Saint Thomas Academy's Mark Westlake has been named 2018 Space Educator of the Year by the National Space Club and Foundation. Westberg is the Innovation Center Director and Found/Co-moderator of the Experimental Vehicle Team at Saint Thomas Academy. The Space Educator Award, bestowed annually on only one secondary school teacher in the country, recognizes teachers for motivating and guiding high school students in the study of careers in space science and technology. Westlake will be honored at the 61st Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner on Friday, March 16 in Washington, D.C.

Check out WCCO's story on Mark and his award. Congratulations, Mark!

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/03/08/space-educator-of-the-year

A mobile app proposed by technology architect Colin McFadden and digital preservation specialist Samantha Porter '05 of the University of Minnesota won the 2018 3M Art and Technology Award from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The two will receive $50,000 toward the development of the project, which is an app that turns the museum into a puzzle room, providing a new, interactive way to deepen visitor engagement with the museum's collection.

The Mn Twins: Bly and Rowan Pope

Opening February 17, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) presents "The Mn Twins: Bly and Rowan Pope"—the first museum exhibition of Minnesota artists and twin brothers Bly and Rowan Pope. Using mostly pencil, both artists create photorealist works of extraordinary detail and psychological depth. Each dedicates hundreds—in some cases thousands— of hours to a single work. On view through October 28, the exhibition features a selection of drawings, paintings, and works in progress.

Although the brothers use the same medium (graphite) and similar photorealist technique, their subjects and approaches are different. Bly concentrates on portraiture and nature. He scrutinizes the ordinary, overlooked, and seemingly banal to show such details of life are worthy of appreciation and artistic expression. Rowan focuses on narrative to examine a range of human emotions, a path that can lead to a chilling view of humanity. In their hyper-vivid depictions, both create haunting, memorable, and at times disturbing works of art.

"The art of Bly and Rowan Pope is a marvel," said Rachel McGarry, PhD, associate curator of prints & drawings at Mia. "It is striking to watch people encounter their work for the first time. The drawings elicit wonder in their hyperrealist technique; it is easy to forget you are looking at something made by a pencil. These are not purely demonstrations of virtuosity, however. Each artist takes on big themes—aging, existence, violence, human nature—to create powerful, memorable works of art."

Exhibition highlights include two works recently acquired by Mia, one from each artist. Bly's monumental portrait Maryanna (2008–11) depicts his grandmother at age 90. His detailed drawing captures her aging face—inspecting her wrinkled flesh, coarse hair, ailing eyes, and composed demeanor—to reveal beauty in an unconventional way. Rowan's A Hunger Artist (2013) is a disturbing image inspired by Franz Kafka's dark story of the same title, which follows a performer, a kind of a circus show, whose act, or art, was to starve himself. The surreal scene shows the performer after a 40-day fast, when a crowd has gathered to see him emerge from his cage a walking skeleton.

Born in 1980 in Southern California, the Pope brothers moved with their family to Minnesota at age 3. Both graduated from Stanford University in California, where they majored in studio art and minored in psychology. They then returned to the Twin Cities and earned MFAs from the University of Minnesota. The brothers have worked side by side yet independently their entire lives.

Monday, February 5th6:30pm Lake Country School Gym All are welcome! Need child care during the event? Call 612-827-3707 to sign up (LCS current students only).

Nehrwr (pronounced "nay-wah") Abdul-Wahid is a nationally recognized consultant for his work on authentic community building. He focuses on building capacity to maximize diversity as a necessary resource. Nehrwr's unique ability to effectively use experiential learning to generate authentic dialogue and self-reflection has benefitted clients across the globe.

The primary objectives of the presentation are to:

• Provide shared meaning of key concepts and terms related to cultural competency.

• Increase awareness of one's own cultural influences on their interactions with others.

• Develop tools to aid in gathering information about other cultural groups.

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Attention Visual Arts Teachers

MAIS Affinity Workshop

Visual Arts Connections

Friday Feb. 2, 2018

Saint Paul Academy

8:00am-11:30am

FREE

MAIS Teacher Service Committee is excited to offer this Affinity Day for all teachers of visual arts, preK-12. This will be a morning focused on sharing and learning with and from colleagues.

Schedule of the Day

8:00 – Open Space Discussions

(A light breakfast will be available at this time. Join a table with a discussion focus.)

• Visual Arts as a part of STEAM education
• Assessment in the arts - evaluation, measurement, grading, and documentation
• Art Connections - with colleagues, curriculum, nature, outside resources, businesses, etc.

9:00 – Gallery of Art Connection Ideas

Explore projects featuring a connection with another content area or a community organization.

(Please be thinking of a project/lesson/experience you may be interested in sharing. Sign up for this option will be coming at a later date.)

10:15 – Division Group Discussions

Ask questions, share resources, network, socialize

• Lower School
• Middle School
• Upper School

REGISTER HERE!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration 2018

What You Need To Do

Please join us for Friends School of Minnesota's Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. This annual all-school event explores the Quaker value of community through a variety of songs, dances, and multimedia and spoken word performances.

This year's MLK celebration illustration was drawn by AnnaSophia in 7th grade.

When and Where

• Friday, January 12 at 7pm
• O'Shaughnessy Auditorium at St. Catherine University