Our motto, Make Your Mark A Good One, is a hallmark of The Wilson School. More than being the topic of numerous class meetings and the inspiration for one of our assemblies each month, MYMAGO permeates what we do. This year students created a permanent outdoor art piece to recognize the 2017-18 theme, Make Your Mark A Good One by being Responsible.
In the book Only One You by Linda Kranz, a mother and father fish pull their child aside to impart wisdom including: always be on the lookout for a new friend; look for beauty wherever you are; find your own way; appreciate art; and make wishes on the stars in the nighttime sky. They end with, “There’s only one you in this great big world. Make it a better place.” Wilson students connected this to the statement, “There is only one you, make your mark a good one by being responsible!” To symbolize this, every student in the school painted their own unique rock that became part of a ‘river’ placed next to our outdoor classroom. The outcome is a stunning and creative artistic reminder of the strong emphasis Wilson places on character education.
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The second graders recently completed their integrated learning unit about the Mississippian Culture. In addition to learning about the history of this amazing civilization during social studies, a highlight for students was discovering the ancient game, Chunkey. In art, second graders explored Native American pottery, designs, and symbols. Inspired by what they had learned, students created their own Chunkey poles with duct tape, permanent markers, and Mississippian symbols. In P.E. class, students practiced the skills of Chunkey by throwing pool noodles at a stationary target. This new learning culminated in a field trip to the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, where students, parents, and teachers climbed all 154 steps to the top of Monks Mound! Additionally, the game of Chunkey came alive as students rolled discs and threw their homemade Chunkey poles, with the goal of being the closest stick to the disc. The day concluded with students writing about their experience in their journal.
Excited by what they had seen during their time at the museum, students sculpted pinch pots, tablets, Chunkey disks, and arrowheads after the field trip. Second graders were extremely excited and enthusiastic about this integrated unit. In addition to classroom learning, working with Ms. Signor in art class and Ms. Simpson in PE class, resulted in students coming away with a deeper understanding of the Mississippian Culture. At the 2017 Saint Louis Art Fair (SLAF), Wilson students were invited to enjoy an authentic curator experience through the SLAF Art Aficionado program. Presented by PNC Bank’s Arts Alive, the program gave our students a fully-funded, art-buying opportunity to choose artwork for permanent display at Wilson School. The effort of our students also leaves a lasting impact on the community by choosing artwork to tour with SLAF’s traveling Public Art Collection. The Art Aficionado program empowered our students to encounter art in a new way, through the team-building, business, presentation, and cultural experiences necessary to collectively research, choose, and display their selections.
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