The Candy Cane Gram Results Are In

So, all in all the fundraiser was a success. As I'm sure many of you noticed, we sold so many on Thursday (the last day) that we ran out of pre-made cards by the end of A lunch and ended up having people decorate them as they wrote them out. We sold about 200 that last day.

What that means is that when it came time to using the funds to buy the art supplies to fill the gift bags, we had enough money to put a pack of crayons, watercolors, and colored pencils in each bag, as well as a coloring book or a pad of paper. We had about $30 left over after this, so that is our overall profit. To whoever leads next year - do this fundraiser again. It profits well. But we weren't really prepared, because we had no idea how many cards we would need. Next year, I would start after Thanksgiving.

Today (12/22/2010), I took them to a shelter on Michigan Avenue called Lutheran Social Services of Michigan. We had originally intended to take them to a shelter in Pontiac, but the day that we were supposed to go, Ms. Altman had to cancel because her furnace broke, and the bags were left with me. And there was no way I was driving to Pontiac on my own. Besides, homeless kids are homeless kids. The ones at the first shelter are no worse off than the ones in the shelter I ended up going to.

So all in all, we made 20 bags, and made at least 20 children have a better Christmas. Thank you to all who donated your time and money, especially Kaitlyn Kmet and her friends, who donated some supplies, and Tejas, Brandon, Dan, Andrea, Dani, Breanna, Robert, Carmen, and Paulina. If there's anyone I'm missing (I don't know who sat at the table during B lunch, for example), you are not forgotten.


-Liz

For Those That Missed It...

At the meeting this week (Dec 2), the main thing discussed was the Candy Cane-o-gram christmas cards. We will be meeting after school Tuesday and Wednesday in addition to the meeting next week to assemble the cards. There's two different designs, but you can customize them a bit so they're not all the same. They will be sold the following week, the one right before Christmas break, Monday through Thursday, and passed out during silent reading on Friday. The teams for doing that will be figured out next week or something.

The proceeds from this fundraiser are going towards the donation to the homeless shelter as detailed in the post below this one. So, if you want to start collecting some supplies for that at the dollar store or whatever, you will be compensated from the Candy Cane-o-grams.

We're going to try and get started with some of the murals proposed to  us by teachers. Dani Morrow is currently in charge of that committee so if you have any questions or want to join up, contact her. Her information is in the sidebar. It won't get started until after break though.

Lastly, all those who haven't paid their membership fees, you really need to do that because we need to pay the national organization in January.

See you guys next week,
Andrea

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS FOR HOMELESS KIDS

All right, everybody. All of my new ideas hit me when I'm half-asleep, and so last night when I was laying in bed I was struck with inspiration. The new Christmas agenda: gift baskets full of art supplies for homeless kids. I'm going to be contacting a local shelter and asking how they like people to go about donating things, and based on that we can figure out how to do this. I'm thinking either get a total for how many small children there are at the shelter, or if it is constantly changing, just do a few huge baskets full of art supplies. I'm thinking crayons, colored pencils, markers, watercolors, pads of watercolor paper, pads of drawing paper, coloring books, construction paper...

We can make this happen. And actually do something worthwhile. We can do this based on donations from members as well as revenue from the candy-cane-o-grams sale (it usually does pretty well...or at least it did last year).

Any ideas? Let me know. Comment on this post, talk to me in school, text me, email me (my info's on the sidebar). I'm excited. And if Ms. Altman doesn't approve of it (which I don't see why she wouldn't, but just saying), I'll be doing this as an individual thing. Either way, it's going to happen. Let me know your thoughts!


Liz Lupher

Meeting Nov 11- Art With The Community Day!

So finally AWTC is happening and it can be over and done with! A reminder to all you volunteers who weren't at the meeting, be there BEFORE 6:30 if you're helping with the first class and BEFORE 8 for the second class. Also, please bring in bake sale stuff like pop and cookies and cupcakes and brownies and things. There's never too much.

Membership stuff was due today, the money and the forms. It's very important that we get those because we need to be able to contact everyone and know who's actually going to be participating this year. Once we get everyone's contact info in, I think I'll probably send around an email so that everyone will have everyone else's info. Or maybe I'll just post it here. Either way, it will be available.

Another thing that was due today was the t-shirt designs. Aside from that one I made, we only got one other one from Sasha which was really cool. It had dinosaurs with paintbrushes and pencils. It looks very similar to the one from last year. There was a vote, and Sasha's design, won, I guess. So we'll be in the process of putting into a format to screen print out onto t-shirts. I think next week we'll probably make a list of all the people who want one and the sizes and get a cost estimate. It should be around $10 per shirt. Sorry I don't have a picture of it here, but hopefully Brianna will post it soon enough.

Lastly, our next "project" sort of thing we have set up is going to be candy cane-o-grams. If you don't remember what that is from last year, basically people buy candy canes at lunch and send them to a friend. It's 50¢ to $1, I can't really remember, but pretty cheap. Now where it gets artsy is that this year we'll be making greeting cards to go with it, or decorative gift tags. They'll either be some sort of template or stencil that everyone can trace out and color or they'll be made of paper cut outs. Since Christmas break is really only a few weeks off, it's something that needs to be started right away, so by next week have some (fairly simple) designs for that in mind and we can pick two or three to mass produce for it. Don't even worry about actually obtaining the candy canes just yet though because you can get those everywhere on the cheap.

So, as the Dimminator used to say, It's about that time.
See you next week,
Andrea

P.S. I didn't mention this at the meeting, but there are at least three teachers who are lined up for us to paint murals on their walls. One of them would be a pretty big project, so it would take some time. The others are pretty simple. Dani Morrow is essentially in charge of these now, so we'll talk more about it at the next meeting and see about getting a committee together to help.

11-3-2010

Firstly, lots of people have been giving me suggestions on ideas for the t-shirt, which is fantastic, and I just wanted everyone to know that I have been listening! I've already created a bunch of different variations of it. I'll have them printed out and put on the bulletin board in the hallway. Also, for those that want to, if you have a design for a t-shirt, you can print it out and staple it to the board too. I just ask that you number it when/ if you do.
Any t-shirt designs you have need to be turned in by next Thursday the 11th so we can vote on them either that week or the following. You can bring it to the meeting, give it to Ms. Altman or one of the officers, or you can just throw it in the second cabinet in E-8 by the NAHS binders (though you should probably tell someone that you did).

Second, Art with the Community is coming up fast! Make sure you know what you're supposed to be doing there, and if you don't, now is the time to ask. We have lots of volunteers, way more than we really know what to do with, but there will be something for you to do, I promise. If you can't make it for whatever reason, please let an officer or Ms. Altman know so we can replace you. And please try to recruit some friends or family members to come to AWTC! It's $5 per person per workshop I believe, and they can attend 2 workshops.

Third, the membership dues and contact sheets need to be turned in by next Thursday also. They were supposed to be due today but there wasn't exactly fair warning so I'll give you all another week! The membership fee is $3. If for some reason you cannot afford that, you must talk with Liz or I or Ms. Altman soon.


- Andrea

T-shirt design

Since I'm home sick, I figured I might as well do something productive, so here's the design for the T-shirt that I made. It was going to have the paint splatter and other stuff on the back, but that runs the cost of the shirt up to roughly $15 each, and I'm trying to save everyone money.

Tell me what you think of it, whether it's too busy, or you don't like the colors, or it needs more stuff on it, because it can be changed.

Kthnx,
A.

New school year, lots of stuff to do!

I talked with Ms. Altman about NAHS for this year. Since Waring is kind of a bust, being that she's only here for first hour, and McMillan is opting out again, Ms. Altman is replacing Dimmer as our leader. Which means that there will be less scatterbrainedness. Things are going to get moving really fast, I just want you to be aware of that. There will be a meeting for the officers only after school Thursday, September 16. There will be pizza :). It will be concerning our organizational skills and getting everyone on track so we can run smoothly and be less confused and frustrated. We'll also talk about a bunch more stuff too. It will be right after school and you can go as you please, but make sure to come. Recruiting will take place essentially whenever we decide after that meeting, but of course this meeting comes first! I understand that the posters were made with lots of care and effort, but will need to be changed. Since I don't know what they look like, you all can try to fix them the best way you can. If they can't be fixed and need to be done again, I'm more than willing to offer up my house to work on them, and we can start over on the back, just bring some coloring supplies if you have them. I have some stuff but it's kind of limited.



Anyway, to reiterate:


MEETING:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,

2:30PM, IN THE DIMMDEN




Another thing, I've changed some settings on here so that if someone makes a new post, everyone will be emailed about it, so there's less of this running around and asking, or begging people to check here. There is an option to also be notified if someone comments on here, which can be good if/when a thread is started in the comment section. If you want to be added to that list, of course, leave a comment. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE AN EMAIL UPDATE WHEN THERE IS A NEW POST, TELL ME THAT TOO. I'm trying not to infringe on anyone's personal space or anything, it's just part of that organizing that's going on.

Also, you may now notice there is a little mail icon at the bottom of the posts. This will allow you to email the post to someone, in case they're not aware of updates or there's something cool and relevant you'd want to share. Though, I suppose you could send them a link to the page, I just thought I'd give you that option.

SUNDAY MEETING

All right guys, I've gotten through to almost all of you, but just in case you need more info, the back to school meeting is set. Sunday, September 5th, at noon. Breanna's house, 7230 Fox Chase Lane, in Westland. We will be discussing our goals for the year, as well as what it means to be a member this year (if you're used to getting nothing done and not showing up at meetings, get un-used to it). We intend on smooth sailing this year. We will also be making AWESOME posters to hang up at the beginning of the year, to get the word out to those who don't know about us. I went to Michael's today and bought lotttttsssss of posters and paint, so it should be great. I hope to see you there!

-Liz

It's the end of August? Oh f**k.

As we've all been talking about, we need to meet. And soon. There's lots that needs to be talked about. I'm scheduling a meeting for sure after the first week of school because we won't really have much of an idea of what NAHS is capable of until then. The date is tentatively Friday the 10th, right after school unless a better date is suggested. It will of course be posted in the shadow box like last year, and I'll make some announcements as well. As of right now, we don't know what teacher is going to lead us in all of this. I know we'll have support from Ms. Altman if worse comes to worst, but until school starts- really until that first week is over, we won't know anything about our teacher situation.

However, a meeting before school starts is very important so that we can get rolling on everything right off the bat. No, we didn't accomplish anything this summer, but that's okay. It won't be okay if we spend this year like the last: talking about everything and doing next to nothing. So as Liz said before, this meeting would be a good time for some bonding, and hopefully making some good recruiting posters.

So for whatever reason if anyone didn't get the email, here it is from Liberté:

Hey every one this is a generic message to let every one know that a meeting is being set up to discuss the upcoming year, to also acquaint ourselves, and let the creative spirit run free in the jungle of our minds. Members should bring food or drinks, if they so choose (It'd be nice), and also poster board and paints. The meeting will be held at my house: 9820 Levan. The date, being the second main point of this message, will be any where from the 31st - 6th. I want to know what days work out best for the most. PLEASE send back as soon as possible. If not, then I am probably going to have to set a default to the 1st of September, from 2pm to 6pm. Keep those smiles a roll'n and those minds a churn'n.

It's the end of July? Oh man.

Sooo we never got together or anything this summer. So far, anyway. I'm not sure if anyone still checks this...I, personally, forgot about it for about a month, being busy with work and stuff. BUT regardless, I think we should have a day towards the end of August or something where we can get together, get to know each other a little better, talk about our major ideas for the up and coming year...any sort of organization is better than the mess we had this past year. Maybe we can all bring big flourescent poster board (it's only .99 at CVS, guys, and even cheaper at Michaels with all their 40% off coupons!) and markers and paint and make NAHS signs to hang up all over the school at the beginning of the year! I don't know about all of you, but I am excited. So get at me! Let's plan something!


-Liz

Ideas for the summer and next year

I'm looking all over the internet for ideas from other NAHS groups around the country and a few ideas have struck me so far:

• Edible Art- basically exactly what you'd think. It would be more of a community thing where kids from schools around the area could come and participate and create art with food. And then of course eat it too. They had marzipan that they used like clay to sculpt, people made cakes and let kids decorate them, others used frosting to glue M&Ms down to wax paper, etc. We can get more creative with it, so far it's just an idea.
  
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• Sidewalk chalk contest- Something that Liz had mentioned before. It's a neat idea that everyone could participate in and we can give out prizes and whatnot.
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• Paper crafts- Origami, Paper pinwheels, boats, etc. They can be decorated by us, or by other people, and sell them or something.
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• Costume contest!- Pretty self-explanatory I think. Stipulation being people would have to make their own costumes, not buy them. It would be good for most holidays or as a separate event.
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• Learn how to knit?- Perhaps do something at a nursing home, knitting a blanket, or helping with a Quilt. This could also be something we do closer to the holidays. Maybe make mittens or scarves or slippers and donate them to charity.
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• Valentines- Obviously, around valentine's day, we make a bunch of cards and sell them at lunch or give them to old people at a nursing home. We can also do this with Christmas cards of course.
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• Pictures- We recreate famous paintings with people or animals and cut out the faces for photos. We of course would be the ones taking the photos.
  
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• Pancake breakfast- Cook really big pancakes and decorate them. Not sure who for or where or when, but again, these are just ideas.
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• Field trips- Of any kind for us. Preferably with something that's kind of out of the ordinary if possible. Maybe a trip to the DIA that's not only an hour long?
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• A collective painting- Either each member has their own little section or we all just add to it at random, but make a bunch of them throughout the year and have a gallery show at the end.
  
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• Pumpkin carving contest- Again, pretty self explanatory.
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• Tie-dying t-shirts- It's easy, honest. All we need is a bunch of white t-shirts, some rubber bands and food coloring or fabric dye, whichever we can most afford. Possibly sell them at school? We could correlate it with a spirit week after lobbying with STUCO to get a tie dye day.

There is probably more stuff that I forgot to mention here, but it will all come up in due time.
We also need to think about things to do this summer. I know Dimmer had wanted us to visit galleries and art festivals. We can always keep track of that as it comes up. I was thinking it might be a good idea to organize a trip to the DIA for a day. There doesn't have to be a real purpose behind it, but it might be nice to go and have fun together and not be so serious all the time.

Commenting would probably be best if anyone can think of anything else that would be really good to try next year, or after school lets out.

So please, let me know what you think and be excruciatingly honest. We won't get anywhere this year either if our ideas are failures from the start.

~Andrea

Introductory Stuff!

Hey everyone! This is the new site of the Churchill National Art Honor Society. Since the Facebook thing really didn't work out last year (only the admins could do stuff, not everyone had one, etc.), this webpage (well, blog, really, but whatever) with its easy simply address (churchillNAHS@blogspot.com) will be the site of updates, information, and idea exchange.

Anyone can post or comment, anytime (as long as it is NAHS related, of course). Some important information you will need for logging on to post: the member email is churchill_nahs@yahoo.com and the password is misterdimmer. Since this gives you all access to the account, let's use the honor system please. This means no messing around with fonts/backgrounds/layout/changing posts/inappropriate changes... (correcting grammar and spelling mistakes is okay, ha).

For commenting, there is an option called general ID. You don't have to sign on to the account to comment, you can just select general ID and type your name, if you don't have a blog.

On the left margin there is a list of member emails, since communication last year was such a huge issue. Just a thought; should we also collect cell phone numbers and post those as well, or is that too much of an invasion of privacy? Comments, please!

Also, please use a general format when posting. All I mean by this is sign your name in the post so that we know who is speaking. I hope this proves more helpful than last year's method!

Let's make this page an active place, and get some ideas rolling for next year!

-Liz Lupher (Vice President)