This is a great place to be! The history of this school is interesting and a great place to visit. Lincoln Jackson Arts Academy merged with Arts Academy in 2006 to form what is known today as Arts Academy @ Bella Vista Elementary School. This school serves K-6 grades with about 500 student enrollment. The school promotes creativity in thinking by embracing art as an avenue to express yourself. As you enter the building, the first thing I noticed was the soft music and decor. Student artwork is displayed throughout the building including ceiling tiles painted by students. The students were excited and prepared for some great presentations. Presenters for the 76 fifth graders students at Bella Vista included Darryl Birkenfeld, OC Executive Director, Joe Whitehead with NRCS, Robert Martin with the Nature Conservancy, and Teresa Gonzales, Educator and OC Intern. Mrs. Milliron did a great job of preparing the students for our visit and we enjoyed a great lunch in their hospitality room.Robert Martin had a great reaction from the students as he presented his "Amphibians and Reptiles." He brought along a variety of frogs and snakes but his all-time favorite is his personal pet, Ms. Mc Luven. A snapping turtle he has possessed for about 5 years. He acquired it when she was just the size of a silver dollar and now she weighs a whopping 6-8 pounds! The snapping turtle eats just about anything including dog food, an occasional weiner (in 2 bites!) or 40-50 goldfish! The students enjoyed this presentation and asked him to come back next year! Joe Whitehead from NRCS in Clovis nailed his presentation using humor and music. The students wanted to participate as he brought his presentation to life using music. I loved his "Jewels of the Plains" and his "Water Song." The message in the songs that Mr. Whitehead delivers is that our playas are necessary but suffering due to roads, farming techniques, and the lack of education that our society has about how important it is to "Take care of what we have, now that we know." Darryl Birkenfeld is the presenter for Playas. What they are, how they got here, and what they do on the High Plains water cycle. Students were tasked with comparing top soil and clay using a T-Chart. They discovered that there is a huge difference in the types of soils they are dealing with. They also made oral observation of the playa jars which we encourage all teachers to have in their classroom. These are a great class project as it will keep students engaged in making observations as the playa in a jar is constantly changing and will raise an awareness in nature that the students may not possess. I prepared the students for the day with a presentation on Nature Journaling. I began with with basic information on keeping a daily journal. They observed a student map in a nature journal where we discussed just how many details were included in the sketch and how useful this tool is in writing. The last objective is to write a poem or a reflection. We had fun here!
Our Leopard Frog
Was sitting on a log
In the dense fog
When he was approached by a hungry hog
He thought," I'll go for jog!"
These festivals are getting better and better! Julie Hodges, The Education Coordinator, has done a great job of forwarding agendas, preview lessons and needed vocabulary to our educators before our arrival. This has proven to enhance the learning of fifth grade students all over the High Plains.
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