Meet the people in charge of the first sparks mural.
Mrs. J was having a wonderful practicum with her sponsor teacher, Mrs. K.
Her second semester of year 5 had started; knowing how much Mrs. J loved trying new things, Mrs. K asked her what were her plans for her last project. "What will you be doing? Do you want to do something big? Maybe you could do a class mural," said Mrs. K. "We could put it somewhere in the corridors."
Mrs. K showed Mrs. J the site for the Kunamokst mural, and Mrs. J was sold.
"A mural! That sounds like a fantastic idea!" Students could make it about their spark, which was a subject Mrs. J really enjoyed.
Every individual painting would have incredible meaning for the individual student, and the finished mural would carry all those meanings combined. It would build community between the students, and look absolutely beautiful.
But the class was so small, and Mrs. J always loved to try big, new things. She wanted to have an even bigger mural. So, she suggested to Mrs. K, "What if we get each student to finish three paintings instead?"
Mrs. K, who is an incredible mentor and an art teacher with years of experience, knew that three paintings would be overwhelming for most students, but she had a solution.
"If you want to do something really big, how about we ask the 9th graders to join us? They have a career and health course they are completing, but don't have a final project defined for that yet. We could get Dave Cusson, from the RCMP, involved in this; we could invite him to speak to the students about developmental assets, and you could speak to the students about Sparks!"
Mrs. J was super excited!!! "Could we put the mural outside?"
And the rest is history...
** This project lasted for Mrs. J's fifth year and sixth year practicums. Due to the nature of the project, Mrs. J asked to be assigned again to Woodlands during her year six, so that she could continue leading the project. After Christmas break, she returned and continued working on the project, until it was finally completed on January 23rd, 2015.
A project like this could easily be completed in three to four months uninterrupted. ***
Her second semester of year 5 had started; knowing how much Mrs. J loved trying new things, Mrs. K asked her what were her plans for her last project. "What will you be doing? Do you want to do something big? Maybe you could do a class mural," said Mrs. K. "We could put it somewhere in the corridors."
Mrs. K showed Mrs. J the site for the Kunamokst mural, and Mrs. J was sold.
"A mural! That sounds like a fantastic idea!" Students could make it about their spark, which was a subject Mrs. J really enjoyed.
Every individual painting would have incredible meaning for the individual student, and the finished mural would carry all those meanings combined. It would build community between the students, and look absolutely beautiful.
But the class was so small, and Mrs. J always loved to try big, new things. She wanted to have an even bigger mural. So, she suggested to Mrs. K, "What if we get each student to finish three paintings instead?"
Mrs. K, who is an incredible mentor and an art teacher with years of experience, knew that three paintings would be overwhelming for most students, but she had a solution.
"If you want to do something really big, how about we ask the 9th graders to join us? They have a career and health course they are completing, but don't have a final project defined for that yet. We could get Dave Cusson, from the RCMP, involved in this; we could invite him to speak to the students about developmental assets, and you could speak to the students about Sparks!"
Mrs. J was super excited!!! "Could we put the mural outside?"
And the rest is history...
** This project lasted for Mrs. J's fifth year and sixth year practicums. Due to the nature of the project, Mrs. J asked to be assigned again to Woodlands during her year six, so that she could continue leading the project. After Christmas break, she returned and continued working on the project, until it was finally completed on January 23rd, 2015.
A project like this could easily be completed in three to four months uninterrupted. ***
Contact Mrs. K -- Jean Kloppenburg -- [email protected]
Contact Mrs. J -- Angela Jurgensen -- [email protected]
Contact Cpl. Dave Cusson -- [email protected]