After a full day of workshops and activities yesterday, we were privileged to  hear a bit more about some of our artists. Crystal Cawley showed us images of her amazing paper art.  It’s difficult to say which of her pieces is the most beautiful and impressive…her jacket made of pieces of cut-up postcards or her dress made of circular cutouts from all the greeting cards her grandmother had saved! We also heard from George Mason who brought two original pieces of art and shared his insights on perspective.  There is a huge difference between looking at a piece of art for a few minutes in a museum as opposed to living with a piece of art day-in and day-out. If you have not seen George’s pieces in Gould’s Sanborn Library, I highly recommend them!

The program ended with everyone participating in the creation of a horizontal, continuous drawing.  Susan Webster gave each person in the room a 6X6 section of paper with specific guidelines on where to begin and end whatever it was one chose to draw.  This morning, the sections were put up in the dining hall to create a very long, very interesting drawing.

and so it begins…

…and continues

a close up

another closeup

It’s pretty amazing what twenty minutes of collective drawing can create!  Thanks to Susan Mason (partner of George Mason) for displaying this for us!

After the artists’ presentations, the students had games and rootbeer floats in the dining hall.  This morning, the ping pong tables were still hanging around, which is a good thing, as it gave Xiaolu another opportunity to beat Babacar.

nothing like a quick game after breakfast before heading off to workshops

Today, we finished up projects in the first workshop.  Below are some images.

filleted salmon

John cutting his beautiful fillet (yes, he did it himself) into portions for Saturday’s dinner

a group effort from the drawing workshop

Hunter comparing what he felt in the mystery bag to what he drew

Jinny adding a pink ribbon to her hat

Rose’s hat with a handmade feather

a pinhole camera in process

a mere piece of a lamp

Roman grinding down the edges of his lamp

I wasn’t able to take worthwhile pictures in the sculpture workshop with George or the improv workshop with CJ, but don’t worry, good progress is being made everywhere!

Tonight, after some time spent writing in journals, we took a few minutes to wish Hunter and Mr. Newell a happy birthday!  Thanks to the students in the cooking workshop who helped produce enough cupcakes for everyone.

birthday boys

making a wish

This evening, Susan Webster showed us images of her beautiful drawings and shared some of her techniques.  Her house and studio on Deer Isle are impressive.  David Wolfe, a printmaker who also has a studio worth visiting, followed Susan with images of his many posters created for historical societies on the coast of Maine.  His woodcuts are spectacular!  Eric Ziner rounded out the evening with photos of his metal work, his family and his cat.  His presentation ended with a short video of him working in his studio (also on Deer Isle) and his garden.  You should see his compost pile!

Tomorrow, the kids begin their second workshop.  Pictures and updates to follow. For more images, please visit Gould’s flikr page.

They are:

Susan Webster, CJ Lewis, Eric Ziner,  David Wolfe, Crystal Cawley, George Mason and Dustin Holzweiss.

Below are some photos from the first day.

Babacar

Aiden and Michael

Alexandra

the drawing workshop

Rose

Skye

On Tuesday, the students spent the day together doing fun things that most people like to do.  After a much deserved sleep-in and a lovely brunch, we started with a rousing game of broomball played on the Hebron rink (thanks for the free ice time!).  Then, after a snack, we caravanned over to Auburn to the Flagship Cinema.  Students watched thrillers like “Dark Skies” and “The Exorcism Part II,”  love stories like “Safe Haven” and action films like “A Good Day to Die Hard.”

Of course, everyone was hungry again, so the vans split up and went to places like Buffalo Wild Wings, Ruby Tuesdays, Pat’s Pizza and an independent option: Jasmine Cafe (Thai and sushi).  The kids were ready to crawl into bed when they returned to Bethel!

Below are just a few pictures from the broomball portion of the day.  A special thanks to Sam who brought his DJ Station and provided the perfect music for the event! Dance party in the penalty box!

Rose and Natalie

action shot

more action

Sam at work!

One group of fourteen students remained on campus and prepared and served a luncheon for local seniors citizens (almost eighty in attendance!).  Several students performed musical numbers during dessert. In the afternoon, Gould alums who were at the lunch stayed and shared stories with our students about their time at Gould.  It was a very successful day for all involved.  A special thanks to Brian Scheidegger and his crew who always do their best to help produce this meal that has become a tradition in the Bethel community!

A smaller group spent the day in and around Bethel.  The first stop was Burk Farm in Newry.  The sugaring process was already well underway and the kids helped by splitting wood.  Who knew maple syrup was so much work? In the afternoon, they went to the Bethel Food Pantry to do some organizing of dry and frozen goods.  Progress was made and expired food was discarded.

Another small group went to the Crescent Park Elementary School in Bethel.  The teachers utilized the extra support in different ways.  At one point, Conrad was seen taking down a bulletin board while Ben monitored a game of Twister!

The largest group of students went to Lewiston to lend a hand.  The kids worked hard at places like the soup kitchen at The Trinity Jubilee Center, The Good Shepard Food Bank and the Lots to Gardens Project.  The day ended with an extra help session at the Lewiston Public Library.

Overall, it was a an extremely busy and productive day that made a difference in the lives of many.  Below are some photos from the various events.

Outside the Good Shepard Food Bank

Making up bags of food to hand out to families

Loading finished bags onto pallets

assembly line

splitting wood

Michael and Alan

Fred

Bayley

Paige

Babacar and Stan Howe ’62

Jingfei

Ben

Conrad

]]> http://gouldacademy.org/fourpoint10/2013/busy-and-productive/feed/ 0 http://gouldacademy.org/fourpoint10/2013/drumming-with-peyton-sensei/ http://gouldacademy.org/fourpoint10/2013/drumming-with-peyton-sensei/#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:47:06 +0000 denise manning http://gouldacademy.org/fourpoint10/?p=718 More »]]> Sunday, March 3, 2013

Taiko Drummer Stuart Peyton joined the sophomores today to teach a crash course in Taiko Drumming.  The students learned Japanese words, learned some history and mastered many basic drumming techniques.

The Bingham Gymnasium was full of beautiful noise as each of the fifty eight tenth graders practiced and performed multiple combinations of sounds (it all depends on how and where the drum is struck).

Below are some pictures followed by some film clips.

Unloading the van

learning some history

Practice!

Cameron working hard

Some fancy moves

I can’t get this hyperlink.  It’s a short clip of the drumming.  To view, open a new tab and cut and paste this address:

http://youtu.be/qxGFY2eHvK8

Tomorrow, we head out into the world to do community service!

Our students are so lucky to have a program like Four Point.  The opportunities and experiences that they are exposed to are truly amazing.  As a faculty member, I know that each year of the points has been carefully designed to meet the developmental needs of the grade. The first year students travel to places that help them experience just how big the world is as they come to terms with that through their studies.  Tenth graders, who often think they know everything, are pushed to reflect on who they are and determine what it means to be an invested member of multiple communities.  Juniors discover that they are more self-reliant and resilient than they ever imagined just before they head into the college process and senior year.  Twelfth graders and PG’s independently develop their own projects, which vary in style and type.  These projects are the last step in this four year process that helps shape the identities of our students.  (Please note that this is the short version of why we do what we do.  There is significantly more that I am leaving out in the interest of brevity.)

My son Alec, who just turned seventeen, moved to Bethel and has been a part of the Gould community since he was eighteen months old.  His Four Point transformation began when he was fourteen.  After his trip to China as a ninth grader, he has been eager to travel.  He worked hard all summer to make money for his adventure in Spain with Mr. Alford later this month.  As a sophomore, he learned that he may not be a talented painter, but he sure can weld like a champ.  The lamp he made with artist Eric Ziner’s help is beautiful.  He hopes that someday, I will indulge his desire to install a welder in the garage. This morning, when I hugged him goodbye, he told me he was only a little nervous and that I shouldn’t worry; he had been practicing his knots and was clear that he needed to keep his water bottle from freezing.  He’s right.  I don’t need to worry.  He will be just fine.

My degree in education as well as my twenty-plus years of experience in boarding schools help me to know that the Four Point Program is educationally sound.  As a teacher, I believe in Four Point.  This morning, I realized that I believe in Four Point as a parent as well.

Kid Schedule

More tomorrow after we get started.  Looking forward to working with drums!

Today we started our second workshops.  It can be tricky to switch gears after a busy week filled with opportunities, but everyone seemed pleased about trying something new and different.  Below are some pictures from the day.  It’s hard to imagine that tomorrow evening the Sophomore Four Point will be over.

the fish

Kyrstin and Molly and their salmon

Alexis and Benji and their salmon.

Kyrstin filleting.

TC and his fish.

the deboning...

Belis deboning chicken.

Kyrstin deboning her chicken.

Molly deboning.

Belis and TC and their phyllo cups.

Rush making apple crisp.

Will and Ms. Masters improvising.

Annelisa loving the comb.

hot coals in the blacksmithing shop.

Lindsey's lamp

Alec connecting pieces of metal.

the beginnings of paintings

the next installation in progress

small pieces of the big picture

creativity amidst chaos

Luis' portal

Lexi and Maddie hard at work

Harrison!

Rene!