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8 • BLACKSTONE VALLEY TRIBUNE
Friday, May 29, 2009
Taft School presents tastes of world at fair, art exhibit
BY THOMAS MATTSON
TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
UXBRIDGE — There were no prizes for best
apple pie or quilt, as at a state fair.
But the International Fair and art exhibit
by the second grade at Taft Elementary School
was even more concentrated than your usual
fair.
As for the apple pie, cookies had to do, but
high school students served up a variety of
“international” morsels to the younger folk.
Meanwhile, the walls were covered with art
related to just about every major culture you
could think of, and spaced at intervals along
the hallways were television videos of different
second graders giving talks about their
own ethnic backgrounds.
Nearer the front of the school were mammoth
art works with maybe the fur of a wolf
simulated in one spot.
For one day at least, the Taft School rivaled
quite a few museums and was a whole lot
more interesting.
In a way, it was almost scary to see such
artistic competence at the age of seven or
eight.
Either the teaching of art is getting better
by light years from several decades ago or the
kids are more advanced in drawing and in the
use of color. It is probably a combination of
both.
But it would be pretty obvious to grandparents
viewing the artworks and the intricacy
and sheer volume of really good artistic creations
that this was something on a new level
from what they remembered doing as secondgraders.
It used to be that even in fifth-grade art you
chose subjects that, when carried out, would
not require drawing facial features. So you
drew an Apache Indian sitting against a cactus
(never mind the discomfort) and wearing a
huge sombrero tilted forward to cover the
face, that and a colorful blanket, desert temperatures
or not.
But nowadays, even in the second grade,
these kids are into stylish African women carrying
a bowl of water atop their head. Or a
whole wall, like clips from a film reel, of
Egyptians.
Not to forget the Chinese or the Japanese.
Meanwhile, the high school kids plied their
younger brothers and sisters with the ultimate
snare for attention, platefuls of homemade
cookies favored in many different lands.
You don’ even get that kind of treatment at
Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Joining the second-graders at Taft was the
Early Childhood Development class at
Uxbridge High School.
The fair was the culmination of a lot of
research by the second graders. High school
students supervised by teacher Susan Priore
assisted the younger set.
One of the results of the student research
into their backgrounds was a poster highlighting
maps and key points of interest.
“In their individual presentations,” said
Principal Paula Montesi, “the second-graders
described the geography, people, language,
landmarks, and economic sectors of the countries.”
Under the guidance of music director
Gretchen D’Andrea, the students performed
dances from Canada, Italy, England, Africa,
Russia and the United States. Students
rehearsed under physical education teacher
Bonnie Dimmick. The children also sang
songs from around the world, directed by
D’Andrea.
The artwork was prepared under the direction
of art teacher Diane Henries.
Second grade teacher Stephanie Davis and
Priore, Early Childhood Development Class
instructor, originated the event in a planning
session in 2004.
The Uxbridge Education Foundation gave
the school an award that made the show possible.
Principal Montesi said the International
Fair was based on units of study in grade 2
that included literature and a discussion of
the reasons people may choose to move from
one country to another.
“Information was then synthesized to develop
an understanding of immigration and cultural
heritage,” she explained.
The second grade students collaborated
with high school partners to research their
Taft School youngsters perform a dance routine at the annual International Fair.
Above: Rachel Drywa (left) and Hilary Moore hand out refreshments.Bottom right: Second-grader Joseph
Boisvert with his Carnival mask.
assigned country.
The result of this collaboration was the
completion of an in-depth research report
used as the basis of the video presentations.
“The fair gave the students authentic tasks
and true purposes for the skills they learned
as outlined in the curriculum frameworks,”
Montesi said. Students also learned to collaborate
with persons of different ages and abilities,
she said.
“Tolerance and respect for individual culture
and heritage was an outgrowth of this
experience,” Montesi declared.
“Finally,” she said, “this international fair
truly created a partnership through its communal
nature. A link was established between
elementary and high school students…
Parents became integral components in the
student’s learning experiences. Teachers from
various disciplines collaborated to create a
true interdisciplinary unit.”
Thomas Mattson photos