Visitors to Westport’s Greens Farms Elementary School are seeing orange these days.
Seeing orange: Second-grader Arianne Goodell with Art Smart parent volunteers Margaret Allen (l) and Marianne Goodell (r) under “The Gates” at Greens Farms Elementary School. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com
Students from a fifth grade class have created their own “The Gates” project at the school.
It is part of the school’s Art Smart program, a PTA-sponsored art education program in each of Westports five elementary schools run by parent volunteers.
Parents Marianne Goodell and Margaret Allen collaborated on the project with the 20 fifth graders last week. Permission was granted to place the gates on the front porch of the school by Principal Dan Sullivan earlier this month.
Some facts about Westport’s “The Gates” project as provided by the school:
—“The Gates (GFS)” were unfurled in front of Greens Farms School on March 15 and will remain through March 25.
—Four gates, 10 feet high and 5 feet wide, stretch along 34 feet of the front porch of the school
—120 square feet of orange colored vinyl table cloth was cut and attached to hang down to 6 feet above the ground.
—100 linear feet of PVC tube was painted orange and used to construct the gates.
—150 pounds of dry concrete was mixed to make the bases for the gates.
—The $130 cost of the project was funded mostly by Art Smart, a PTA-funded school program.
—“We donҒt know what will happen to the materials once the project comes down.”
What a great, hands-on project immersing students in art and connecting them to a larger world. C’est merveilleux!
Great way of thinking and doing ‘outside the box’ or the gates! WOW!!!
How great to have the PTA support the arts too! Way to go Greens Farms ES 5th graders and art inspirers/parent volunteers!
As an elementary school teacher myself, I cannot tell you enough how much we appreciate our parent volunteers for ALL that they do!