Toyota Grants Will Pay For A TAPESTRY Of Research

TORRANCE, Calif. - Two Maui teachers each have been honored with a $10,000 grant for excellence and innovation in science education to be used for projects in their classrooms.

The Toyota TAPESTRY awards to Kathleen Ireland and Dan Kuhar are sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. and administered by the National Science Teachers Association.

Ireland, a biology teacher at Seabury Hall, will lead her students in a project to harvest and press oils from native Hawaiian plant seeds. The oil will then be tested for energy production and used to run a student-designed motor.

The Seabury Hall students also will work in conjunction with University of Hawaii at Manoa students to uncover the optimal growing environment for a new type of oil-producing plant.

Kuhar, a science and health teacher at the Kihei Charter Middle School, will use his grant money to create a program for students to study the statewide spread of invasive algae. Kuhar's class has partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine which species of algae cause the most problems and which water conditions cause the biggest algae blooms.

Toyota TAPESTRY is the largest annual K-12 science teacher grant program in the country, according to the company's news release. Award-winning projects are selected from three critical areas for youth: environmental science, physical science and science applications that promote literacy.

Fifty grants of up to $10,000 are awarded each year, along with a minimum of 20 grants of as much as $2,500 each. More than $8.5 million has been awarded to 1,064 teams of teachers throughout the program's 19-year history.

Kuhar said he and others at Kihei Charter School are excited about embarking on the algae project.

"Students will be empowered to be stewards of their community, aina and kai," Kuhar wrote in an e-mail. "Students will also benefit from the positive and healthy impacts of spending time outdoors, observing the natural world, and cooperative learning," he added.

The Kihei Charter project will involve approximately 160 students in grades 6 to 8 working in partnership with community members, scientists and partners at NOAA. The program emphasizes community-based education and a classroom-without-walls concept of hands-on work that takes place in the field.

At Seabury Hall, Ireland will start the first segment of her project with approximately 70 freshmen. They will locate kukui nut trees, analyze the microenvironments of these trees and harvest the nuts. They will then work with student mentors in Seabury's engineering class to press oil from the collected nuts.

The project moves forward with sophomores adding findings; then seniors in an engineering class will use the oil to power their biofuel motor. They will record any observations they find in the use of the oil.

Ireland expects some 170 students will be involved in the project, and will present their findings to Seabury's entire student body.

"I am very interested in providing authentic learning experiences in my classrooms as well as stimulating interest in 'real life' science," Ireland said in an e-mail. "The take-home message from this project is that Seabury Hall students will be working in a large cohesive group to identify possible solutions to our dwindling fuel issues.

They will learn the importance of careful and clear data collection, as well as discovering the challenges of working on real world problems in a group setting.

"With any luck, Seabury Hall students will be able to produce a viable alternative fuel, complete with some efficiency testing!"

* Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.

Taken From MauiNews.com

Cumbrian Church’s History Sewn Up In New Tapestries

Friends of a 400-year-old Cumbrian church have history all sewn up with tapestries to chart the building’s journey through the ages.

Longtown’s Arthuret Church – also known as St Michael and All Angels Church – is one of the oldest in the Diocese of Carlisle.

The tapestries are the latest in a year-long programme of 400th anniversary celebration events and were mounted on the church walls on Saturday when a special blessing was carried out.

Tapestry co-ordinator Christine Batey, of Oakshaw Hill, Longtown, said: “There are four tapestries now hanging on the wall of the church which have been made by about 40 friends of the church and other local people.

“About 40 people were involved and it has taken about 18 months to complete so it was quite a task to co-ordinate them all.”

Mrs Batey added: “I am really pleased with the way it has turned out, it has surpassed my expectations. The tapestries will hang in the church for years to come and I hope they will be admired by my grandchildren when they grow up.”

The Church of England church is led by The Rev Russell Tague and the Most Reverend Dr Idris Jones Primus.

It is now part of the benefice of three churches, St Michael and all Angels, Longtown; St Andrew, Kirkandrews-on-Esk; and St Nicholas, Nicholforest.

Between them they cover an area from the Scottish border to north of Carlisle.

The building, which dates back to 1609, has a long and important history which started with James VI of Scotland and the unruly Border Reivers.

The people of Longtown are marking the anniversary with a long programme of events, which started last November.

A flower show is planned for the summer. The theme will be the thistle and the rose to mark the ancient cross border connections of the church.

Taken From Cumberland-News.co.uk

Home Style: Decorating With Plates

I was doing some window-shopping during a rare break from the store during a particularly busy holiday retail season when I spotted them: the set of fish plates that spoke to me.

I decided on the spot that if these antique Lamoge china plates, each decorated with the picture of a fish, were still there in January, I would treat myself to them as a reward for surviving another crazy holiday season.

Years later, I'm still enjoying my fish plates and I have used them time and again in my decorating, and always with dramatic results. They have hung on the thick molding between the French windows in my dining room. I've showcased them on my walls, below wall pockets, above wall brackets and on either side of a lovely china platter.

Plates are masterpieces that look smashing when mixed in with framed art.

But one of my favorite ways to display my fish plates was to prop them on easels on my mantel. However, this plan backfired when our cat sent one tumbling when she paraded back and forth across the mantel.

I think of all the plates in my cupboard as lovely pieces of art, and I display them all over my home. So does Dillon, one of the designers at Nell Hill's. Give Dillon a hammer and nails, and he will transform a stack of dishes into a thing of beauty. So I asked Dillon to join me in sharing a few tips for decorating with plates in your own home.

MIX PLATES WITH ARTWORK: Whether they sport a design -- like a scene from an English village, a flower, an animal, are embellished with a unique geometric pattern or gold trim -- or are simply creamy white, your dishes are masterpieces in their own right. So hang them on your walls, either in a grouping by themselves or mixed in with other pieces of framed art.

The other day, Dillon created a show-stealing display with a tall mirror, two sconces and a stack of plates. He flanked the mirror with the sconces. Then he hung a dinner plate to the side and bottom of each sconce, placing a dessert plate in between them. He put an oval platter above the mirror, with two smaller plates on either side. The effect was stunning.

REPEAT A COMMON THREAD: Whether it's a wall covered in blue-and-white transfer ware or a small column of plates painted with birds, when grouping plates, make sure they share a similar color scheme, theme or pattern so they look harmonious. While variety is the spice of life, when you group together too many colors and patterns, you end up with a look that's chaotic and disorganized.

EXPERIMENT WITH SYMMETRY AND ASYMMETRY: Dillon says symmetrical arrangements are the easiest to pull off: Simply create a design you love on one side of a piece of art, a doorway or on your mantel, then repeat it on the other side.

But don't just play it safe: Be willing to experiment with asymmetrical arrangements. The key to pulling together an asymmetrical look that's exciting, unexpected and visually appealing is to ensure it is balanced.

USE PLATES IN EVERY ROOM: Instead of confining plates to the kitchen, use them as art all over your home. Put a set of botanical plates in an unexpected spot, like above the doorway in your living room. Use a collection of similar plates to create a chair rail in your dining room. Cover your study wall with a tapestry of transfer-ware pieces. Surround your powder-room mirror with hand-painted dessert plates. Find some beautiful platters to display above the headboard in your bedroom. I've even hung plates on my front door.

(Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three successful home-furnishings stores and is the author of several best-selling books on home decorating. Write her at nellhills(at)mail.lvnworth.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)

Taken From CourierPress.com

Hand-Stitched Tapestry That Weaves Tales Of Medieval Life Goes On Display In New Ross

THE STATE’s newest tourist attraction was unveiled yesterday when the Ross Tapestry went on public display in the Co Wexford port town of New Ross.

Organisers of the permanent exhibition predict that the series of elaborate, hand-stitched tapestries depicting scenes of Irish medieval life will attract 60,000 visitors in year one.

Work on Europe’s biggest embroidery project began in 1998. For the past decade, more than 100 volunteers, from Co Wexford and neighbouring counties, have created 15 large, 6ft by 4ft, needlework panels which record the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland and its aftermath.

The exquisitely coloured, intricate tapestries include Arrogant Trespass: The Normans Landing at Bannow – a reference to the nearby strand where the invasion by 30 knights and 360 soldiers in 1169 led to 800 years of British rule in Ireland.

The Ross Tapestry is based on original paintings by Countess Ann Griffin Bernstorff, the Limerick-born artist who married a Danish aristocrat and settled on a farm in Co Wexford.

Yesterday, she praised volunteers who had devoted “thousands of hours and millions of stitches” and said, “we turned on a switch in the community and they responded”.

She explained that the original idea for the project had come from a Church of Ireland rector, Paul Mooney, who has since moved to Malaysia.

Project chairman Seán Reidy hailed “a world-class work of art” created by “the best example of volunteerism that Ireland will ever see”.

He thanked patrons, who include financier Dermot Desmond, newspaper magnate Tony O’Reilly and AIB’s Gerry Murtagh, for each making personal contributions of “significant five-figure sums”.

He also revealed that the project has attracted the attention of former US ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy-Smith who was “completely blown away by it”. She has asked that at least some of the tapestries be temporarily shipped to Washington in 2011 for celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedy’s inauguration.

The late president’s great-great-grandfather emigrated from the town and the Kennedy family maintains strong links with New Ross.

Yesterday’s opening was a low-key affair, with pride of place given to the volunteer embroiderers who expressed delight and pride at seeing their work hung permanently for the first time.

Mary Maher, a former secretary who had “stitched for two mornings a week” said it was “a fantastic achievement and brilliant to see on permanent display”.

All the embroiderers were women except John Ronan whose “wife encouraged me to have a go”. He was “uncomfortable in the beginning with all the women” but drew inspiration from his grandfather, “a tailor who had stitched his way into the fabric of the town”. Mr Ronan decided to “do the same” and yesterday said, “I’m so proud.”

Seán Connick, the local Fianna Fáil TD and a director of the project, was given a tour of the exhibition by Countess Bernstorff.

Afterwards, his “heart was thumping with pride” and he said, “This is what the community and the people of Ireland are capable of.”

The permanent exhibition is open to the public, seven days a week, from today at Priory Court, The Quay, New Ross.

A Fáilte Ireland spokesman said the exhibition was “destined to become a must-see attraction in Ireland”.

Taken From IrishTimes.com