Crofton Woods Elementary School Hosts Celebration of International Art Exchange

Students and staff at Crofton Woods Elementary School welcomed several distinguished guests to celebrate the cultural exchange between their school and Yijin Elementary School in China.  On display at the celebration was the stunning artwork from Yijin as well as artwork created by Crofton Woods students featuring oriental art techniques taught by the Artist in Residence, Jing-Jy Chen. 

 The hallways were adorned with an impressive collection of student work: green lanterns decorated with blue crabs, yellow kites with red dragons, watercolor murals of pine trees with the moon and of cherry blossoms with birds.  Ink drawings of panda bears with bamboo demonstrated Japanese Sumi painting.  All were adorned with Chinese calligraphy.   

Artist in Residence, Mrs. Chen, taught students at Crofton Woods the techniques of oriental brush painting.  Crofton Woods was fortunate to have an authentic bamboo and animal hair brushes from their previous cultural exchange with a school in Japan.   

“It was hard [for the students] in the beginning because it is a different way to use the brush,” Mrs. Chen explained.  “It was difficult to keep the watercolors clean.”  Mrs. Chen is in her fourth year working at Crofton Woods as the Artist in Residence.  She was able to visit the Yijin School in person on a recent trip to China.  Some of her watercolors were also on display in the showcase by the art classroom.   

Crofton Woods art teacher, Sheena McGeehan, led the students in the artwork sent to their sister school in China.  The students created self portraits with a narrative element in the background, an object that illustrated something about the child’s life in Maryland.  Many students featured the Chesapeake landscape.  Fifth grader Ben Hayden featured the Pepsi logo where one of his parents works. 

Ms. McGeehan described opening the package with the Yijin student artwork: “Each package was an unveiling of a little piece of that school.”  Ms. McGeehan found her students’ response to the art exchange delightful.  “Their curiosity and excitement was thrilling.” 

As a culminating event to celebrate the international exchange, CWES hosted a program for their distinguished guests, classmates, and parents.  A huge chorus of all the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th graders led by music teacher Carol Schwalm began the celebration with “America the Beautiful” enhanced with sign language.   

After the introductions and the opening song, the audience was treated to a parade of Chinese culture.  The parade was led by students creating Asian music with drums, gongs, and cymbals.  Following the musicians were students wearing papier-mâché masks representing the signs of the Chinese zodiac created by former CWES art teacher, Barbara Cox.  Other students twirled bright ribbons.  Bringing up the rear were three larger than life puppets operated under flowing skirts by three students each, manipulating poles to move the towering creations.

 “It was hot in there!” said 5^th grader Clair Igoe of her job operating the large puppet. 

“It really made my hair static-y,” said 5^th grader Lizzy Lombardo with her hair floating all around her. 

 Kira Pfost, also in 5^th grade described her technique of operating the large puppets, “You have to walk the same pace and watch our where you are going.”

 Before singing “Dona Nobis Pacem” and a variety of American songs, the chorus wished the honored guests a Happy New Year with the song, “Gong xi fa cai.” 

 When asked if the Chinese words were difficult to learn, 5^th grader Camila Velarde said, “It was kind of hard to learn the words at first.  You could memorize it because we did it so long.”

 Fifth grader Salman Nazir said he liked “We Haz Jazz” the best because “it had a nice tune to it.”

 Fifth grader Alec Witkowski spoke about their music teacher, Mrs. Schwalm, “She’s a good teacher.  She likes perfection.”

 Sarah Sykora, also in 5^th grade repeated Mrs. Schwalm’s adage “A bad rehearsal means a great concert.”  Sarah described a student fainting during rehearsal on the risers and the difficulty focusing at the early morning rehearsal after nearly a week off for snow days.

 Mrs. Schwalm agreed with her students about the stress of the last rehearsal.  On top of the nerves, snow days, and early hour, they also had a visit from the Anne Arundel County Superintendent, Kevin Maxell and the Maryland State Superintendent, Nancy Grasmick.

 Mrs. Schwalm, who retired after 16 years with the county and now works part time at Crofton Woods, said of the Chinese song, “the students picked it up faster than I did.  Sometimes it’s almost easier to learn words to songs in a foreign language because you associate a syllable with the note.”

 The students performed to camera crews from WJZ – Channel 13 and videographers from the Board of Education.  Joining the professional photographers was the army of parent and teacher photographers recording the events.

 One of the parent photographers, Amy Natoli said her 3^rd grader, Joseph Natoli, “comes home singing songs in Chinese.  He loves it!”

 Carrie Kelsey said her daughter, Dannicka Kelsey in the 3^rd grade, “Really enjoyed the whole experience.  She had a lot of fun learning new songs.”   The Kelseys recently moved to the area from California where they had seen the Chinese parade in San Francisco. 

 Elisabeth Lisle, watching her 4^th grade granddaughter, Christina Lisle, was reminded of her 4^th grade year in Oklahoma several decades ago.  As a young girl, she sang a Chinese song at an international celebration honoring then President of China, Chiang Kai-shek.

 “Music is a great way to communicate and bring people together,” Mrs. Lisle said of her granddaughter’s program.

 In his welcoming address, Principal Peter Zimmer explained that this is the fourth country in the school’s 14 years of international cultural exchanges.  In previous years, CWES has exchanged artwork with France, Kenya, and Japan.  This year’s program was designed “to provide our children with a better understanding of the children in Asia,” Mr. Zimmer remarked.

 The honored guests included the First and Third Secretaries of Culture from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Jin and Lin Xi, as well as Marina Harrison, the Director of International Affairs at the Office of the Secretary of State in Annapolis.

 Secretary Jin said the students were, “very good Chinese speakers.”  She said she was honored to see the Yijin artwork displayed so prominently and impressed by the Crofton students’ artwork. 

 Secretary Xi described the celebration as “amazing and heartwarming, a wonderful experience for us – a professional performance.”

 Ms. Harrison, who coordinates cultural activities with international groups through the Maryland Secretary of the State’s Office said that these kinds of cultural exchanges were most important for young children to “see how small the world is in a very tangible way.” 

 Also in attendance was Betty McGinnis, the founder and president of World Artist Experience (WAE), the local non-profit organization that facilitated the international exchange.  With her was Dr. Ling Zhou, a chemical engineer who volunteers with WAE and worked as a translator between Crofton Woods and Yijin. 

 Mrs. McGinnis founded WAE in 2002 for the purpose of providing cultural exchanges at a grassroots level.  She said the goal of the program at Crofton Woods is for students in both nations to learn, “about one another, from one another, and with one another.” 

 Dr. Zhou said that the program led “children here to know more about what’s happening in the world.” She was optimistic that this knowledge would, “help them become responsible when they grow up.”

 The reception in the media center following the performance offered a variety of American and Chinese foods.  The Panda Express of The Bowie Town Center generously donated some of the items for the celebration.

 Suzanne Owens, Coordinator of Art Education for the County, said that Ms. McGeehan was “bright, savvy, smart, and only in her second year.  She has such potential to be a Master Teacher.”  Ms. Owens will be accompanying Ms. McGeehan and Principal Peter Zimmer to the National Art Education Association Conference in New York City next month to present their art program to a national audience of art educators.

 The stunning “Cherry Blossoms with Birds” mural created by Mrs. Gruber’s 4^th grade class will be auctioned off at the school’s spaghetti dinner and silent auction scheduled for Thursday night March 1^st. 

 For more information about the dinner or auction, contact the school.  For more information about WAE, see their website at www.worldartists.org.