Visual Journal Assignment #10

Due: Monday, November 4th

Champ is the name given to a reputed lake monster living in Lake Champlain, a natural freshwater lake in North America, partially situated across the U.S.-Canada border in the Canadian province of Quebec and partially situated across the Vermont-New York border.

There is no scientific evidence for the creature's existence, there have been over 300 reported sightings. The legend of the monster is considered a draw for tourism in the Burlington, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York areas (Mrs. Walker’s home town!).

Descriptions of Champ vary, but most suggest a creature between 20 and 80 feet long, with a series of distinct humps along a serpentine body. Some say the head looks like a snake or a dog.

Other suggest the creature looks like a Plesiosaurs.  Similar to that of "Nessie" of Loch Ness in Scotland, many people theorize that Champ is a surviving Plesiosaur. Plesiosaurs were a group of extinct Sauropterygian reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic Era and died out around 65.5 million years ago.

For this visual journal assignment, you will create an illustration of what you think Champy, the Lake Champlain Monster may look like. You may use the description above or come up with your own interpretation.

Champy has even become the name and mascot of Vermont's minor league baseball team

For your paragraph, describe to me how you came up with design of “Champy” and if you think it’s possible or not for the creature to exist.

Visual Journal Assignment #9

Due: Monday, October 28th

In tales of Greek mythology, fictional creatures are often featured. These creatures often combine human like features with that of animals.

Common creatures of Greek mythology include (but aren’t limited to):

The Centaur (half human, half horse)

The Minotaur (half human, half bull)

The Satyr (half human, half goat)

For this visual journal assignment, you will be creating an original creature that could be featured in stories of Greek mythology. Your creature should be half human and half another creature.

Please don’t copy any per-existing mythological creatures.

For your paragraph, you are going to tell me what the name of your mythological creature and how you came up with your concept. You will also describe to me what kind of creature they are. Are they good or evil? Do they have any special powers?

Miss Goff is now Mrs. Walker!

This past weekend I celebrated my wedding. I'm officially Mrs. Walker now! Thank you to all my awesome student who made me fantastic congratulatory signs. I'm so lucky to work with all of you each and everyday.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Walker

Portrait Progress

The 7th graders just finished up their unit on portraiture.

The unit was designed to have the students really examine the features of the human face, it's proportions and how to use value (or shading) to create realistic looking portraits.

Check out this amazing final draft portrait by Dreya (on the left) and her first portrait drawing (on the right).

Amazing!

Portrait drawings by Dreya. Final draft on the left, first portrait attempt on the right.

Creating Oaxacan Animals

The 8th graders have been working on creating sculptures based on the traditional folk art of the Oaxacan people. The Oaxacan people create beautifully carved and painted animal sculptures that feature bright colors and intricate patterns.

The 8th graders have been creating their sculptures out of newspaper, masking tape and a material called Plastercraft.

Check out some progress shots below.

Visual Journal Assignment #7

 Due: Tuesday, October 15th

Last week, we learned the story of Rachel Scott, and many of you accepted to take Rachel’s Challenge.

Rachel’s message was one of consideration and compassion. She challenged all of us to take on the following five changes to start a chain reaction of kindness.

                

 Eliminate prejudice. Learn to find the good in everybody, and understand that first impressions are meaningless. A person could be having an off day, and if you judge them without getting to know them, you are being prejudiced. Ignore the negative things about a person, and stick to looking for and admiring their positive traits

Dream big. Set goals for yourself, even if you don't think you will ever meet them all. Keep a journal and write something in it every day. Your entry doesn't have to be a summary of your day; it can be a thought process, a poem, or even a drawing.

Choose positive influences. Pick your own influences that leave a positive, happy feeling in you. Don't let somebody else choose your influences for you. Keep positivity in your influences, and leave negative, angry, hate-based influences out of your life. Don't be afraid to stand up for what you truly believe in.

Commit random acts of kindness. Use kind words. Mockery, discrimination, and careless words can leave a fatal impact on one's emotional state. Random act of kindness, while usually small, can create a huge impact, leaving both you and your kindness recipient in a good mood.

Start a chain reaction of compassion. Tell your loved ones that you care about them and love them deeply. Be a courteous, helpful, and forgiving leader. Steer away from rumors and gossip, no matter how tempting it may seem. Reach out to people you normally wouldn't reach out to, and find ways to make their day just a little bit better. Encourage your friends, peers, colleagues, coworkers, and family members to accept Rachel's Challenge and spread the compassion and kindness.

For this visual journal assignment, I want you to pick one of the above “challenges” set by Rachel and create an inspirational poster based on that challenge. Your poster should include both illustrations and words or phrases that go along with the message your poster is trying to convey.

For your paragraph, please write why you chose the particular “challenge” you did to illustrate and how you feel that it’s important to make that change in your own life.