Brushstrokes for Bramlett

Aren’t these pictures amazing? Principal SuzAnne Liddell of Bramlett Elementary School in Oxford assures me these reproductions of masterpieces by artists such as Monet and Van Gogh were created by FIRST-GRADERS! To prove it, she sent me pictures of the little artists in action. The Bramlett PTA recently held an art auction fundraiser for the school, netting more than $3,000! Mrs. Liddell wrote about the project for the Education page in Monday’s Daily Journal. Be sure to check it out.

Here’s a little more about the paintings:

CIMG2757 Sunset in Venice by Claude Monet painted by Vanessa Patton’s First Grade Class
CIMG2758 painted by Cheryl Eber’s First Grade Class
CIMG2759 Farbstudie Quadrate by Wassily Kandinsky painted by Lillie Faye Young’s First Grade Class
CIMG2763 Vase of Irises, c. 1890 by Vincent Van Gogh painted by Stephanie Roy’s First Grade Class
CIMG2768 Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh painted by Anna Helm Blair’s First Grade Class
CIMG2769 June Tree by Natasha Wescoat painted by Jaime Jones First Grade Class
CIMG2772 Autumn Blooms by Claude Monet painted by Keri Jo Finnie’s First Grade Class
CIMG2774 Sunflowers, c.1888 by Vincent Van Gogh painted by Tammy Reid’s First Grade Class
CIMG2775 Scream by Edvard Munch painted by Gail Massey’s First Grade Class
CIMG2776 Unnamed print by Marylyn Dintenfass painted by Jill Campos’s First Grade Class
1. With the Waves by Natasha Wescoat painted by Leanne Hester’s First Grade Class
2. Sunflowers In Vase, c. 1888 by Vincent Van Gogh by Donna Palmertree’s First Grade Class

It’s high school graduation time

Tonight I’ll attend graduation for Baldwyn High School. Fifty-four seniors will receive their diplomas in a ceremony in the school’s gym. I asked counselor Rhonda Crump if she had any advice for the Class of 2008. She responded with this: “Set goals, work hard, have a positive attitude, and never give up.”

Next week I’ll attend not one, not two, but FIVE graduations. On May 23, seniors from Nettleton and Tupelo high schools will don their caps and gowns and march to “Pomp and Circumstance.” On May 24, students from Saltillo, Shannon and Mooreville high schools will graduate.

Notes from Tupelo’s superintendent search

Thursday night I attended the open community forum that’s supposed to help find a replacement for Dr. Randy McCoy. If you’re disappointed that only about 20 people showed up, be encouraged that reps from HYA, the consulting firm conducting the search, has interviewed dozens of others while they’ve been in town this week. You can read my story in today’s DJ here.

Not a media darling, but there’s hope

On Thursday I did something I’ve never done before. I participated in a media panel discussion, along with two other Daily Journal writers, organized by the Tupelo chapter of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi. I’m told I did a good job explaining the best way for public relations practitioners to get their news releases published, but I have to give props to DJ entertainment writer Scott Morris and business editor Dennis Seid. Thanks to PRAM member Glen Allison of Allison Digital for the kind invitation.