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PHOENIX END OF THE YEAR REPORT FROM THE SCHOOLSStudy Brooklyn%u2019s Indian Past in P.S. 321 ActivitiesContinued From Preceding Pagesixth grader Jason Bray showed definite artist potential. One the best aspects of thekids drawing whatever they wanted, Joanadded, was they they had %u201cno structure except whet CO%u2122**%u00ae out rtf them Fj%u00bbrh childcan develop his own point of view .%u201d Shealso explained her reason for teaching themthe significance of their neighborhood. %u201cIwant the kids to know that even thoughthey%u2019re sm all, they can make a difference.%u201dOnce the initial shyness barrierwas broken between the artists andtheir big drawing boards, smallsmall creations began to appear.She demonstrated her involvement withher young charges when she took moneyfrom her own pocket to buy them cooldrinks.Despite the stifling heat that day, cries of%u201cWe don%u2019t want to leave!%u201d were unanimouswhen they were asked if the weather wastoo uncomfortable to work in.The project was completed the next daywhen they m et again in the sam e place. Butthe kids said they wished it could last muchlonger.Joan, too, enjoyed the experience. %u201cIt%u2019swonderful coming back to Brooklyn!%u201d shesaid.As part of a link between Public School321 and the Brooklyn Historical Society, adisplay of primitive American Indian artifacts was held at the school on First Streetand Seventh Avenue. The display coincidedwith the Parent Teachers Association%u2019s annual fundraising fair that, despite rainyweather, still drew a good-sized crowd.The event marks the latest in a series ofeducational projects for the fourth-gradersat P.S. 321, all sponsored by the HistoricalSociety %u2014 a group which says that it existsnot just to preserve the past but to interpretit as well. As a somewhat unique learningexperience, students have been taughtnative American pottery and leather work,and have participated in field trips to theSociety%u2019s building on Pierrepont Street.Currently, each class in the fourth gradehas been working on illustrations of a folktale told to them by Indian storyteller,Robin Moore. Seven (liferent versions of thiswere on display at the fair. According to theSociety%u2019s Curator of Education, JoyceCrawford, a grant from the New York SkateCouncil (Mi the Arts has made a good part ofthese projects possible.was one of the featured areas at P.S. 321 srecent annual fair. (Phoenix/Pearson Photo)Interested children or adults who stoppedto speak with aruiacts expert, Jeff Xaiin, aithe fair last Saturday might have been surprised by how much they didn%u2019t know aboutthe lives of the people who roamedBrooklyn a few short centuries ago. Kalin,whose ancestry includes an American Indian, developed an interst in native culturewhile growing up in Connecticut. A trainedarcheologist, he began making replicas oftiie artifacts he studied, using the samemethods as those used by earlyNortheastern Indians.At the meeting, Kalin demonstrated howrocks found almost anywhere can be madeinto useful tools. Through the physicallydemanding processes of flaking, peckingand grinding, for example, a rock can beshaped into the head of an axe capable ofchopping down large trees.A founder of his own company, Prim itiveTechnologies Inc., Kalin has built an entireIndian village using traditional methods asa living history museum project. To aparent who wondered how else Kalin makeshis living, the expert joked, %u201cNo, I don%u2019thave a job, but I%u2019ve been told to get (me onnumerous occasions.%u201dStudents Adopt Borough Landmarks to Share InBY ROY NEVILLE tisans and craftsmen of those bygone days,Combine an area rich in tradition andhistory with a group of junior and seniorhigh school students reflecting on concernsbeyond what to wear Saturday night, throwin a dedicated teacher or two, and then topit all off with an organization claimingdevotion to aesthetically relevant causes,and you have the Adopt A LandmarkCelebration sponsored by BACA/TheBrooklyn Arts Council.In this year%u2019s celebration, Long IslandUniversity is displaying an exhibit of worksby five Brooklyn high schools, John Jay,Erasmus Hall, Prospect Heights, SouthShore and Lafayette, and one junior high,Mark Twain. Each school adopted a particular aspect of their borough%u2019s past tocommemorate. The students worked withphotographs, sketches and, in one case, anoriginal videotaped play. The aim of theprogram, according to BACA%u2019s special project coordinator, Rhonda Patent, was to getstudents interested in learning about thehistory of Brooklyn and its landmarks.More than 100 students participated inwhat BACA described as an %u201cart oriented%u201dprogram. That is to say that although AdoptA Landmark is them atically based in theculture and tradition of Brooklyn's past, thestudents were encouraged to discover thatpast not only in a factual and historical context, but through a creative process thatemphasized personal expression. The process also encouraged respect for the araccording to Patem.On June 14 a reception was held at thethird floor Nathan Resnick ShowcaseGalleries, in the Lite-ary Learning Center ofLong Island University%u2019s downtownBrooklyn campus, for students and teachersfrom participating schools to meet and vieweach other%u2019s efforts with officials. Thelargest turnout came from Canarsie%u2019s SouthShore High School as fine arts teacher,Judith Rosenstein, brought along about 25 ofher students. Prospect Heights educators,Arthur Yarish and Haariin Chui, attendedwith six students. John Jay Special Education instructor, Jeff Tilden, was also presentat the afternoon%u2019s event.Among the landmark displays was onefrom South Shore High portraying theLoew%u2019s Kings Theater in Flatbush inphotographs and drawings that concentrated on the craftsmanship and architectural detail of the building.One student, Patrick Thomas, designedplans for alternative use of the space bothinside and outside the shut-down theater.One of his drawings, the %u201cGlass BubbleShopping Mall of the Kings%u2019 Outer Lobby%u201dsuggested retail use to pay for themaintenance of the enormous structurewithout destroying its historical importance.Prospect Heights High contributed to theprogram in the form of a nine minutevideotape titled, %u201cThe Past We Visited.%u201dStudents wrote, directed and acted in theproduction, which was shot in the PeriodRooms of the Brooklyn Museum, with socialstudies teacher, Yarish, and art instructor,Chui, taking rales as faculty advisors.Students at both Mark Twain Junior Highand Lafayette High adopted the entire Coney Island area as a landmark to behonored. In addition to sketches andErasmus Hall High didn Vhave to look very far foran institution to celebrate.The school itself is a 200year old structure, one ofthe oldest establishmentsof secondary education.photographs of such well-known Brooklynsights as Steeplechase Park, the Boardwalk,the Cyclone and Nathan%u2019s Famous Hot dogs,the exhibit included drawings of proposedplans for the redevelopment of the amusement areas of Coney Island.Erasmus Hall High didn%u2019t have to lookvery far for an institution to celebrate. Theschool itself is a 200 year old structure, oneof the oldest establishments of secondaryeducation in the country. The work of thesestudents, also in the form of photographsLocal Historyand drawings, dealt with the ornatequalities of the Flatbush school and thebeauty of the grounds which surround it.Park Slope%u2019s John Jay High Schoolstudents exhibited a photographic display ofthe sights along Brooklyn%u2019s waterfront, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the ManhattanBridge, and the Statue of Liberty. Thedisplay, entitled %u201cThe Brooklyn Waterfront,the River and Bay: A Landmark andResource,%u201d was the only work done entirelyby Special Education classes. Since theLandmark program%u2019s inception a few yearsago when students from Midwood HighSchool and Brooklyn College collaborated ina study of three Victorian homes, BACA hashelped to maintain connections betweenhigh schools and colleges, with the aim oflowering Brooklyn%u2019s high dropout rate. Thename, Adopt A Landmark, was given to theprogram last year by BACA%u2019s executivedirector Charlene Victor.The Brooklyn landmark exhibit will beshown at L.I.U. through July 14. After that,according to Victor, the Board of Educationwill set up a room at Mark Twain JuniorHigh for the work to be on permanentdisplay.The director confesses that while this willgive more students the opportunity to learnabout where they live, BACA%u2019s long termgoal is nothing short of an entire museum%u2014 of, by and for Brooklyn%u2019s landmarks,neighborhoods and ethnicity.Happenings at Downtown Area Schools Liven the Term for StudentsLocal schools this year livened up theirneighborhoods with a wide variety ofevents. Of course, all of the schools areholding commencements. Two wrath mentioning are the eighth and nine grade graduations at IJS. 88. The first will feature guestspeaker Liz Holtzman, District Attorney, onJune 24, and the second will be addressedby Councilman Sal Albanese on June 25.A major happening in Park Slope wasPJS. 107%u2019s %u201cTurn Back the Clock%u201d activities.Looking at the Slope and New York as itwas at the turn of the century in order tobetter appreciate the context of the Libertycentennial, the students, with the help ofcoordinator Roberta Kirschbaum, created apuppet parade, presented a turn of the century circus, held an old-time sing, made aquilt, showed original film s, and dressed astheir grandfathers would have for the twodays of festivities which were held at theend of May.P.S. 3%u00bb%u2019s graduating class also did som ething historip %u25a0 They took a two-day trip toBoston, and visited Quincy Market, theFreedom Trail and the Boston Children%u2019sMuseum.Many spring performance? n?%u2122 worthmentioning Uiis year. The P.S. 58 MarchingBand played at City Hall on May 22. TheirDance Festival on June 12 was an excitingoccasion for the students as well. I.S. 88%u2019sTheatre-Arts Traveling Dance Group performed several tim es for older adults intheir communities this spring, presenting%u201cBroadway Night IV%u201d as part of the program.PJS. 15 held their own %u201cHands AcrossAmerica\celebrated by holding hands around theschool in order to raise money fra the campaign. They finished their program by releasing 800 red, white and blue balloons.P.S. 10 held its seventh annual Parent Recognition Day in which over 150 parentswere served a continental breakfast andmembers of the P.TA. were presented with%u201cgolden apples%u201d and given certificates ofappreciation.PJS. 29 students were treated to a danceprogram performed by the DP Dancers forthe entire school. The performance introduced students to different dance styles andtechniques, with children joining in for firsthand experience.Another major art happening was the%u201cStudio In A School%u201d art fair held at P.S.107 in which other schools were invited tovisit and participate in the school%u2019s parades,gallery receptions, workshops and projects.%u2014MJP.Sulay Rivera was Miss Liberty at the P.S.15 %u201c Hands Across Am erica%u201d event.entire schoolyard at P.S. 15 was surrounded by enthusiastic participants in theschool%u2019s %u201c Hands Across 15.\%u201c Hands Across Am erica\balloons from the center of the schoolyard. (Phoenix/Pearson Photo)June 19, 1986, THE PHOENIX, Page 19