Arbor Day

Fifth grade students recently participated in the City of Willard’s Arbor Day poster contest.

The poster contest was sponsored by the Willard Tree Commission.

Students were given the theme “Trees are good for life.”

After learning about Arbor Day, students created three ideas and picked their best idea for their poster.

Lettering was a large part of the students’ design for their posters.

Everyone had a variety of materials to choose from to create their poster.

I was very proud of the hard work most everyone put into their posters.

This was a great project for the students to become aware of their community and environment and how they have a part in their local community.

Students also learned about the process it takes to come up with an idea and turn it into a poster to educate their community.

Here are some examples of their posters:

 

 

 

 

 

 

2015 Fire Safety Poster Contest

Third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade students participated in the National Fire Safety Poster Contest again this year.

This is a great learning experience for the students as they explore graphic design, lettering and visual communications.

It’s also a great opportunity for students to learn about fire safety and to design a poster that teaches others about safety.

The contest is open to all of the students in the Willard area, and I focus the contest for the 3rd-6th grade students.

Learning lettering and design is a large part of this project, and it’s great to see how students develop their skills each year they participate.

1^st place winner in the 1st-3rd grade division was Keyla Olvera, a 3rd grader from Willard Elementary School.

2nd place winner in the 1st-3rd grade division was Katelyn Green, a 3rd grader from Willard Elementary School.

3rd place winner in the 1st-3rd grade division was Jovan Alfaro, a 3rd grader from Willard Elementary School.

Honorable Mention in the 1st-3rd grade division was Kaylie McMillin, a 3rd grader from Willard Elementary School.

Honorable Mention in the 1st-3rd grade division was Carlee Green, a 3rd grader from Willard Elementary School.

1^st place winner in the 4th, 5th & 6th grade division was Fernando Huerta, a 6th grader from Willard Middle School.

 

2nd place winner in the 4th, 5th & 6th grade division was Brianna Lykins, a 5th grader from Willard Elementary School.

3rd place winner in the 4th, 5th & 6th grade division was Ellen Fox, a 6th grader from St. Francis Xavier School.

Honorable Mention in the 4th, 5th & 6th grade division was Carissa Metcalfe, a 6th grader from St. Francis Xavier School.

Honorable Mention in the 4th, 5th & 6th grade division was Bryce Thomas, a 6th grader from Willard Middle School.

Lettering

One of our beginning projects each year is lettering.

Lettering is a basic drawing skill that builds the skills of each student.

Students explored block and bubble styles of lettering.

Lettering is the act or process of inscribing with or making letters.  It is a basic way of learning to communicate visually and an important skill for students to develop.

Students will use their skills in our upcoming fire safety poster contest this year.

 

Contour line drawing

Third graders were introduced to contour line drawing recently.

Students were introduced to the idea of drawing the whole shape of what they are seeing by drawing the outline of the shape.

Students first traced the shape of the scissors and the glue bottles to see what it looked like to create a drawing through tracing.

Next students focused on looking at the shape and drawing the outline of the simple objects they viewed.

Students did a great job of learning to see what they were drawing instead of drawing what they think they see.

The third graders completed many drawings of the scissors and glue.

It was wonderful to observe their skills improve and their drawings mature.

It was great to watch the students immerse themselves in the drawing process.

Fire Safety Poster Contest

Third, fourth and fifth graders participated in the annual fire safety poster contest.

Students explored lettering and basic graphic design using the fire safety theme.

This year’s theme is “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives! Test yours every month!”

Students began with pencil as they planned out their poster.

Next they added color with colored pencil.

Finally students added finishing touches with marker by outlining their lettering and images.

Winning Posters

1^st place-Grant Adams -Central School

2^nd place-Allison Hershiser-Central School

3^rd place-Kadance Kirk-Central School

Honorable Mention-Molly Reiderman-St. Francis Xavier School

Honorable Mention-Karina Romero-Central School

4th & 5th grade Winners  1^st place-Carissa Metcalfe-St. Francis Xavier School

2^nd place-Allison Beebee-Richmond School

3^rd place-Brooklyn Rohrbach-Richmond School

Honorable Mention-Vivian Barnett-St. Francis Xavier School

Honorable Mention-Caleb Hupp-Richmond School