Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School

Did you know that third-grade students in Mr. Scott's and Mr. Clarkson's classes are among a tiny handful of classes in the entire United States to be testing the Intel-powered Classmate PCs?

Over the next few months, students will be using these small, portable computers to conduct research on bridges around the world, to create oral and visual presentations as part of their unit on Portland bridges, to design oversized, fused-glass coins, and to create and enhance their own visual artwork.

They'll also be learning computer basics such as keyboarding, scanning and resizing images, and word-processing software. Stop by and see the future in action at Buckman!

Remember to bring your gifts to Starbucks on Northeast 28th and Burnside this weekend between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. for free gift wrapping. We Buckman volunteers love to wrap and you get to relax for five minutes before the holidays. Everybody wins. We only take tips and Starbucks pays us to be there, and since we hand all that money over to the school, it's a nice holiday bonus for Buckman. Gift wrap and ribbon provided.

Lattes? Get yer own! Tell friends and family to come on down. We can still use a volunteer or two to help wrap, so check the sign up by the office, or contact Crispin Heidel-Habluetzel at brettcrispin at earthlink dot net.

(From the 12/18 CHEER)

The Reflections Program, an art program sponsored by the National PTA, provides opportunities for students K-12 to explore one idea through their use of one of eight media categories, such as visual art, video or literature. This year's theme is «I Can make a Difference By...»

Participation and appreciation for the arts is the primary goal. Awards are given and honorees are recognized at state and national levels. Contact Donna Persico-Jones at carboqueen at hotmail dot com, Karen Hadley at kboehadley at aol dot com, or ask your teacher for more details. Holiday breaks can offer more time to create…

(From the 12/18 CHEER...)

The December 18th CHEER (PDF) is now available for download.

In it, you'll learn about Buckman's pioneering technology efforts - both in the classroom and on the Web - get details on both the Art Show & Sell and Auction events, and see another reminder about submitting entries for the PTA Reflections program by January 7th. And if you don't have your presents wrapped? Buckman volunteers will be at the Starbucks at NE 28th and Burnside this weekend between 1 pm and 4 pm to wrap those gifts for you - plus, you'll be helping Buckman in the process (the store pays our volunteers to be there...)

This email was sent today to the Buckman Yahoo Group from Site Council Chair Kevin Downing:

Hello Dear Buckman Community,

Site Council members, Shirley Alhadeff, Laura Goodman, Lindsey Grayzel,
Claudia Mason, Linda Nichenko, Regina Pirruccello, Dawn Roberts, Brad Smith
and myself, have been working diligently, although behind the scenes, on
further developing our K-8 proposal since our community meeting in October.
We have been looking at issues like teacher certification, floor plans for a
K-8 at Buckman, opportunities for electives and other challenges that can
come with changing to a K-8 configuration. As you also may recall, we have
done polling of both parents and teachers to gauge support for the concept
too. Parents are strongly in support while teachers are more mixed. We knew
this was going to be challenging but we have continued to remain committed
to addressing issues and concerns that have been raised to make sure we have
the best proposal possible. We also have been working hard to begin to
identify those areas where we would expect a substantial commitment from the
District in order to make a Buckman K-8 as successful as we have come to
expect with any Buckman effort.

Keep reading →

The 18th annual Buckman Art Show & Sell, Buckman's art and craft extravaganza, is slated for April 11 & 12, 2008 at the school. A kickoff celebration will also take place at the Jupiter Hotel—details to be announced soon.

Artists in all media are invited to apply, and Buckman parents are automatically accepted upon timely submission of complete application materials and fee! This wonderful art event features the work of approximately 120 Northwest professional artists and craftspersons, a student art gallery, live music, food, and lots of fun for all ages. Approximately 1,800 to 2,000 art buyers attend this beloved community event each year. Artists receive 70% of their proceeds and donate the remaining 30% to support Buckman's innovative arts-integrated academic programs.

Please note the addition of an application fee this year ($15 for Buckman parents), to help cover rising marketing, advertising, publicity, signage, and printing costs for this Buckman fundraiser. We're also thrilled to announce the addition of an online application! For information on how to apply, visit buckmanelementary.org/artsale. The application deadline is January 11, 2008, at 4:30pm. Hurry over to the web site and apply!

Come out and support the Buckman Chorus as they share their musical talents and holiday spirit in a whirlwind mini-tour of Portland on Thursday December 20:

• 10:30 am: Multicultural Senior Center
• 12:00 pm: Pioneer Courthouse Square
• 12:45 pm: City Hall foyer
• 6:00 pm: Pioneer Place mall, lower level atrium, near escalators

If you haven't already had an opportunity to look at today's Portland Tribune, you should really check out Jennifer Anderson's article discussing the state of arts curriculum in PPS. Buckman has some great presence - thanks to Karen Stein for making us so visible here!

View it here: Art of Schooling.

...you're at the new website for the Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School in Portland, Oregon!

This site is very much a work-in-progress, and will continue to change and morph over time. I'm adding in pages for each teacher, and will tightly integrate teacher content with the rest of the site so we know what's going on in our classrooms (each teacher will soon have their own page at teacherlastname.buckmanelementary.org, for example.) I'm also adding in some functionalities here and there, pointers to the Google Calendar, and other bits of information as I come across it.

If you have any questions, concerns, issues, or feedback - please send them to me (Betsy Richter): bdrichter at gmail dot com. Thanks!

The 2008 Art Show & Sell will be on Friday, April 11th and Saturday, April 12th.

The show benefits the arts programs at Buckman, and will feature the work of more than 100 Pacific Northwest artists.

Learn more here.