November 22, 2012
50 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 68, Issue 5
Adams 12 seeks tech funding Funding would go toward mobile devices for teachers, students By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
Tim Gates is seen through his sculpture “Perplexity” during Sculpture on 73rd Avenue Nov. 10, in the Historic Westminster Arts District. Photos by Andy Carpenean
Sprucing up streetscape New sculptures on display in city By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews. com Seven new sculptures were unveiled in historic Westminster recently as part of the Sculpture on 73rd Avenue program. From a bronze sculpture of a young girl, to a sculpture made out of pieces of old farm equipment, residents in Westminster are sure to find inspiration in the work displayed in their community. The Sculpture on 73rd Avenue program is sponsored by the South Westminster Arts Group with continued support from the city of Westminster. The art-on-loan program displays the sculptures for one year near the Rodeo Market Community Arts Center in the heart of Westminster. Debbie Teter, chairperson for SWAG, said the sculptures are also available for purchase by local developers. “If a developer buys one of the sculptures, 20 percent of the purchase goes back to the Rodeo Market Community Arts Center,” she said. “Our hope is to really market this program more aggressively to the developers in the area.” The seven artists who have provided a sculpture for display include Damian Radice, Christopher Hecker, Richard Ferguson, Georgene McGonagle,
Debbie Teter talks about Damian Radice’s sculpture “Play Ball” during Sculpture on 73rd Avenue Nov. 10 at the Historic Westminster Arts District. Sue Quinlans, Tim Gates and Maureen Hearty. Each piece is unique with an interesting story. For Gates, his piece called “Perplexity,” was inspired by a meandering stream in circuitous tranquility. The stream has been a reoccurring theme in his work as a metaphor in life’s journey. “Most of my inspiration is subliminal and I didn’t realize that the colors that I chose reminded me of a butterfly,” he said. “At that point I started exploiting the colors a little bit, using iridescent colors to empathize that.”
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Gates said he likes to push the boundaries when it comes to the materials he uses. “I tend to used materials you normally wouldn’t think of,” he said. “I’ve been a sculptor for 42 years and it has never been easy road, but one I’ve never deviated from.” Ferguson took a straight forward approach with his piece, “Mobious.” The artist created a large version of a Mobious, a two dimensional mathematical shape twisted into three dimensional space. He said he’s always been fascinated by the Mobious shape since he was a little boy and has made many over the years. “This is the biggest one I have ever made, and it took me three weeks just to get the two ends to match up,” he said. “It’s a really clean shape. It really fits in with my personal aesthetic that tends to be kind of stripped down and minimal rather than decorated.” The sculptures will be on display until Nov. 15 and people
can find them in the sculpture garden adjacent to the Rodeo Market Community Arts Center, 3915 W. 73rd Ave. For information, visit www. southwestyartsgroup.com or call 303-501-0924.
Administrators at the Adams 12 Five Star School District are keeping their fingers crossed. The district recently applied for a Race to the Top grant, which if awarded, would enable it to implement a new personalized technology system in three schools. For the first time, districts, instead of just states, had the opportunity to apply for federal funding through the Race to the Top grant program. Adams 12 applied for a $9.92 million grant that would invest in a software system that would personalize education for every single student in the school. Amy Bruce, grant director for Adams 12, said the goal is to provide a mobile device, like a laptop or tablet, to every student and teacher that connects them through a platform into a learning management system to work in a blended learning environment. “This platform helps teachers oversee all of their students,” she said. “They are able to access each student’s profile and provide specific learning resources. The student, parent and teacher all have access to what the student it working on virtually. It allows the child learning journey to be very transparent.” The personalized technology program would be implemented into the STEM Launch School, STEM Magnet Lab School and Northglenn High School. Those schools focus on science, technology, engineering and math. Bruce said the primary decision to implement into the STEM schools is because the staff already has a reform mindset and are looking and thinking about instruction differently. In year three of the four-year grant, Bruce said the district will expand the program into two or three more schools that feed into Northglenn High School, adding an additional 1,400 students to the program. “Why we buy into our STEM model is because the model has the kids actively engaged,” Bruce said. “We have business and industry partners helping us to create authentic problem solving situations for our kids, which gives such meaning to their learning.” The district should know whether it was awarded the grant next month. Bruce is hopeful after the general support she received from the community. She said she received letters of support from Gov. John Hickenlooper, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Legacy Foundation.
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Geogene McGonagle’s sculpture titled “High Hopes II” during Sculpture on 73rd Avenue Saturday Nov. 10 in the Historic Westminster Arts District.