Spring Arts Extravaganza

Youth Art Month is celebrated every March and is an annual recognition of Visual Arts in our schools.  Cities and states all over the country celebrate Youth Art Month in many different ways, from contests to events and art exhibits.  

Every year in March, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools holds the annual Spring Arts Extravaganza in downtown Winston-Salem at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts.  Art Teachers from every school and all grades, Kindergarten through Twelfth and Elementary, Middle and High, hang an exhibit of student work.  Most schools exhibit 10-30 pieces of student art, representing all genres and art media.  We were pleased to have approximately 18 pieces of student artwork exhibited in this show and be awarded four gold seals for the exhibit.  

GOLD SEAL WINNERS

Visit our online photo gallery at https://photos.app.goo.gl/aPBMnLT8SYxsLyBw8 to see photographs of the artwork and students attending the event.

National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) is a weeklong celebration of the federal School Breakfast Program, which provides nearly 12.4 million children with a nutritious morning meal each school day.  This year, National School Breakfast Week was held from March 2-6.  The #NSBW2020 theme was “School Breakfast: Out of this World,” which  "captivated students and stakeholders with how your breakfast program is blasting off into new territory!" 

On Friday, March 6, a team from WSFCS Nutrition visited our school and greeted students as they arrived.  A giant carrot, balloons and signs, stationed at the front entrance, let parents and students know that a celebration was happening.  As you made your way through the lobby, down the hallway and to the cafeteria, students were then greeted with music, more balloons, outer space decor, props and photo booth opportunities.  Teachers joined in on the fun wearing alien antennae head bands and snapping photos with the giant carrot.  Our own school, tiger mascot, Taz, also dropped by to join in on the fun.  

Visit our online photo gallery for more pictures of the breakfast celebration:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/pEHBAbfPHkDfL4T48

Read Across America

Read Across America is a reading initiative created by the National Education Association that began in 1997. One part of the project is National Read Across America Day, which is held on the school day closest to March 2, in honor and celebration of the birthday of Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss was named Theodor Seuss Geisel, but of course he is known for his pen name Dr. Seuss.  He was a writer and cartoonist who published over 60 books. He published his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, under the name of Dr. Seuss in 1937.  Many of the books written by Dr. Seuss have been used to help children learn to read, and readers of all ages enjoy books by Dr. Seuss since the illustrations are so comical and vibrant and many of the stories are silly and playful. Visit https://www.seussville.com/dr-seuss/ to read more on Dr. Seuss and enjoy some activities related to Dr. Seuss books.

Celebrating Read Across America and Dr. Seuss week is always a fun time in schools.  Teachers and students enjoy many activities during this time including door decorating contests, Read In and Guest Reader Events, dress up days, snacks of green eggs and ham and much more.  Check out our photo gallery of events and activities enjoyed at our school during Dr. Seuss Week.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/5K17CbWNkkXe28vZ8

Digging into the Archives: "Magnet Spirit Week 2020"

February is National Magnet Schools Month.  Each year, Magnet Schools of American celebrate with themes and activities each week throughout the month.  One of our favorite ways to celebrate is our annual Magnet Spirit Week.  During Magnet Spirit Week, we dress in unique ways to celebrate our A+ Magnet Essentials and Pillars and the Arts Integration and Performance theme which governors our school.  This year's daily dress up themes included wearing the colors of the Magnet Logo, Dressing like a Dancer, Artist, and Musician and then wearing red to show love for our A+ Magnet School on Valentine's Day.  Click a link to check out the photos.

Blue & Gold Day https://photos.app.goo.gl/fJ2oZbqy9PVEUSCP7
Dress Like a Dancer Day https://photos.app.goo.gl/6kcWnuKG2DZb8M9h6
Dress Like an Artist Day https://photos.app.goo.gl/uJr4tCkbAKM573K2A
Dress Like a Musician Day https://photos.app.goo.gl/82nCG6CMedXGF7GC7
Wear Red to Show Love https://photos.app.goo.gl/LVKBK3q2Rb6qxkPA6

Count Down to K

In February, schools across the district opened their doors to rising kindergartners and their families to visit schools.  Families were invited to tour the school, meet kindergarten teachers, view classrooms, complete registration and ask questions.  

We greeted families in our lobby and invited them into our meeting room, which was set up and decorated with art work and artifacts that represented our A+ Magnet School theme as well as our mascot to show Tiger Pride.  Students colored, drew or visited our photo booth while parents met with school personnel.  

Click the link for photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qzs91qjakuLqMrw68

Black History Month: The Assembly, Articles & Photos

Black History Month at our school is a time of celebrating diversity and coming together in unity through the Performing Arts Focus of our A+/Magnet Program.  It is a time to remember the hard truths of the not-so-distant past in order to teach our students to avoid racism and hatred but instead to work together in unity in order to accomplish common goals. At Diggs-Latham, we celebrate the entire month with our culminating event including an assembly celebration of music, dancing, spoken word and more. It is a time to build even stronger unity among our diverse staff and students and honor the sacrifices and accomplishments of African Americans who stood and fought to change injustices.  Our Arts Integration and Performance focus in our A+/Magnet School provides such a rich means for this annual celebration.  

Read the full story on the WSFCS District News Blog Article at https://bit.ly/2xELTv5

Check out the Winston-Salem Journal Article at https://bit.ly/34WUPYB
View Photos of the Assembly Celebration at https://photos.app.goo.gl/dVQTceCzKBSHAuUf7

We also enjoyed the annual Staff Soul Food Luncheon during the last week of Black History Month https://photos.app.goo.gl/nrTcxjriTAYyuLVKA

Staff and students had fun during Black History Spirit Week.  

Each day had a theme related to Black History.

Click a link to see photos:

Afrocentric Attire Day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QycVULPrKLDvsSw9A

Wear the Colors of Kwanzaa Days

Red https://photos.app.goo.gl/pnxo8QXV5Jg9eUFc6

Green https://photos.app.goo.gl/DAhSVheAWNFh4pBg7

Black https://photos.app.goo.gl/gNKcLATMqsTtWVnM7

Wear Orange for Unity Day

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gLFmxjK1ZztAKbTi6

From the Photo Archives: PTA Craft Day

We are so fortunate to have a dedicated PTA President and active group of parents who are engaged in our school, support their children, and volunteer their time. 

One annual activity that brings parents into the building is the annual PTA Craft Day to celebrate Valentine's Day.  In the theme of our A+ Magnet School, parents use their artistic and creative skills to design a Valentine Card that is then delivered to their students on Valentine's Day.  PTA provides all the supplies and even snacks for the event.

Check out some of the creations here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DoiLwgDNsLfZ1ZVx7