Conference weds art and writing in the classroom

NEW PALTZ — The Hudson Valley Writing Project at SUNY New Paltz and Ulster County BOCES is sponsoring a day-long conference titled “The Art(s) of Writing” beginning at 8 a.m., on Friday, Feb. 28, at the Ulster County BOCES Conference Center in New Paltz.

The conference focuses on the connections between art and literacy and will feature workshop sessions for classroom teachers, pre-kindergarten through college. The morning session begins with a keynote address by artist and illustrator Thomas Locker, followed by experiential workshops presented by teacher consultants from the Hudson Valley Writing Project.

The afternoon session features a lecture and workshop by Karen Ernst da Silva, a consultant and teacher, who has researched and developed strategies for the link between art and literacy learning for children and adults. She is the author of Picture Learning: Artists and Writers in the Classroom (1994); A teacher’s Sketch Journal: Observations on Learning and Teaching (1997); and New Entries: Learning by Writing and Drawing (1996), co-edited with R. Hubbard.

All workshops will focus on various ways to successfully wed art and writing in the classroom and will provide participants with opportunities to create their own work and to examine student work.

For information or to register by phone, contact Kim Kreuscher at (845) 255-1402, ext. 280. To register online, log on to www.ulsterboces.org. The cost of the conference is $25 for COSER participants (COSER districts: Onteora, Sugerties, Kingston, New Paltz, Highland, and Rondout Valley) and $50 for all others. Registration deadline is Feb. 21.