The Dream Flag Project

2008 Dream Flag Project Calendar
(last update: 1/15/08)
 

Suggested planning schedule in this color.
Important dates in this color.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Wk. of 1/14   text
Jan. 13 14 15 16

 

 17 18 Deadline for Pass The Banner sign-up.
Pass The Banner Details
 		 19
Wk. of 1/21  Pass The Banner Schools receive group assignments and can start making letter flags.
20 21 22 23

 

 24 25
 		 26
 Philadelphia Region DF Teacher Workshop
Wk. of 1/28 >Introduction of the poetry and life of Langston Hughes. Celebrate his birthday! Introduce Dream Flag Project  .First Week Ideas
>(Optional) work with classes to develop school description page on Wiki. (Participants should have password mailed to them.)
>Pass-The-Banner Project: First school receives rope and directions in mail.
27 28 29 30

 

 31 Feb. 1
 106th Birthday of Langston Hughes!
Hughes Birthday Plan!
 		 2
Wk. of 2/4   Langston Hughes poetry. Hughes Poem Study Ideas
3 4
 		 5
 		 6

 

 7 8
 		 9
Wk. of 2/11   Langston Hughes poetry and introduction of poetry writing. Look at site to see other schools participating and their descriptions.
10 11 12

 

 13 14
 		 15 16
Wk. of 2/18  
17 18
 		 19 20

 21 22
 		 23
Wk. of 2/25  Poetry writing culminating in each student's Dream Flag poem text. Poetry Writing Ideas
24 25 26 27 28 29 March 1
Wk. of 3/3   Transfer of poems to fabric. Email poems (text) to dreamflags@agnesirwin.org for posting on site. Words to Fabric
>Pass The Banner Project: March and April is time for displaying flag in school and then mailing it on.
2 3 4 5 6 7

 		 8
 
Wk. of 3/10 Decoration of flags.Decorating Ideas
(Photograph poets holding their complete flags and/or scan flags. Email to dreamflags@agnesirwin.org for posting on site.)
Phila. Region: Send home announcements and/or permission slips for students attending Philadelphia Dream Flag Celebration (DFC) on April 19. Sample letter (Word Doc)
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Wk. of 3/17  Assembly of flags on lines.
(Photograph Flag Lines and poets. Email to dreamflags@agnesirwin.org for posting on site.) Phila. Region: Select readers for All Schools DFC on April 21.
16
 First Day of Spring!		 17
 		 18 19
 All program information except readers names due to Dream Flags		 20 21 22
Wk. of 3/24  
23Easter 24 25 26 27 28 29
 
Wk. of 3/31  Week for sharing Dream Flags within your schools and with any partner schools for National Poetry Month. Go to web site or Wiki to see poems and pictures from other schools.
30 31
 		 April 1
Beginning of National Poetry Month.		 2
 		 3 4 5
Wk. of 4/7  
6 7U.S. schools mailing flags send them by this date. 8 Deadline for mailing Pass the Banner to Dream Flags in Philadelphia 9Names of Readers/ Poets  to Dream Flags 10 11 12
 
Wk. of 4/14  Preparation week before Dream Flag Celebration on Saturday 4/19. (Learn Dream Flag Song.)
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
 All Schools Dream Flag Celebration at Kimmel Center, Philadelphia! details
Wk. of 4/21  Celebration Dream Flags prepared for exhibition by DF volunteers.
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Wk. of 4/28   Celebration Dream Flags prepared for exhibition by DF volunteers.
27 28 29 30 May 1 2 3
Wk. of 5/5   Exhibition of Dream Flags in Philadelphia Region. Specific dates to be determined.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wk. of 5/12  
11 12 13 14 15 16 17

 

April 21
Description of 2005 Kimmel Center Dream Flag Celebration

Kimmel Center 2008 Dream Flag Celebration Details:

Location: The Philadelphia Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Commonwealth Plaza-- located at the intersection of Spruce Street and Broad Street in Center City Philadelphia. Commonwealth Plaza is the large glass-enclosed lobby area of the Kimmel Center. There is a stage on the south side of the Commonwealth Plaza, and our registration desk will be next to it.
Kimmel Center web site: http://www.kimmelcenter.org/
Kimmel Center directions web page: http://www.kimmelcenter.org/planning/findus.php
Kimmel Center Visitor Services phone number: 215-670-2327 Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm

Transportation: Bus drop-off can be on Broad Street (two-way) or Spruce Street (one-way east.). It’s probably easier on Broad since it’s a wider street. Parking is available at several area garages. It is pricey.
If you use public transportation, you can walk to the Kimmel Center from Suburban Station or from PATCO station on Locust St. It is a ten to fifteen-minute walk. You can also get off at the Walnut-Locust stop on the Broad Street subway. It’s a two-minute walk from there.

Who can come: Whoever would like to from your community. It’s free and open to the public.

Who can participate:
All 2006 Dream Flag groups are invited to participate. We encourage all groups to send students and teachers to participate directly if at all possible . Groups who can not attend because of distance or other reasons are invited to send Dream Flag Lines to be included when we connect them at the Kimmel Center and to send poems to be displayed at the event.

All students present can participate by helping by becoming Flag Holders. This means that they have to hold up the school’s Dream Flag Line for display at a certain point in the program. They’re also there to cheer on their school’s readers. In addition, this year, we hope that schools may learn “The Dream Flag Song” in advance and help sing it at a certain point in the program. There may be other participation opportunities as well. Details will be annonced.

Who can read a poem: Each school will be asked to have a few poets read (or send a few poems to be read.)
Each school attending (or sending poems) can have between 2 poets/poems representing the school. This allows our program to be an appropriate length for participants of all ages.

Pre-Program Activities
These activities provide additional ways to feature student poetry and share more information about The Dream Flag Project at your school.

School Display Table: Interested schools may sign up to display have a display table for Dream Flag materials. It may include a binder of student poems, pictures, copies of poems for people to take, photographs of students involved in The Dream Flag Project, and other school materials. It must be attended by an adult and as many students as desired. It will provide an additional

"Open mike" Poetry
There will be an area for students to informally share poetry from a podium (without an actual microphone). Audience will stand to listen. Any interested students can bring a paper copy of her/his poem to share in this forum. It will be moderated by a Dream Flag Event staff person.

Program
The formal program starts with introductions and teaching of "The Dream Flag Song." This is followed by readings from student poets representing each school. Poems are accompanied by improvisational music from University of the Arts composer Andrea Clearfield and friends. Following the readings, students go to their Dream Flag Lines (already laid out around the balconies) to hold them up for display. Each school is called out, celebrated, and ties it's line to the next in a symbolic connection of all our dreams. We conclude with brief closing remarks and singing  of "The Dream Flag Song."
Following the program, schools collect up the Flag Lines. Those who will have them displayed by The Dream Flag Project in Philadelphia locations leave them with Event Staff at the Registration Table.

Timing:
10:30 At least one person from each school should be at the Kimmel Center with all of the Dream Flag Lines from the school. That person will register the school and  then set up the Dream Flag Lines. (This takes a WHILE with so many flags to set up.)
10:30 Schools doing display tables set them up.
10:45-11:45 School display tables open and "open mike" open.
11:30 All students from the school should arrive by 11:30 to get familiar with what to do for poem reading, flag displays, and  singing (if applicable.)  Students have to  be chaperoned by adults from their school community.
12:00 Program begins.
1:30 Program concludes.
1:30 to 2:00 Breakdown. Schools are asked to leave the flags out for about fifteen minutes to allow the audience to walk around and view them.
By 2:00, Dream Flag lines should be packed up by schools.
Schools who wish to have their flags go on exhibition in the Philadelphia area will deliver them to the registration desk. Flags get mailed back to schools after exhibition. (More details on this later.)
Other schools should take the Dream Flags home.

Food: Students should have some kind of snack or lunch since arrival is by 11:00 and departure is between 1:30 and 2;00. The Kimmel Center has a snack bar with sandwiches, beverages and cookies, but it’s pricey. It’s a good idea for students to have their snack or lunch between 11 and 12.

Pass The Banner Notes

By April 8, mail Pass the Banner lines to Philadelphia for all-school display. All banners will be photographed and video taped to share on the web. Individual school groups can make arrangments for  lines after the April 19 event.
Mail lines to:
The Dream Flag Project
The Agnes Irwin School
Ithan Ave. and Conestoga Rd.
Rosemont, PA 19010

 

The Dream Flag concept was created by sixth grade teachers Jeff Harlan, Sandy Crow, Helen Holt and others at The Agnes Irwin School (www.agnesirwin.org), Rosemont, Pennsylvania, U.S. The Dream Flag Project (www.dreamflags.org) is a collaborative project facilitated by Jeff Harlan and Sandy Crow. Contact dreamflags@agnesirwin.org or Jeff Harlan, Dream Flags Project Director, The Agnes Irwin School, Ithan Ave. and Conestoga Road, Rosemont, PA 19010, U.S. A.