Art in Action: School Report

New_AinA_logoGreetings Clifford staff and  families!

Since the beginning of the school year, Art in Action has been making great progress at the Clifford campus. On behalf of the Art in Action team, I would like to thank all the parents and teachers who have generously supported the Art in Action program this year!

We have some terrific details to share. On November 21, we met our goal of delivering at least one lesson to all students in 1st to 5th grade classes. Moreover, we are just 4 classes shy of reaching the next goal: delivering at least 2 lessons to all the classes.

December Art Show

In other exciting news, we are hosting the Clifford Art Show during the Winter Family Event on Thursday, December 4. All the students’ artwork, from 1st through 5th grade, will be on display at the MUB and the Library. We need help with setup and cleanup; please sign up here to volunteer! Thank you!

We are also thrilled to share that Clay lessons are coming up in January 2015, and we might be able to fire the students’ pieces in our own kiln this year. So stay tuned!

If you are interested in teaching or assisting a lesson, it is not too late to volunteer. Contact Kay at kaysuzu70@yahoo.com for more information.

Room 7 Lesson Report

2nd Grade students in Room 7 —  along with other 2nd graders — enjoyed creating their own collage portrait, inspired by a Paul Klee painting, on November 18. 10 parent volunteers from Rooms 5, 7, & 8 joined forces to make the lessons happen. Thank you so much!

Mrs. Arlene Little, one of the parent volunteers, led Room 7’s lesson for the first time. Arlene did an awesome job leading the students and successfully unleashing their creativity. Thank you, Arlene.

“It was amazing to have the chance to spend time with the class and observe their creativity and excitement first hand,” Arlene recalls. “It’s clear that Art in Action is something the kids really value and benefit from. I’m looking forward to teaching my next lesson!”

Here are some photos of Room 7 friends proudly holding their self-portraits.

PaulKlee1

PaulKlee2

 

Ongoing Mission

Art in Action lessons are possible because of all those parents who volunteered their time to lead or assist in class. We hope to continue providing such a meaningful learning experience to Clifford students (1st to 5th grade classes). Please join us in such a fun and meaningful program! Again, reach out to Kay at kaysuzu70@yahoo.com to sign up.

I would like to end my report by sharing an inspiring quote from the Art in Action website:

“A Culture of Art that is present in their schools creates renewed energy —not just among the students, but also amongst the teachers, parents and administration. Some of the more difficult learners open up and become leaders — finding a place of pride and accomplishment that bleeds over into the rest of their schoolwork.”

–Kay Rim

 

Related links:

Winter Family Night: Fun Times

Clifford Students’ Masterpieces on Display Downtown!

Clifford Students’ Artwork on Show at Peet’s

Art in Action: Your Students are Ready for Action

Clifford Flower Power at Peet’s!

Spring Artwork at Peet’s by Clifford Painters!

Kindergarten Corner: Halloween Memories

 

Clifford’s youngest students were excited about their first Halloween at Clifford! The kids arrived at school in costume and had a great time seeing what their classmates were dressed as.

Elsa from Frozen was, by far, the most popular choice amongst aspiring princesses! Ninja turtles and Star Wars characters were also spotted, amongst many other fun choices!

Families were invited to the Kindergarten costume parade and the Halloween party that followed.

Thanks to the teachers and parent volunteers who made this day such an enjoyable and memorable event!

–Ann Richards

A grand pirate and a walking skeleton
A grand pirate and a walking skeleton

 

Two royal princesses
Two royal princesses

 

Holding court while feasting on treats
Holding court while feasting on treats

 

Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa

 

Rocky Balboa, Knight, Magician and Sir Lancelot
Rocky Balboa, Knight, Magician and Sir Lancelot

 

Clifford PTO Gets Donations: Use Amazon Smile to Shop!

AmazonSmile

 

Hi Clifford families,

The holiday shopping season continues. If you’re still shopping, read on:

Did you know that Amazon has a great program where it gives 0.5 percent (on most purchases) back to the Clifford School PTO?

You shop on Amazon, as normal, but you need to start shopping via this link. The Amazon Smile program works a bit like eScrip: If you make your Amazon purchases through the Amazon Smile portal, Amazon will give back this small percentage of what you spent to the PTO.

What you need to do: The first time you land on the Amazon Smile page, you’ll be asked to enter the organization where you want the portion of your $$ shopping amount to be donated: Clifford PTO is registered as “Clifford School Parents Club” in Redwood City. So make sure you enter Clifford School Parents Club. When it appears in the search results, click Select.

And start shopping!

Continue to use the Amazon Smile landing page from here on out; you won’t have to identify Clifford School Parents Club each time.

Now is a great time to get registered — with the holiday shopping frenzy.

For more info, check out Amazon’s Frequently Asked Questions page regarding Amazon Smile.

Thanks for supporting the Clifford School PTO.

 

AmazonSmile2

Winter Family Night: December 4

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Come join us for a fun family night in the Clifford MUB.

Thursday, December 4th from 5:30 – 7pm.

You’ll find crafts and cookie decorations at $1 each. Enjoy student performances from various grades, which will begin at 6:30PM. And you can look forward to a raffle as a wrap-up to the evening.

Raffle tickets go on sale December 1st for $5 each. You can buy your tickets in the library before and after school, so you can select the wonderful raffle prizes you want to enter for.

Raffle Prizes include:

  • Xbox One Video Game Console
  • Principal For a Day
  • Fitbit basket
  • Movie Night Basket
  • Tea Basket
  • Christmas Baking Basket
  • Italian dinner Basket
  • Margarita Basket
  • Date Night Basket
  • Wine Basket
  • …..and More!

See you there.

Kindergarten Corner: Gardening Times

In mid-October, a few moms arranged for kindergarteners to have some fun garden time in the Clifford School Garden.

Our school’s littlest students learned about tending a garden––and how vegetables grow!

After a few weeks, we’ve already spotted a few little sprouts popping up from the carrot seeds we planted.

The hope is that we will be able to harvest them in the New Year, and have a carrot-eating party!

Stay tuned for more reports from Kindergarten parents!

–Ann Richards

 

Related link (with photos): Clifford School Garden: Fruits of our Harvest

 

November’s PTO Meeting: Thurs, 11/13

You are all welcome to the next PTO meeting, Thursday, November 13 at 7PM, which will be held in the library.

Your kids are welcome, and a light meal will be served.

We have a terrific agenda (view PDF here), which includes the following items of interest:

  • We will be voting on a line item addition to the Auction budget line for the year, regarding Sports Equipment. Funds were raised for this item last year at our auction, but it was left off the budget and needs to be added in to pay for equipment  purchased.
  • We will be voting on whether to fund the remainder needed to expand the Healthy Cities tutoring/mentor program at Clifford.  Donna from Healthy Cities will be coming to talk about the program.

Note: On-site care for your kids is not available, but your students can read or engage in other quiet activities in the library.

See you there.