QA Does Art By Professor Hunt
This week the students of Quercus Alba learned a little about art during the medieval time period. The class was taught by Professor Bronte and covered Giotto and the Limbourg Brothers. Students used chalk and egg yolks to recreate the type of paint used by Giotto and then worked very hard on making their own masterpieces using the paint. They were all offered the chance to make their own book of days as the Limbourg Brothers did, but none of the students seemed very interested. (Sounds like an inquiry for another day.) There were several paintings done by students representing the night sky and the ocean at sunset. After they completed their paintings they were able to see examples of famous medieval art before Giotto started the trend of using dimension and perspective in paintings. And of course all students left the class with a charm to add to their growing collections on their hodgepodge books.
Ravenclaw Challenge
Congratulations to Anna Petersen of Ravenclaw House who once again won the challenge!
Is it the best of times, or the worst of times? Is the night dark and stormy or just dark, or does this take place in Alaska during the Summer time so the night isn’t dark at all (did you know that? What a fascinating state- Alaska)? Does the hero get the girl or the prize, or maybe both? These are difficult questions for sure when trying to write a story. Sometimes what might be more difficult than the basic plotline questions is just how to start. This has been my difficulty when starting stories of any lengths and subject matter; that dreaded blank page.
For whatever reason, the blankness of the paper all the sudden causes an instant blankness in our minds (That’s a real science explanation for you). “Wow, what a pretty blank piece of paper (or white page on the computer for all you fancy folks out there). I couldn’t dare tarnish the perfection of this empty display with my imperfect thoughts and ideas.” The mind can be cruel and judgmental sometimes, don’t you think?
You know what I like to do sometimes with that dreaded blank page? I write the craziest words I can think of at the time. “A horse jumped through 25 rings of fire wearing high heels instead of horse shoes.” Take THAT, dreaded blank page! Now I have words on the page and although they make no sense and are but few, they are fun to read and can be built on or added to.
I have a theory. The dreaded white page WANTS to wear words. Words set a blank page ahead of its peers. Those words are then worn like a badge of honor, since its younger friends are likely blank still, longing for someone to come and decorate it with words or pictures. A blank page has been ignored, and therefore is likely to fall into a fit of depression. Think about it. If you were a blank page, would you go venturing out onto the city streets of paperville when proof of neglect is so apparent in the blankness of you?
So now we have “A giant green horse with long feathers for a tail instead of hair (I guess violin makers aren’t so happy with this kind of horse- that’s right, horse hair makes pretty good violin strings, look it up), able to jump through 25 fiery hoops in one single bound while wearing pink pumps (fancy for high heels, so I’m told) and delivering the mail.” I guess I added some detail. Why not? It’s MY story so I can make this horse into whatever I can dream up. Does it make sense? Not really, at least not yet. What if I make this a magical horse, or say that its pink pumps are magical, enabling it to virtually fly or jump swiftly and accurately? Maybe this horse needs an adventure. I know, Hero the Happy Horse (that’s his full name, like it? I’d just call him Hero for short) can be the best friend and body guard of Princess Harriet from Svenhills during a time the neighboring kingdom is trying to conquer her land. Hero will help Harriet locate the ancient jeweled scepter her father needs in order to battle Jangabar, the evil sorcerer at the head of Shanglar the King’s Army.
The dreaded blank page doesn’t stand a chance now! I have a silly start or brainstorming sentence that evolved into a complete story plotline. Now all that’s needed are the details. Details are like painting a picture with words. Have you ever tried to explain something you saw to someone who wasn’t there and didn’t have the opportunity to see what you saw? The explanation could be simple, “There was a dog,” or more detailed, “This dog was huge, at least a foot taller than me when standing on two legs. His head was probably bigger than mine. He was brown with black spots mostly under his belly, he had pretty big ears that flopped down on the sides of his head, and boy did his breath stink!” Painting the picture with details allows people to have more enjoyment with what’s been said or written, and ultimately gives the reader something that can be seen by the mind.
I’m tackling my dreaded white pages the best I know how. I challenge you to tackle yours. Have fun with it and get a little wild and crazy. Write about something common doing something far from common and then explain why or how it’s able to accomplish the task. Try giving so much detail that anyone who reads your work will feel like they are the character on the paper (or maybe walking besides the main character), and then reread your work and add MORE detail. Let’s give dreaded white paper the badges of honor they have been looking for so next time they go walking down the streets of paperville they can do so proud of all the attention that has been paid to them.
Notification from N.A.W.S.D.C.
National American Wizard Security and Detection Center
Britain aurors have been removed from America and it is now safe to lift all security precautions. Details will come soon.
Plague At The Sea By Emma Palmer
Nina and her little sister Lisa were walking down the road to the sea to fetch some water. " Nina I want to sit down." Said Lisa. "Lisa if you sit down then mother will not have dinner on the table on time, Father will be mad, Palmer will go hungry and he is growing. Baby Sophie and baby William will cry all night none of us will get any sleep all night." Nina told Lisa. "Ok but Nina my friends say that there is a man down at the north beach who has the plague he got it the night his 15th grandson was born. Now I don't know about you but I don't want the plague." Said Lisa so Nina led the way all the way down to the water. "Look that is the old man's house they say…" " Who is "They" Lisa?" "My friends are "they" anyway they say that at midnight he comes out of his home to take a bath." Said Lisa " Why midnight why not noonday?" asked Nina " He does that so nobody can see him." "Ron here boy come here time for dinner." Called a voice from over by the old man's house. " That is the name of the old man's dog. Make sure he does not touch you." Just then a bulldog came and touched Lisa on her leg "NINA!!!!!!" Lisa screamed, "Ok lets go home." They ran all the way to the road then they began to walk. As they walked home Nina rehashed how she was going to tell her mother that Lisa got the plague. TO BE CONTIUED…
Readers weigh in, Who had the Best Costume this Halloween? By Jane Smith
In last week’s edition, The Leaf asked its readers to share their favorite costumes from Halloween. We got a few different answers, Beach Bunny, Werewolf, and Anakin Skywalker each got one vote. And, one little lion was very fond of his own costume. But, after all the votes were tallied, there was one clear favorite:
Natalie Morphis as a Fancy Nancy Paper Doll!Congratulations Natalie!
And to all our Acorns, this reporter can’t wait to see what creative costumes you all have next Halloween!
A Bit of Fun!
A Bit of Fun!
In this week’s issue we’ll be practicing our Parts of Speech with hilarious consequences by playing everyone’s favorite word game- Mad Libs!
Below you’ll find a kind of a story with words left out. Without telling the story, one person will ask the other players for words to fill in the blank spaces in the story. When the story is complete it can be read out loud.
Newspaper Story
Last Thursday, two ____________ (name of town) men were ____________ (verb ending in “ing”) in a/an ____________ (noun) field near ____________ (name of town), California. Suddenly, one of them said, “Hey, ____________ (boy’s name), Look up there at that bright silvery ____________ (a vehicle) floating over our ____________ (plural noun)!”
And before his friend could reply, a powerful ____________ (a color) light shot down and lifted them into a strange flying ____________ (noun). Inside, they were greeted by tiny green ____________ (something alive plural) and given a dinner of deep fried ____________ (plural noun) and ____________ (a color) beans. Afterwards, they flew to the planet ____________ (a silly word) and met the ____________ (adjective) inhabitants. Then the flying machine brought them back to ____________ (name of town), California. They told our reporter that it was really a/an ____________ (adjective) experience.
We hope you have fun! Did you know that you can make your own Mad Libs? Get an article from a magazine or newspaper, photocopy a page from a book, a letter from a friend or the back of a cereal box. Remove some key words, and make note of the part of speech. When complete, follow the above instructions. How many different kinds of Mad Libs can you make?
Acorn Spotlight By Minerva Bronte
This week we get to know Emma Palmer of Ravenclaw House.
What is your favorite day of the week?
I like Sunday because I get to go to church.
What is your strongest talent?
Dancing. In Shenanigans I always pick up dances faster than anyone else.
If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?
Paris, France because I want to go see the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa. I like the art there.
What was your favorite toy as a child?
My kitchen play set. I like cooking things, especially spaghetti.
What goals do you have for your education?
I want to go to college. I would like to go to La Verne or Stanford, but my dad says they are expensive. I like writing. I want to write a novel. I want to do better in my math.
Do you like your handwriting?
No, because I write some letters on the line and some above it so my writing is lopsided. I am trying to get better at it.
Would you bungee jump?
Off of what? Maybe if the rope was super strong.
What rule do you like breaking?
Watching TV on schooldays.
What is your favorite season?
Spring because I was born in the spring, and that is when it starts getting warm but not too hot.
What do you like about Ravenclaw House?
It's blue, and I like birds. I like that it has all girls. I do like being smart.
What do you like about QA?
I like art class because we get to do cool, interesting things. I like charms class. I like Fridays because I get to see my friends and we get to see what everyone has done during the week. We also get to dump in the house points.
What is your favorite day of the week?
I like Sunday because I get to go to church.
What is your strongest talent?
Dancing. In Shenanigans I always pick up dances faster than anyone else.
If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?
Paris, France because I want to go see the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa. I like the art there.
What was your favorite toy as a child?
My kitchen play set. I like cooking things, especially spaghetti.
What goals do you have for your education?
I want to go to college. I would like to go to La Verne or Stanford, but my dad says they are expensive. I like writing. I want to write a novel. I want to do better in my math.
Do you like your handwriting?
No, because I write some letters on the line and some above it so my writing is lopsided. I am trying to get better at it.
Would you bungee jump?
Off of what? Maybe if the rope was super strong.
What rule do you like breaking?
Watching TV on schooldays.
What is your favorite season?
Spring because I was born in the spring, and that is when it starts getting warm but not too hot.
What do you like about Ravenclaw House?
It's blue, and I like birds. I like that it has all girls. I do like being smart.
What do you like about QA?
I like art class because we get to do cool, interesting things. I like charms class. I like Fridays because I get to see my friends and we get to see what everyone has done during the week. We also get to dump in the house points.
