“Press, pull. Press, pull,” was the mantra heard in the Fourth Grade classroom on Wednesday, April 25, as students took turns silk-screening their original stencils. Far Brook’s Fourth Grade reconnected with Fourth Graders from St. Phillips Academy at Far Brook School for a day of printmaking, drama, poetry, sports, postcard writing, and eating. Far Brook Fourth Grade Teacher Rebecca Campbell designed this program over a decade ago to provide Far Brook Fourth Graders with new experiences and the chance to enable conversations between our students and classes from Newark schools. The shared experience allows the students to explore and celebrate their similarities and differences through creative endeavors.

 

 

The eager students divided into small groups of 6-10 for varied activities. In one classroom overlooking the wetlands, students brainstormed in partnerships to write spring-themed Tanka poems. The students’ knowledge of Haiku poetry gave them a foundation on which to build their Tanka poems, capturing these fleeting experiences on paper.

 

As the small groups circulated through the activities, individual students had the opportunity to use original stencil designs which they had created previously in the silk-screening process. Students explored possibilities as they experimented with printing on paper, t-shirts, and fabric panels that will become an art installation at Far Brook School and at Seton Hall University.

 

While awaiting their turn to use the silk-screening squeegee, students added their contributions to a collaborative art project titled, “What does Peace mean to you?” This involved a mixed media artwork, titled “Shadow of Peace,” which was begun by artist Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts and completed by the students writing on the artwork their personal definitions and experiences of peace.

 

 

Students wrote poetic wishes for friends, which they expressed on postcards decorated with colorful designs made by dipping the ends of beautifully shaped vegetables in paint and then pressing them onto the postcards. Snacks, lunch, and a variety of creative partnership games and activities helped the children make personal and group discoveries.

 

It was an inspiring and interactive afternoon at Far Brook, one that Fourth Graders from both schools will long remember.

 

Quotes from the day: