Date: Fri 23-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

scarecrow-Clancy-Vouros

Full Text:

Get Your Ballots Ready-- Scarecrows Are Returning To Their Temporary Residence

(with file photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

Scarecrows of all shapes and sizes will take up residence on the front lawn of

Newtown Middle School this weekend.

The creations are the result of five weeks of work by some students in the

middle school's gifted art and Discovery programs. The Scarecrow Sculpture

Contest has become an annual event for Newtown. It was introduced by the

gifted art and Discovery teachers three years ago, after Discovery teacher

John Vouros saw a similar contest being presented in Cooperstown, N.Y.

"Different organizations represented themselves by building a scarecrow, and

tourists and townspeople were then invited to vote on their favorite

scarecrows," Mr Vouros said late last month when introducing the contest to

assembled eighth graders. Along with Mr Vouros, art teachers Claudia Clancy,

Sue Ward and Louise Porter-Hahn are guiding students through the contest.

For the Newtown version of the Sculpted Scarecrow Contest, students have a

number of objectives to meet. Before actually building their own creative

assemblages, small groups of students are working on researching the purpose

of a scarecrow. This background information helps students plan a scarecrow

that will not only represent themselves, but also serve the original purpose

intended for scarecrows.

The next step is to plan and construct a larger-than-life scarecrow. The

students' work will then be put on display on the front lawn for a full week.

The public is asked to participate in the major project by visiting the school

and casting votes, which cost $1 apiece, for the scarecrow they like best.

The scarecrows this year will remain on display Saturday, October 24, through

Sunday, November 1. If there is a heavy downpour on Saturday (as has been the

case during both previous years of the contest), the students will be at the

school on Sunday morning to put up their scarecrows.

Ballots appear in this week's issue of The Newtown Bee , and may also be

available on the school's lawn. Voting can be done at any time, and ballots

may be dropped off at the middle school or at the Bee offices.

Once the most popular scarecrow is selected, the money collected during the

voting process is then donated by the winning scarecrow team to a charity of

the students' choice.

The winners will be announced at the middle school on Monday, November 2, and

printed in The Newtown Bee in the November 6 issue.

Past entries have included huge, dark scarecrows that have hidden faces,

scarecrows that look like beekeepers, gardening scarecrows, and even one that

looked like the comic book character Superman. Nearly 30 scarecrows have been

presented for the contest during each of the two previous years.

In 1996, the winning scarecrow was a very frightening-looking headless

horseman. Last year's winner was called a "scare human " by its creators.

Three boys built a large crow that was actually scaring a man.

Creating a scarecrow, or anything that is going to be displayed outdoors for a

full week during October takes a lot of planning, the teachers told their

students. Durability is a key factor of the planning process.

"It has to be durable," Mrs Clancy told the students. "It has to stay up in

the wind and the rain. You can't use masking tape and expect your scarecrow to

stay together all week." Durability will also play a role when it is time to

bring the scarecrows to the school on Saturday.

"You also have to think about moving it here," continued the art teacher. "How

are you going to get it here without it falling apart?"

Mr Vouros also put an emphasis on the importance of working as a collective

team, and not leaving the work on this project for the last few days before

the scarecrows are due to be set up on the school's lawn.

"This cannot be done at the last minute," he stressed. "Your work will be on

view for the world to see. Do not embarrass yourself, the group your are

representing, or the school."

Representatives from Trumbull Town Hall and Danbury's alternative school have

contacted John Vouros this year, interested in presenting similar contests in

their own towns.

"They both want to try to do it," the Discovery teacher said this week. "They

heard about the scarecrows and asked me about it." One of Mr Vouros' original

hopes when the contest was started three Halloweens ago was that the concept

would spread into area towns, or even be picked up by various groups in

Newtown.

This year's contest is again being put together by the art and Discovery

students at the middle school. While Newtown residents have not yet caught on

to the idea of creating its own scarecrow contest, it is public participation

that will once again make the final decision in the Sculpted Scarecrow

Contest.