

Grant Reports
Lynn A. Byrem, Art Instructor, Scott School
I am writing to tell you about the success I am having with the LCD Projector that the Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation grant allowed me to purchase. All grades, 1st through 4th, have reaped the benefits of the projector. Scott School 3rd grade students went on a virtual field trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. Students got to see the land, culture, people, and arts of Oaxaca. We specifically focused on Oaxaca woodcarving of animals. They enjoyed watching Zeny Fuentes, a famous Oaxacan woodcarver; carve an armadillo out of copal wood. They watched as the piece of wood was transformed into an armadillo, complete with painted, decorative designs. While it is not possible to carve animals out of wood, the third graders had to choose an animal to draw and decorate using designs and shape that the Oaxacan artists used on their carvings. Here are a few of the students’ finished More Oaxacan Animals by 3rd grade can be viewed at the Harrisburg School District Administration Building Board Room during the month of March. You can also view the entire art gallery on the Scott School website at: http://www.hbgsd.k12.pa.us/.
Second graders are working on a Dr. Seuss project based on the book, There’s A Wocket in My Pocket. I scanned the pages of the book onto a CD and used the LCD projector to project the pages onto the front of the art room’s white board. In this way, all students could read along and see the marvelous illustrations that were so important to our project.
First graders are working on a project based on the book, Fat Cat on a Mat.. Again, I scanned the book onto a CD and projected the pages onto the white board. Students could follow along with the words and pictures. They picked out all the words that rhymed in the book. Now they are drawing their own fat cat on a mat in which they will paint them in watercolor.
All grades have benefited from the projector in that I maintain the Scott School website Art page. I download pictures of the student’s artwork. Students love to look at their own work as well as their classmates on the webpage. They particularly like viewing the art in large size on the white board. I introduce a lot of my new projects by showing examples of past works that I took pictures of and have them on CD's. I can point out areas that were successful and things students need to watch out for.
I plan to spend my summer making some more virtual field trips for students to go on. All of the books that I read to students that projects are based on I will scan onto CD's for use next school year. Thank you so much for this grant. It has opened a lot of doors for my students and makes teaching easier.