It's a Halloween Party!

April as Queen Amidala, wearing a newspaper hat!

Karen G. as a 'Hippie'.

Joanna as a Happy Banana.

Joe V. the Crusader Knight and Tanette T. as a 'Dark Angel' wearing a newspaper hat!

Sharon M. as a Native American. 

Lori S. as a Witch sporting her costume prize ribbon.

On Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 the students of Hope University in Anaheim, California had a Halloween party.  The morning was filled with art created to decorate the fellowship hall and we made some fun newspaper and pipe-cleaner hats with the help of staff. Some of these hats were quite fantastic! There was 'pumpkin walk' where students walked on a circle of numbers, when the music stopped so did the students and a number was pulled.  If you were standing on the pulled number you won a small pumpkin!  A special Halloween bean bag toss game became a quick hit for fun.  In the kitchen some students and staff were busy making chocolate covered pretzels for a game later that day.  The morning concluded with a wonderful costume parade where everyone won a ribbon.  Some of our favorites were, Temple Grandin, Queen Amidala, the Gypsy, a Banana and even a Crusader Knight. 
After lunch the pretzels were strung and hung so students could try their luck at 'bobbing for pretzels'.   We ended our day with a spirited dance and lots of fun Halloween music provided by our 'DJ' Tom V.

Hope U Spirit Week!

Tom V. in his tropical shirt was a great DJ.

Rene S. shows off her island flair.

Gary A. is ready to play some smooth tropical rhythms.

Ben S. looks like he is ready for a day at the beach. 

Conga Line!

Cathy A. is a perfect tourist. 

Darren P. shows us a smile in front of a beachy backdrop. 

The week of August 20th we had Spirit Week here at Hope.  On Monday we had Red, White and Blue Day, everyone wore something that was red, white and blue, we had several  Angel's Baseball outfits!  On Tuesday it was Baby Picture Day, where everyone brought in a baby photo and we tried to guess who was who.  On Wednesday we had a Lu-Wow, complete with a DJ and hula dancers (several students learned a hula and performed for everyone).  On Thursday it was Staff Talent Show day.  There were opera singers, flutists, pianists, comedy performances and guitar playing.  Finally Friday 'topped it off' with Crazy Hat Day, with lots and lots of Crazy Hats! Summer may be on it's way out but the heat is still on here in Anaheim,  California so we may just need to plan few 'Popsicle Parties'. 

VSA Art on Display in Santa Ana

Joanna enjoys the artwork.

Richard points out a favorite.

Gary gets the best seat for art viewing.

It's nice to take it all in.

Mikki and Howard pose in the food court.

Alexis is very happy after eating cheese fries.

Joanna relaxes after a long walk through the mall.

Miguel's linoleum block print that will travel to Laguna Beach.

Ben's linoleum block print that will travel to Laguna Beach.

During the week of April 30 thru May 4th the students of Hope University were given the opportunity to go to the Westfield Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, California, to view their artwork.  Many schools, day programs and school districts throughout Orange County were included in the show.  Artwork was also selected from this large show to continue on to Laguna Beach for a traveling show.  Two of our students were selected for this special showing, Ben Simendinger and Miguel Aldaz are the proud artists.  We were able to take small groups to view the work, stroll around the mall and enjoy lunch in the food court.  Here are some favorite moments from the trip:
"I like all of the artwork and also buying lunch at McDonald's."  Kim Mumper.
"Looking at the artwork and the shops was fun."  Kris W.
"I liked looking around the mall."  Joanna Buon-Cristiani.
"There were many different artists work there, I liked seeing it all.  I also liked getting a break from school to walk around the mall."  Margaret Kelley.
As you can see the Westfield Main Place Mall is a hit with the students.
Our artwork is on display until May 13th.

Valentine's Day at Hope U.

Tom V. as D.J.

Ana P. and Fred M. dance the afternoon away.

Chris J. shows us a Valentine's Day card.

Three buddies having fun at the party.

Sharon M. gets her Valentine's Day cards ready to hand out.

Tina G. and April R. choose their snack.

Jenny D. is happy with her refreshments.

February 14th fell on a Tuesday so the students and staff planned a party to celebrate!  We made chocolate covered pretzels, who doesn't like salty and sweet?  We used red and pink chocolate to melt, then dipped the pretzels in it, yummy.  We also made artwork to decorate the fellowship hall, lots of hearts and happy drawings helped up get in the party mood.  Refreshments were served, punch and the chocolate covered pretzels we made were a wonderful snack.  There was also a DJ, student Tom Veltman spun the cd's that made us all want to boogie the afternoon away.  Students decorated bags to carry home all of their Valentine's Day cards and goodies.  We are sharing some photos with you of the students enjoying their Valentine's Day party.
"My favorite part of the day was the dance."
Ana Pinedo
"I liked singing to the music."
Joe Valliere
"My favorite part of the day was making the chocolate covered pretzel snacks."
April Renick
"Tom played great music, I really liked listening to it."
Lori Slikker
"I got to melt the chocolate in the microwave to cover the pretzels."
Margaret Kelley
As you can see the students had a grand time!

Halloween at Hope U

Vera (on right), music therapist, assists Melanie with chocolate covered pretzel making.

Tanette Tuttle shows off her best 'spider woman' smile.

Students helped to make, and eat the spooky snacks.

Kim Mumper chose a to be a waitress for Halloween this year.

Jason Rosales, as Batman in Repose.

Tina and April show off their costumes together.

Artistic Director Shelley RuggThorp paints Darren Crow's face.

Darren shows off his pirate paint!

Carol Ryden is a very happy pumpkin princess.

Alexis D'Luna had much fun in her 'Jasmine' costume.

Halloween fell on a Monday this year and the students of Hope University had some fun.  Our annual Halloween party was a hit to be sure.  There were spooky snacks, 'bobbing' for chocolate covered pretzels, paper hat making, face painting, a 'pumpkin walk', a costume parade and of course, lots of dancing!  Here are a few comments from the students about this years Halloween party:
"I really like the music."
Lori Slikker
"I liked all of the decorations that we made."
Kris W.
"I had fun in the costume parade."
April Renick
"Getting to dress up like a witch was fun."
Joanna Buon-Cristiani
"I liked doing the pumpkin walk game."
Margaret Kelley
"I liked everything!"
Tanette Tuttle

Guest Artist Tom Walker

Kimmie N. shows off her creation.

Karen L. basks in the simplicity of her metal design.

Tina G. and Michelle E. are proud of their metal sculptures.

 A student explores the play of light and shadow on the metal.

Three metal sculptures.

Tom Walker demonstrates with a jack-o-lantern in metal.

Darren P. and Carol W. concentrate on their designs.

In August we had a guest artist come to Hope University.  His name is Tom Walker and his medium is metal.  He makes sculptures both large and small using metal to create his art.  Tom brought with him some rolls of wire which he cut into smaller lengths.  Each student was given a length of wire with which to work.  He showed the students some examples of shapes to make, like a pair of glasses or a bicycle and talked about how to work with the wire.  It looks almost like sketching in three dimensions! The students really enjoyed working with the wire and having a guest artist come to teach is such a treat!  We are all very thankful to Tom and hope he can come back again to help us create more art.
"I made a dolphin."
Lori Slikker
"I made a penguin and an Orca whale."
Tanette Tuttle
"I made a flower."
K.
"I made a snowman."
Bradley Clayman
"I made a Christmas tree."
Darren Crow
All of the students were inspired by Tom, he really brought out their metal creativity!

Hope U Has A Lu-Wow!

Musical instructors Steve and Rene lead the students in an island drum circle.

Students making tropical fruit kabobs.

Students performed the 'Little Grass Shack' hula dance.

Tanette getting ready to throw in the ring toss game.

Alexis and other students dance to fun island inspired tunes.

The summer heat made us all think of going on a Hawaiian vacation, so we had one here!  There were tropical fruit kabobs, hula lessons, an island ring toss game, an native drum circle, a hula dance performance  and a DJ dance party! Fun was has by all!  Aloha!

"My favorite part of the day was the dance in the afternoon."
Kim Mumper

"My favorite part of the party was making the tropical fruit kabobs."
Lori Slikker

"I liked helping to cut up the strawberries and pineapple with my friends."
Tanette Tuttle