Discovery program prompts expression in students

Author Ellie Waterston worked with Sisters Middle School students.

Sisters students are exploring the arts and the great outdoors in the new Discovery Year-Round program.

Discovery Year-Round is a pilot program launched by Camp Caldera at Sisters Middle School. The program's ultimate goal is to help the students discover themselves, according to Kit Stafford, Central Oregon Project coordinator for Caldera.

"The aim of Caldera Discovery is to have kids be excited about arts and self-expression," said Stafford. "We want to help kids find their place in life and feel good about it."

Caldera is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary arts organization

Camps are offered each summer, but Caldera wanted to be able to provide arts and outdoors activities for students through other venues.

"The year-round program sustains relationship with the kids," explained Stafford, who oversees the project at the middle school. "They feel they are known."

Discovery Year-Round kicked off this month. The program was originally scheduled as an after-school activity, but there was too much competition from sports and other school-related functions. The classes are now held four days a week during fifth period.

Sarah Whipple introduced the program with art therapy sessions. Becky Powell encouraged the students to explore with clay as she taught a two-day class on ceramics.

Photography, printmaking, cartooning, painting, and dance are just a few of the other subjects covered.

This past week, poet/writer Ellie Waterston taught the kids to express themselves through written art.

"We can take things from everyday life," Waterston told the class, "and transport it into something with meaning for us."

After a brief discussion about metaphors, she encouraged the students to write poetry, incorporating ordinary objects into their work. Waterson instructed them to start their poems with the phrase: "Let me never become . . ."

The kids giggled and exchanged ideas before taking pencils in hand. But a seriousness beyond their years surfaced in their poetry.

Eighth-grader Lace Brewster chose an orange peel to describe what she didn't want to become:

"Let me never become a withered, dried, orange peel, with all of the juice sucked out of me and the insides of me eaten out by another leaving nothing but the dreams of yesterday."

Eighth-grader Brandon Matheson has only been a part of the class for three days, but enjoyed working with clay.

"I thought it was fun playing with clay. I made a bowl and put my foot print in it," he said. "I did that because I like to run."

Errin Eimer, a seventh grader, also liked learning about ceramics.

"I liked making stuff that represents us," she said. "I made a plate with stars on it because I like stars.

"It also had my nickname and my initials on it. I like that others are learning more about us and we are learning more about others in this class."

"We launched out into uncharted territory as a class," said Stafford, who describes herself as a performance and visual artist.

"One of the unique things about this program is that it receives its value from the kids.

"And they aren't judged by the things they produce. What matters is what it means to them."

Waterston lives in Bend and is a communications consultant. She is currently the artist in-residence up at Camp Caldera.

For more information about Discovery Year-Round or Camp Caldera contact Kit Stafford, 549-9366.