Art - Celebrating Black History Month

Across the United States, February is reserved to celebrate accomplishments in Black History.  Social studies classrooms always have an advantage in this area where Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement take center stage.  As remarkable as those accomplishments still are, they are not the only topics that should be discussed or covered in this context.  In fact, a number of notable movements and individuals have risen to prominence before and after that time period and have made significant contributions in African-American history and to help shape the United States to what it is today.


Students in the Academy Art: Studios classes studied African-American artist Romare Bearden.  Bearden's work reflected his life and experiences living in New York during the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920's and 30's, prior to the rise of MLK and the Civil Rights Movement.  He commonly used an application of collage techniques in his pieces.  Students created artwork using a similar technique with some pictured here.  Although not all of their pieces are explicitly African-American, they are based on his techniques and inspired by Bearden's work.


After that, the classes began studying artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, a contemporary street artist whose work became "high art" in the 1990's.  There is a documentary titled "The Radiant Child" that takes a look at the artist and his works.  Both of these artists have made significant contributions to the art world and are worthy of study.


See more images of students working after the jump.

Dorm Life: How do you do laundry again??

When students attend Woodward Academy, they leave behind the comforts of home and the pampering of mothers and family. When this happens, they are expected to care for themselves in some ways and meet certain expectations of cleanliness and personal hygiene. As boring as it sounds, taking care of personal laundry is a small portion of the tasks that students must attend to on a weekly basis.

Though it doesn't happen often, there are times when students come to WA with no experience of running a washing machine or folding laundry. They are quickly taught how to do these things and learn an important life lesson in the process. Each dorm operates their laundry differently, but most have scheduled days for students with additional machines located on campus. Maintaining a clean dorm, which includes personal wall lockers is all a part of the process. Being neat is an expectation!

What is the Day School?

The Woodward Academy Day School is an alternative educational option for schools in central Iowa who have students in grades 6 to 12 who are experiencing behavioral difficulties in the public school setting.  Day School serves approximately 50 students from 20 different school districts and continues to take referrals throughout the year.

The main difference between the Day School and Woodward Academy (the residential portion), is that the Day School students go home each day and return in the morning for school.  It is meant to be a short-term solution for students who are having behavioral problems and need a more structured environment in which to learn.

Opening in 2003, the Day School has served nearly 400 different students and has established itself as an asset to many surrounding school districts as a school who can adequately serve the most "difficult" students.   It is like an alternative school for students but still adheres to the Woodward Academy behavioral philosophy.

Read more after the break.

Knowledge Bowl 2012 - Promo Poster

Pictured is the promotional poster for the 2012 Knowledge Bowl.  The KB is an annual March event that matches dorms against one another in a bracketed intellectual, high stakes, winner-take-all tournament.  This year's tournament is being held on March 2nd.  For those unfamiliar with how it works, here is a breakdown of the day:

     - 8 dorms competing head-to-head with the winner advancing to the next round.
     - 5-7 students per team, chosen by staff and students on the dorm.
     - 20 minutes rounds with questions alternating teams.
     - 1-2 points per question can be risked, but the team loses points if incorrect.
     - All questions are generated from teachers based on WA classes.

The Knowledge Bowl is not just an exhibition with bragging rights on the line.  The victorious team wins a day away from campus for the entire dorm.  Although the location is decided, it is being kept a secret until unveiled later.  Last year the winning dorm spent a day in Kansas City and visited a WWI museum and played at the College Basketball Experience.  Two years ago, the winning team went to Chicago and saw the Blue Man Group and ate deep dish pizza.  This year marks the 7th year of the Knowledge Bowl.

Art Extracurricular visits ISU's Design College

Fourteen students involved with the art extracurricular visited Iowa State University's Design College on February 1st.  They got a sneak peek into post-secondary studio art classes of all types and were able to see first hand how college students are taking the route of career artists.  

As a part of the visit, students viewed a demonstration by the Iowa State Guilders Union on glass blowing, which is pictured.  They also took a tour of the Design College and saw several different studios including those in architecture, graphic design, ceramics, painting, jewelry, and a print lab.  

The art extracurricular is an extension of the art classroom program at Woodward Academy, but focuses more on the vocational aspects of art making whereas the class covers similar topics but with a more academic approach to learning.  More updates and student works will be showcased in future posts.