Art Fest 2021
The Olympics

Art Fest Olympics has a new, rescheduled date— Friday, March 26, 2021!   Please read the following information so you are aware of how this event will work this year, as there are some important changes as a result of Covid-19.
 
Our Art Fest team has been hard at work planning one of our students’ favorite days of the year.  We are going to take you to The Olympics for Art Fest!  Incorporating the cultures of Japan, home of the 2021 Summer Olympics, and Greece, the historical birthplace of the Olympic Games, we will be hosting our own St. Paul’s Olympic celebration. 
 
Art Fest will look a little different this year, however.  As you probably expect, Covid-19 and all the new social distancing protocols in place are requiring us to make a number of changes. It will be a scaled-down version of the day many of you are accustomed to, relying heavily on technology to bring Visiting Artists to the classrooms rather than live, in-person speakers.  We are thrilled to say that joining us as Visiting Artists this year will be several former Olympians who have agreed to address our students through virtual presentations that these athletes are developing specifically for our St. Paul's students! They will be sharing information, stories, and/or memories of their own Olympic experiences and drawing upon questions that St. Paul's students developed before the holiday break that have been emailed to our Visiting Artist Athletes.  We hope to make these links available via our school website so you, too, are able to join us virtually as we pay tribute to Olympic history and honor our special guests' part in that legacy of greatness through their individual video presentations! 
 
Additionally, other mitigation measures we are taking to reduce the spread of Covid-19, yet maintain the most normal Art Fest experience for our students, is that in keeping with this academic year's school safety protocols, our students will remain largely in their respective classrooms and will participate in outdoor activities by class and grade level with a couple of exceptions where crowd mitigation measures will be in place and social distancing and masks will be required.  We are doing our best to make this day memorable, safe, and fun while also adapting to the changes that the global pandemic has required. 
 
One of the most significant changes to Art Fest this year is one that we all hope will be temporary, and that is the reduction in volunteers on campus to staff our event. In years past we have not only had the opportunity as parents to join our children and participate in Art Fest as guests, but also have worked as volunteers helping children with crafts, serving lunch, making snack plates, and just being together as a school community.  This time around, our volunteer opportunities, per Ms. Thompson's directive due to Diocesan requirements, are extremely limited. Classes must stay together and not mingle with other grades.  A limited number of people will be allowed in the building at any given time and must be listed on the Sign-Up Genius as a volunteer for the event.  Volunteers will be required to check in and out the day of the event in an effort to not only control numbers on campus but also for contact tracing purposes.  And, if you are volunteering, you MUST be 6 feet away from all students whenever possible and wear your mask.
 
Volunteer Sign-Ups: For those of you who would like to volunteer the day of Art Fest or in preparation for the event (like setup/teardown/take-home craft material prep), those sign-ups are included at the end of this email and will also be posted on 5th Street Blacktop as well as on the Art Fest Tab of the School’s Webpage. 
 
WE NEED ITEMS FOR OUR ART FEST MUSEUM!
 
In this year’s Museum, we will be highlighting the many sites of the Olympic Games over the centuries, and we need to borrow your stuff!   We are looking for  artifacts from countries/cities that have held the Olympics throughout history which will be displayed throughout the day of Art Fest in a curated “Museum.”   If you have traveled or lived anywhere that was at any point a host site for the Olympic Games (even if the item(s) you have are not specifically Olympic-related), you might be able to contribute to our Museum. In an effort to convey the spirit of different cultures participating in the Olympic Games and the footprint they have made throughout history, the Museum will include more diverse artifacts than perhaps it has had in years prior when we have focused specifically on one city/country for Art Fest. So this means we could use items from a trip to Greece, Sydney, Whistler, BC, even Los Angeles and Atlanta.  Examples of what we are looking for are cultural artifacts and souvenirs (even if these things are “tacky tourist” things!), photos, postcards, t-shirts or hats, etc. Of course, if you DO have actual Olympic souvenirs, memorabilia, or other merchandise that we can borrow for the Museum, that is wonderful! However, we realize that these items might be harder to acquire!  If you think you might have items to share, please contact Shannon Delegal at strongsas@yahoo.com.   Any items you allow us to borrow must be clearly labeled with your name and contact information so that the items can be returned to you following Art Fest.  Typically we have a designated area where families go to pick up their items when Art Fest is over (at this point, that place is TBD but we will update this pick-up location closer to the event).
 
LOOKING FOR ART FEST FORMS?  CHECK YOUR KID’S FOLDER OR BACKPACK FOR THE FOLLOWING:
 

• T-shirt Order Form (went home week of Jan. 4 before the original date got postponed. IF YOU ALREADY TURNED IN YOUR ORDER, YOU DO NOT NEED TO ORDER AGAIN!).  Order forms are still being accepted.  If you lost the original form, it is posted on the Art Fest Tab of the School’s website or you can click on the attachment included with this email. (Due Thursday, March 11) 
• Lunch Order Form (coming via email and from your student March 1!) — As of March 1 you can also find this posted on the Art Fest Tab of the School’s website. (Due Friday, March 19)
• Please note there is NO Family Take-Home Project this year!

SIGN-UP GENIUSES FOR VOLUNTEERS:  Our Sign Ups are limited this year, but available now for volunteer opportunities—click on the links below and come be a part of a special day at St. Paul’s!
 
General Art Fest Supply and Volunteer Sign Up:
 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040944AEAD2FA02-artfest5
 
Lunch and Market Volunteer Sign Up:
 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f094aa9ac2ba7ff2-artfest1
 
Lunch Supply Sign Up:
 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f094aa9ac2ba7ff2-artfest2
 
Market Supply Donation Sign Up (for trail mix):
 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A4FACA722A13-artfest
 
Arts and Crafts Volunteer Sign Up (on-campus volunteer activities will take place in the Father Kelly donut room in the Gym)
 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B4FA9A923AAFE3-artfest4

Classroom Helpers for Art Fest March 26, 2021 7:45AM-2:30PM

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040944AEAD2FA02-classroom

 
Please understand that for this event to be held, we had to reimagine it in many ways, and we share your disappointment in that we cannot get together as we would like as a school community for Art Fest. And, please note that despite the mitigation measures we have put into place, our efforts to plan a safe event may not come to fruition, and Art Fest might be indefinitely postponed if Covid-19 numbers continue to increase.  We ask for your patience and understanding in these uncertain times.    
 
Thanks everyone for all your support as we move forward!  Any questions, please contact Susie Coughlin ( scough@gmail.com) or Christy Ossi (caopeo@comcast.net).