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Creative Learning Programs

Thinking Big 2006
Black River Public School
Holland, MI USA

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Black River students 'think big' for final project

By LISA KNAPP Staff writer

Winding through the entry path of Sanctuary Woods in Laketown Township, dancers representing air and water, wind and sky moved and swayed in sync with red air-filled plastic arches, tree boughs and colorful glass artwork that marked the path and spiraled among the trees.

Allison Root and Meg Russell paused on a bridge to watch dancers Kathy Jaspers and Maggie Miller, representing water and air, as they moved to drum beats echoing through the trees.

"It's hard not to watch the dancers, and when the light catches the bottles, it creates an awesome effect," Root, a ninth-grader, said.

For 17 minutes -- at 4 and 5 p.m. -- students from Black River Public School performed in the culmination of art teacher Peter Middleton's Thinking Big Project Term.

Project Term is a four week program at Black River for students in grades four through 12. Concluding traditional classes in May, students spend the final weeks of the school year in half-day, intensive experience-based courses.

The requirements Middleton gave his class for the art piece was that it should be large-scale, environmental performance art in a forest with a stream and big trees.

"The rest of the piece was born from student ideas," he said.

Photos: Dennis R.J. Geppert EXPERIMENTAL WORK: Black River Public School junior
Lauren Creek plays her cello surrounded by large balloons
n Sanctuary Woods in Laketown Township Tuesday.
Creek's performance in the woods was part of the school's
Thinking Big Project Term.

Dancer Kathy Jasperes dances in the woods at Sanctuary
Woods in laketown Township as she is surrounded by
large red inflatable plastic tubes. Jasperes was in the
woods as part of Black River Public School's "Thinking Big
Project Term" taught by Peter Middleton.

This is the fourth year that Middleton's students have created a large-scale performance art piece. Past projects include a giant inflatable brain set up in Centennial Park, large paper mache puppets students carried around downtown Holland and a transparent inflatable tube that was 110 feet long.

Thirty-four students worked to fabricate the glass sculptures, which were displayed along with large inflatable air structures and a mix of costumed dancers and musicians in a 100-by-20-yard section of Sanctuary Woods. There were 1,800 glass bottles donated for the project. It took the class three hours to place all the elements of the art piece in the forest.

Sixth-graders Victor Jarvis and Andrew Bennett created some of the glass chandeliers that were wound around tree trunks. Neither had seen the display in the woods before attending the 4 p.m. performance.

"It's awesome that so many people are seeing the artwork we did," Jarvis said. "It's awesome to see it with everything the high schoolers did."

Black River Director of Student Services Nicole Sinclair said the performance by the class embodies the spirit of Project Term.

"This class attracts students who enjoy all types of things. They're working together, using their strengths to collaborate on a single piece," she said.

Each Black River student chooses four Project Term courses -- a morning and afternoon class -- each lasting two weeks.

In the International Cooking class, students visit international grocery stores, research recipes and prepare dishes from different countries each day. Chemistry of Crime students learn from experts how to use science to recreate a crime scene. Some of the courses take students to destinations such as the Smoky Mountains, Washington, D.C., and Beaver Island.

Students are encouraged to sign up for classes they would never imagine themselves taking or classes within a field of study they believe they'll pursue after graduation. Students in grades one through three take a shortened version with two classes for two weeks.

"The timing of the term is a great alternative to traditional year-end activities," Sinclair said. "It's a good capstone for learning."

Some of the preparation for this year's performance project included working with professional glass artist Karen Daniels to sculpt glass to form the pieces on display.

Students worked with artist Laura Schnurstein on ways to interpret conceptually the natural elements of the park.

Student Dylan Perez orchestrated the music for the performance. His compositions use the alternative methods of making sound inspired by John Cage, an American experimental music composer and visual artist.

Cellist Lauren Creek, a Black River junior, said her instructions from Perez were to improvise the noise of the forest.

"Mostly I responded to the dancers," Creek said.

Photos: Dennis R.J. Geppert	EXPERIMENTAL WORK: Black River Public School junior Lauren Creek plays her cello surrounded by large balloons n Sanctuary Woods in Laketown Township Tuesday. Creek's performance in the woods was part of the school's Thinking Big Project Term.
	Dancer Kathy Jasperes dances in the woods at Sanctuary Woods in laketown Township as she is surrounded by large red inflatable plastic tubes. Jasperes was in the woods as part of Black River Public School's "Thinking Big Project Term" taught by Peter Middleton.