Celebrating Grant Wood

As part of our year-long celebration of artist Grant Wood's 125 th Birthday (Feb. 13, 2016) the students and staff at Grant Wood School are having an "American Gothic" look-a-like contest on Friday, February 12th They have a choice Of entering as an accurate portrayal or a parody of Grant Wood's world- famous painting. They will be judged by Cedar Rapid's celebrity judges based on accuracy, detail, facial expression, costume, and parody creativity. The school will provide the famous pitch fork, for obvious reasons. Prizes will be awarded and certificates of participation will be given

to all entrants.

Along with the look-a-like contest, the students will also be given a choice of a Grant- Wood era lunch consisting of chicken, corn, peas, buttered roll, and apples with cinnamon. Also, Grant Wood School's business partner, Mt. Vernon

Rd. Hy-Vee ,will be donating apple crisp for all students and staff to enjoy later in the day. ( Grant's family tradition was actually having birthday pie instead of cake.) In their art class, Jim Jacobmeyer (long-term substitute) had them create

individual birthday cards which were requested and given to Maura Pilcher, University of Iowa, Director of the newly

created -Grant Wood Art Colony, who will display them on campus. Maura invited the school to communicate with them on future happenings, that she will feature on their website.

Throughout the weeks up to the contest, students were given trivia questions about Grant Wood's life. The students had been educated since September about Grant Wood through a power- point presentation given by a volunteer, and 125th Celebration Committee member, Karla Westpheling Zahradnik.

Last fall, former Grant Wood teacher of 33 years, and 125 th Celebration Committee member Linda Rae Norton, arranged for all the 2 -5 grade students to have guided tours of 5 Turner Alley and Grant's famous stain-glass window at the

Veterans' Memorial building. A family centered activity in the fall featured a private Grant Wood family walking tour of

Grant's former neighborhood including his child-hood home, school, and church hosted by the History Center Mark Stouffer Hunter. Because of its popularity, two more tours will be in the spring. Another student activity focused on several of Grant's paintings. Afterwards, the students created their own parodies to decorate their lockers.

There are many more events being planned for students and staff to learn about Grant Wood during the remaining months of the school year.

The Winners Are:

Pre-Kindergarten:

Parody-Jerdrick Couvelle

Accurate-No entries

Kindergarten:

Parody-Mickey Steele and his mom Steph Steele

Accurate-Malo Hussein

1^st Grade:

Parody-Dominic Souza

Accurate-Aben Lynkwiler

2^nd Grade: