!

Kindergartners and 2nd graders are learning about patterns and cicadas using our read aloud Cecily Cicada (Kita Helmetag Murdock & Patsy Helmetag). This story discusses the 17-year cycle of the cicada from the insect's vantage point:). Look for some recycled 3D forms and some amazing transformations...

Additionally, Kindergartners are learning about ladybugs, early perspective composition and 2nd graders are studying goldfinches while practicing color theory and painting techniques.

• Please donate any recycled cardboard tubes and/or paper bags to the Art Lab to help with these projects!
  

4th graders are continuing to learn about the Chicago River habitat and will begin to look closely at the life cycle of the 17-year cicada. We will look at the important link between these animals and prime numbers, transformation and 3D form. Students will practice design thinking, materials experimentation, executive functioning and project management in this Genius Hour challenge.

• We need recycled plastic drink (single-use juice, soda, water) containers please!

6th grade students are learning about Maya Lin's work as an environmental artist and solutions-oriented activist against global warming and animal extinction. We will explore Ms. Lin's final monument, What is Missing?---a digital collaborative website that documents life on our planet and solutions to climate change (Check it out above---incredible!), and will choose an animal to create a mapping ode to their past, present and future on our planet.

Students will practice design thinking and individuation of purpose as they create artworks that function as public monuments. Our maps will be read as both an artwork and as climate action solution. We hope to keep some of these kinetic artworks as a rotating student-created art installation in our Gift from The Heart Literary Salon.

• We are repurposing cork bottle stoppers if you have any to donate!
  

8th graders are looking at 3D form and the beauty of the cicada as they create their final artworks for exhibit in their elementary art experience at Waters. We will craft a 3D cicadas utilizing tarapunto techniques and new-age papier-mâché. We will study Maya Lin's What is Missing? to create a choice-based artwork to document an animal that has gone extinct in the last 17 years and/or a new solution to climate change that could be present in the next 17 year cicada cycle.

• We need recycled tin foil, single-use plastic bags and bubble wrap for our project.

SAVE-THE-DATE: Spring Art Show & Eco-Arts Fest--- 4.26.24!!!

*Please drop recycled materials that you can donate to the Main Office. We appreciate your support!*

Recycled Materials Needs

cardboard tubes
paper bags
1L plastic bottles
cork stoppers
recycled tin foil
single-use plastic bags
bubble wrap

Thanks in advance!

With Kindness,

Mrs. Vecchioni

Reagan and her brother Jake (5th grade), designed and built our Art Lab American Tree Frog Vivarium during Critter Club. They practiced design thinking and reverse engineering in their self-initiated rebuild of the vivarium waterfall. Our frogs are delighted!

Exciting News! Our praying mantid ooths have hatched and we have hundreds of mini mantids! Come and see them on Report Card Pick-up Day! Hooray!

Coming soon...Wally's sand and water ant vivarium---carpenter ants and betta fish living in the same aquarium! No kidding...:))

Thanks again to everyone who supported this project---<3!

If any questions, please email me prior to club sessions.

All art lab clubs are free.

Thanks in advance!