Our Crookston

CROOKSTON ONE ACT PLAY TEAM WINS SUB-SECTION AND ADVANCES TO SECTIONS FEBRUARY 7

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 08:05:00 -0600

from KROXAM.com January 30, 2015

The Crookston High School One Act Play won the Section 8A Sub-30 contest Thursday night in the Crookston High School Auditorium. Crookston performed Shuddersome: Tales of Poe. The second place team was Ada-Borup, who performed "This is a Test." Both teams advance to the Section 8A contest in Bagley on Saturday, February 7.
The Crookston cast and crew included: Charles Brantner, Zach Lutz, Michelle Cuno, Macy Larson, Alex MacGregor, Ciera Goering, Kari Gillette, Madison Crane, Megan Frisk, Allison Reinhart, Callie Boucher, Brianna Visness, Bethany Newquist, Amanda Barrus, Gabriella Ostgaard, Kaitlin Selzler, Zach Sanders, Naomi Henry, Mallory Cuno, and Daphne Butler. The team is directed by Beth Carlson.

The Crookston High School One Act Play team with their Sub-section Championship Trophy! (Picture by Theresa Miller)

Banksy in NYC - In Focus - The Atlantic

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 13:01:00 -0600

Crookston needs a Banksy!

Banksy in NYC - In Focus - The Atlantic

Best coin ever spent (VIDEO) | Best Online Videos | EdisProduction.de

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 08:58:00 -0500

Love this video. Someday it will happen here in Crookston inside the old Cathedral.

Best coin ever spent (VIDEO) | Best Online Videos | EdisProduction.de

"Every town has kind of a focal point some place"

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Mon, 9 Sep 2013 12:23:00 -0500

Grain elevator in Iowa town has new purpose as art

Artist portrayal

Awesome Liz Thompson -- We've got Talent!

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Fri, 6 Sep 2013 21:18:00 -0500

A must read!

Crookston's Thompson makes history at Minnesota State Fair - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN - Crookston, MN

New director, Chapman, looks to revive Crookston Community Band - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN - Crookston, MN

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Fri, 6 Sep 2013 21:13:00 -0500

Hurrah for Chapman! About time we revived this!

New director, Chapman, looks to revive Crookston Community Band - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN - Crookston, MN

What Happens When a Town Puts People Before Cars? - Sarah Goodyear - The Atlantic Cities

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:50:00 -0500

What Happens When a Town Puts People Before Cars? - Sarah Goodyear - The Atlantic Cities

Crookston artists featured in exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:20:00 -0500

More talent!

Crookston artists featured in exhibition - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

Crookston's Diaz gears up for his greatest gig - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:45:00 -0500

Crookston's Got Talent!

Crookston's Diaz gears up for his greatest gig - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

Come watch the video about Children's Museums and what they can do for our Crookston!

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:15:00 -0500

The date is April 20th, 2013, Saturday, 10:30 a.m. at the Library. The video is only 40 minutes and is a good presentation for those who are not familiar with children's museums. Let's talk afterwords about how this might work for Crookston! Mark your calendar now.

More on Vacant Storefronts

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:01:00 -0500

DIY Development - I love it.

The Midwest's Rebuild Era, in Pictures - David Lepeska - The Atlantic Cities

Reason #9 to start children's museums in Crookston

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 07:42:00 -0500

The "prickly subject of race" and "gifted children" should not be missed from our List.

Thanks to the Crookston Times for reprinting this excerpt from a Minnesota Public Radio broadcast!
http://www.crookstontimes.com/article/20130325/NEWS/130329786/1004/NEWS>

The St. Mary's program is part of an effort among some teachers to make their classes more culturally relevant to their students.

All the bleak statistics about Minnesota's achievement gap became personal to fifth-grade teacher Jen Engel, when she realized that gap was playing out in her own classroom.

"It stares you right in the face. It's real."

Engel teaches at Echo Park Elementary School in Burnsville, where about half of the students are racial minorities, many of them struggling academically. The 43-year-old, who is white, has heard about the factors that can contribute to the racial achievement gap, including poverty, unstable living conditions and troubled families.

But she says those are no excuses for educators.

So Engel is one of several teachers who are learning how to be what educators describe as "culturally responsive" to her students as part of a Twin Cities program offered by St. Mary's University of Minnesota, whose main campuses are in Winona and Minneapolis.

"The outside factors are not within my control," Engel told Minnesota Public Radio (http://bit.ly/ZTibUQ). "When these kids come to school, I see where their strengths are and where the gaps are. It's my job at the end of the day to fill those gaps."

Minnesota has some of the worst academic achievement gaps in the nation between white kids and students of color. For example, Minnesota has the nation's worst on-time graduation rates among Latinos and American Indians and is among the worst for black and Asian students.

The St. Mary's program is part of an effort among some teachers to make their classes more culturally relevant to their students. It requires the teachers -- most of whom are white women -- to find new ways to connect to struggling kids.

St. Mary's instructor Marceline DuBose encourages her students to shake up their traditional teaching styles. She said music and movement can help capture students who learn differently.

The education system is already working best for white, middle-class kids, particularly female students, so it's no surprise that many teachers share those traits, DuBose said. The state Department of Education estimates that less than 4 percent of Minnesota teachers are people of color. Yet more than a quarter of Minnesota's students are nonwhite.

Sometimes, that disconnect can result in a not-so-subtle bias. DuBose, a former social studies teacher, said she had former colleagues who gave up on poor or nonwhite students. She recalls hearing them bemoan that classrooms aren't what they used to be.

"They were white teachers and had been teaching for a number of years, and they would attach directly 'the way it used to be' with the idea that they had to alter their rigor and expectations, because they just weren't going to get from the students what they used to get," DuBose said.

Those lowered expectations can play out even for students of color whose families are well-off.

Luz Maria Frias is a Latina mother of two, married to an African-American man. Both are attorneys. Frias remembers confronting her daughter's elementary school teacher after learning he had not selected her for a gifted program. She came to school armed with standardized test scores showing her daughter scored in the nation's top percentiles, she said.

"He admitted he was very familiar with her academic achievements, and that she was a gifted child. And when I asked why he had excluded her from the gifted program, he said he had forgotten."

Frias then asked him how many kids in the gifted program were girls or kids of color. The teacher acknowledged that there were none.

"It was a tough conversation," Frias said. "His first reaction was, 'Are you calling me a sexist?' And I said to him, 'You'd be really lucky if I stopped there.'" Frias, now a vice president with the Minneapolis Foundation, was able to persuade the teacher to include her daughter in the program. But she says not every parent is savvy enough to push for these kinds of opportunities for their kids.

Supporters of culturally relevant teaching say it's not just about believing in your students. It's about developing deeper relationships with them and not shying away from the prickly subject of race.

Tracine Asberry, an African-American school board member and a former teacher in Minneapolis, says it's natural to teach who you are. But if you come from a privileged background and don't believe in the struggles faced by many people of color, your opinions can alienate a lot of kids.

"As teachers, teaching students who have different realities, we have to be aware of those things. We can't just be aware of them. We have to be comfortable so that we can have the conversation, and then encourage our students to feel comfortable to have those conversations in our classroom."

Asberry believes one way to close the achievement gap is to close the teacher gap. For some students of color, she says, the key might be as simple as making sure the person leading the classroom looks like them.

Way to go Brady!

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:43:00 -0500

Crookston High School artists show their stuff - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

Top 8 Reasons for developing Children's Museums

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:06:00 -0500

"Children's museums are cultural institutions committed to serving the needs and interests of children by providing exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity and motivate learning. There are approximately 350 children's museums around the world. Here are highlights on how children's museums positively impact children, families, and communities." ("The Case for Children's Museums" Association of Children's Museums, Washington, D.C.)

1. Children's museums help children develop essential foundational skills.
2. Children's museums respect childhood.
3. Children's museums light a creative spark for discovery and lifelong learning.
4. Children's museums are environments where families connect in meaningful ways.
5. Children's museums serve as town squares and build social capital.
6. Children's museums are uniquely positioned to help reverse stigma and discrimination.
7. Children's museums strengthen community resources that educate and care for children.
8. children's museums contribute to local economies and reduce economic barriers.

Copy and paste the following links to read a paragraph about each one of these eight reasons to start children's museums in Crookston.

http://www.slideshare.net/CrookstonKate/top-8-reasons-to-create-childrens-museums

or

http://slidesha.re/15e4DWR.

Children's Museums - Put one in every vacant storefront!

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:47:00 -0500

One day I was driving the school bus thinking about how was I going to wade through all this information on starting a children's museum. For those of you with kids or grandkids, children's museums feature exhibits that allow kids to hands on play with them and learn! And I was reading the comments from the "Crookston In Motion" survey results, where the biggest concern was filling downtown vacant storefronts. Well, who says we have to have a business in the main floors of our vacant buildings? Why not make Crookston one big children's museum? We can feature science in the former Rexall Drug store, language skills in another building, art of course is already planned for the former cathedral on Ash Street. Voila, just a bigger concept than the "Young at HArt Center." For those who haven't read the proposal for the cathedral. Here's the link:

www.slideshare.net/CrookstonKate/young-at-hart-center

There is no reason why we can't work on this project at the same time as our rehab grant application goes in for the former cathedral! I'm thinking that meetings on Saturday mornings at the Library will be a good time to get together and watch the dvd, and start reading how to do it right! Watch this space for a date.

You rock Erin!

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:13:00 -0500

You've Got Art!

Crookston's Art Journal can be found here:

http://www1.crk.umn.edu/celebrate/

Treasurette Dance Clinic brings out almost 40 girls - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:08:00 -0600

As a lover of dance, I'm glad to see the Treasurettes offer this amazing one morning of dance fun in Crookston!

Treasurette Dance Clinic brings out almost 40 girls - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

Crookston's One Act Play takes First Place

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:53:00 -0600

CROOKSTON HIGH SCHOOL ONE ACT PLAY WINS THE SUB SECTION 30 CONTEST, ADVANCES TO SECTIONS

Crookston High School hosted the Sub Section 30 One Act Play competition on Thursday with schools from Ada Borup, Fertile-Beltrami, Norman County East, Ulen-Hitterdal and Norman County West. Fisher pulled out of the competition.
Crookston High School presented “Hoodie” and took first place while Ada Borup was the runner up. The section competition will be at the Ada Borup School on February 2 with Crookston and Ada Borup representing subsection 30.
Beth Carlson directed the Crookston production with Gabriela Ostgaard as the assistant director and lights sound operator along with Mallory Cuno.
Cast members in Hoodie are Justin Burgoz, Lucas Butler, Bryan Sanchez, Zach Lutz, Torrie Greer, Cyrina Ostgaard, McKaela Larson, Kari Gillette, Lydia Shafer, Emma Dufault, Keaton Limper, Heidi Shol, Averi Thompson, Madison Crane, Rosa Argueta, Ciara Goering and Allison Reinhart. from KROXAM.com website

The Crookston High School One Act team with their first place trophy and medals (Picture by Natalie Ostgaard of the Crookston Times)

Top 10 Reasons for Crookston to bring back elementary arts!

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:19:00 -0600

Click on the link below from the Washington Post for the top ten skills that your children can develop through instruction in the fine arts: http://wapo.st/WriViM

Here is the list, if no time to read the Post article.

Creativity

Confidence

Problem solving

Perserverance

Focus

Non-Verbal Communication

Receiving Constructive Feedback

Collaboration

Dedication

Accountability

Crookston High School students to expand horizons on whirlwind art trip

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 10:19:00 -0600

By Katie Davidson, Student Staff Writer for the Crookston Daily Times

Oct. 15, 2012 1:39 p.m.

Whether it's traveling to the Twin Cities or Chicago, Crookston's art program takes a class trip every other year, and so far, there's been nothing but positive feedback about these experiences. Gary Stegman, art teacher at the high school, will be taking a group of 29 kids, along with chaperones Jackie Robertson and Jill Carlson, to the Twin Cities on Tuesday, Oct. 16 to visit many different art exhibits.

To say that the day will be eventful is quite the understatement. The group will be leaving the high school at 6 a.m. Tuesday, and will be returning home around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. "We were going to go over MEA break, but there were conflicts with the Cathedral retreat and STLF trip," mentioned Stegman. This year the class will be traveling to Minneapolis considering a one-day trip to Chicago, a previous destination, would never be possible.

Once the art group arrives in Minneapolis, expected to be around noon, they will make their way to the Walker Art Center. "The kids will see abstract art here," said Stegman. "Mostly art that's about ideas."
   They will then make their way to two more art centers; the Minneapolis Institute for the Arts and the Sculpture Garden. "The more famous artists' work is displayed at the Minneapolis Institute," remarked Stegman. "It will be art that's about history and technique." Lastly, the group will make their way to the Sculpture Garden, home to the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry art exhibit.

   The art students will also get to experience another form of art, a Broadway play. "The kids are very excited about this part of the trip," said Stegman. Disney's Beauty and the Beast is the show they will be going to, and Stegman claims it will be "breathtaking."

   Stegman believes the trip will leave a lasting-impression on the students.
   One student who went on the last art trip to Chicago, Brady Larson, is expecting great things from the upcoming visit to Minneapolis. "I liked being exposed to the great art and seeing the city and its sights," said Larson, "and I think this next trip will be another good experience, another eye-opener."

   Not only have the trips proven to be an eye-opener for the students, but they have also enhanced their artistic abilities, giving them insight through exposure to famous art. Stegman believes this trip has helped his students prepare for the state art exhibit that comes later in the school year, but most importantly, he says, "I just want these trips to improve the art program."

Crookston Central alum, Reese, honors Krause with sculpture

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 10:16:00 -0600

Reese now working on Pirate mascot sculpture, and Parnow will make a cabinet for that, too. By Katie Davidson, Student Staff Writer for the Crookston Daily Times. Oct. 5, 2012 12:07 p.m.

Matt Parnow, left, who built the cabinet that houses the sea horse sculpture crafted by Central High School alum Jim Reese in memory of longtime art teacher Leroy Krause, is pictured with CHS art teacher Gary Stegman.

If you've been in the Crookston High School commons at all this school year, you've probably noticed the school's latest addition to its memorial wall. Standing three feet tall in a case is a sea horse sculpture dedicated to former Crookston Central High art teacher, Leroy Krause, for making an impact on one specific student's life.

Jim Reese, 1962 CHS graduate, is now a professional artist in Colorado where he has created many different pieces of art, including a sea horse sculpture.

    "In his own words, Reese would describe himself as a bad kid," said Gary Stegman, current art teacher at the high school.

   According to CHS Principal Lon Jorgenson, through his teaching, Krause became Reese's "rock."

   In order to show his utmost appreciation, Reese decided to put his artistic abilities to the test by creating a sculpture to honor Krause and his love for all kinds of sea life.

   "We received this three-foot sea horse sculpture from Reese with no other information except to have a plaque with Leroy Krause's name put on it," Jorgenson explained.

   Along with the plaque, Jorgenson thought it would be best to have Reese's artwork displayed in a case, made by Matt Parnow, a Crookston graduate and owner of Elegant WoodWorks, to put on exhibit for anyone at the school to recognize. "The case is made out of black walnut and zero wood accent," said Parnow.

   "With some help from the student council and other donations, we were able to purchase the $1,500-$1,800 case," Jorgenson said.

   The high school will also be adding lights in the case, to light up the sculpture for all to see.

   In awe of Reese's artistic abilities, Jorgenson had an idea for the capable artist, a matching sculpture for the commons. Instead of another sea horse, Jorgenson is leaning towards something to show CHS's school spirit, what he called a "connection piece" or a rallying point, something to give kids pride in being a Pirate. Crookston High School's mascot, Lester the Pirate, came to mind.

   Coincidentally, Reese had recently made a cowboy sculpture called "Bushwacked" that with some transformations could easily become a pirate. "The sculpture will cost under $7,000, and we have already received donations from KROX, DEE Inc. and Andy Oman at State Farm," Jorgenson said.

   With hopes for more sponsors, the high school hopes to have the sculpture, placed in another one of Parnow's cases, in its commons before the end of the school year.
Note: Attempts to reach Reese for comment on this story were unsuccessful.

The ReUse Center: It All Comes Back Around

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 07:48:00 -0500

This article has several ideas dear to my heart. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Old Trash versus New Trash, and Creativity at its finest.

The ReUse Center: It All Comes Back Around

No elementary art in Crookston!

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:15:00 -0500

Thanks to One Los Angeles Nonprofit, Budget Cuts Haven't Killed Off Art Class

Previous Article Next Article

Liz Dwyer
Education Editor

March 13, 2012 • 3:00 am PDT
+ comments

In a survey conducted by IBM last year, 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the number one competitive edge" of the future. And Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently wrote that dance, music, theater, and visual arts "are essential to preparing our nation's young people for a global economy fueled by innovation and creativity."
Yet despite the need for employees and entrepreneurs with well-developed right-brain "soft skills" and the wealth of research indicating that students at schools with robust arts programs are more likely to go to college, school art programs nationwide are being decimated by budget cuts. In Los Angeles, elementary school art programs may soon disappear altogether. The result is that students are missing out on the opportunity to, in Duncan's words, "experience the arts in deep and meaningful ways and to make curricular connections with math, science, and the humanities."
But in the Skid Row neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles, one organization has been working to bring art back for the past 23 years. Inner-City Arts, a nonprofit known as one of the most effective arts education entities in the nation, offers an immersive artistic experience to every Los Angeles public school student, regardless of ability to pay.
Los Angeles magnet school teacher Robin Wynne-Davis says her third-graders, a "naturally curious bunch," have become more observant and descriptive since participating in Inner-City Arts. "They’re paying more attention to detail, and their critical thinking and creativity is blossoming," she says. "They’re opening their eyes to the world around them."
Joannza Lo, a second-year teaching artist at Inner-City Arts who spent January and February teaching animation and graphic design to Wynne-Davis' class, says many of the 200 students she instructs each week have never experienced art. "It’s possible for a student to go from kindergarten through high school in the district without any exposure to art at all," she says. After participating in the program, Lo says, students change their attitudes about themselves: "Their ability to take risks increases, and they learn to value each mistake as a new starting point."
Many Inner-City Arts projects require students to "let go of the idea of one piece of art as theirs" and instead learn a collective process of creating, Lo says, which encourages a sense of community. Classroom teachers frequently tell Inner-City Arts instructors they notice students sharing more with each other once they return to school.
Wynne-Davis' students also take a drama and media class taught by photography instructor Alxis Ratkevich and drama instructor Kristy Messer, which combines acting with the animation skills they’ve learned from Lo to produce a human pixelated movie. After a few exercise to get the students comfortable with acting out different emotions, the students watched Norman McLaren’s eight-minute 1952 experimental film "Neighbors"—a provocative social commentary that, in the age of scripted reading and math programs, would never be shown in the average third-grade classroom.
With a few brief directions from Ratkevich and Messer, the students got to work on their movie, a scene about a bus driver who begins to drive like a maniac and the reactions of the increasingly horrified passengers. The kids took turns directing, operating the camera, and acting out scene after scene of the terrifying ride. Their focus never wavered, and they quickly mastered the different skills involved.
Of course, education's emphasis nowadays is on test scores, and Wynne-Davis acknowledges that's the measure many people will use to judge whether her class' seven weeks at Inner-City Arts were worthwhile. But while research shows arts education does boost test scores, it's clear that the creative experiences students have in the program are just as valuable as any knowledge that could be bubbled in on a Scantron form. It seems clear that budget cuts will keep killing off arts programs in schools, but it's refreshing to know that programs like Inner-City Arts are still encouraging students to flex their creative muscles instead of just their test-taking ones.
Photo courtesy of Robin Wynne-Davis

Local dancers bring home the hardware at Fargo competition

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Sat, 3 Mar 2012 10:18:00 -0600

Awesome local arts talent!

Local dancers bring home the hardware at Fargo competition

The GOOD 30-Day Challenge: Art Every Day - Culture - GOOD

noreply@blogger.com (Crookston Kate) — Fri, 2 Mar 2012 05:35:00 -0600

"Art is essential. if you haven't reached that conclusion on your own, consider some evidence:

The GOOD 30-Day Challenge: Art Every Day - Culture - GOOD

Our Crookston

CROOKSTON ONE ACT PLAY TEAM WINS SUB-SECTION AND ADVANCES TO SECTIONS FEBRUARY 7

Banksy in NYC - In Focus - The Atlantic

Best coin ever spent (VIDEO) | Best Online Videos | EdisProduction.de

"Every town has kind of a focal point some place"

Awesome Liz Thompson -- We've got Talent!

New director, Chapman, looks to revive Crookston Community Band - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN - Crookston, MN

What Happens When a Town Puts People Before Cars? - Sarah Goodyear - The Atlantic Cities

Crookston artists featured in exhibition

Crookston's Diaz gears up for his greatest gig - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

Come watch the video about Children's Museums and what they can do for our Crookston!

More on Vacant Storefronts

Reason #9 to start children's museums in Crookston

Step 1 to plug achievement gap: Connect with kids

Way to go Brady!

Top 8 Reasons for developing Children's Museums

Children's Museums - Put one in every vacant storefront!

You rock Erin!

Treasurette Dance Clinic brings out almost 40 girls - News - Crookston Times - Crookston, MN

Crookston's One Act Play takes First Place

Top 10 Reasons for Crookston to bring back elementary arts!

Crookston High School students to expand horizons on whirlwind art trip

Crookston Central alum, Reese, honors Krause with sculpture

The ReUse Center: It All Comes Back Around

No elementary art in Crookston!

Thanks to One Los Angeles Nonprofit, Budget Cuts Haven't Killed Off Art Class

Local dancers bring home the hardware at Fargo competition

The GOOD 30-Day Challenge: Art Every Day - Culture - GOOD