Frank Ski Kids Foundation Inc.http://www.frankskikids.org/Copyright Frank Ski Kids Foundation Inc.sNews
On Sunday, June 6rd, the Frank Ski Kids Foundation departed with six Atlanta area school students on our International Art Excursion to Rome, Italy The flight from Atlanta was nine hours long, but I believe the kids enjoyed it, despite the turbulence Lol!

[break] We arrived at our hotel in Rome Monday morning around 11am We are staying at the Hotel Pace Helvezia, on Via Quattro Novembre 104, in the historic center

Day #1:

Monday June 7th - The weather was great! Temps in the 80's & clear blue skies After checking into the hotel we ate lunch Around 1pm, our guide arrived at the hotel Her name was Francesca and she is a local artist She took us on a walking tour of “Imperial Rome” We toured Campidoglio, The Forum, The Colosseum and The Pantheon We learned about the history of Rome and the various periods of architecture The kids really enjoyed sitting outside The Colosseum and drawing it!

On any Frank Ski Kids Foundation excurson, our #1 rule is to always stop for ice cream In Italy it is called gelato It was definitely a big hit!

Our first day ended in the Lago Argentina area, where the kids attended an art course at the Porta Blu Art School and Gallery taught by Alberto Parress Alberto is a wonderful teacher, the kids really connected to the lesson and to him He taught them to draw with feeling, without actually looking at the canvas You can learn more about him by logging on to wwwlaportabluit and wwwalbertoparresit

Needless to say, after class we were all exhausted, so we had a quick dinner near the hotel



Day #2:

Sorprendente! That's sums up our experiences on day 2 here in Rome

After an early breakfast, we left the hotel on foot and walked along the Via Corso Vittorio Emanuele to the Vatican It was an awe-inspiring 20 minute walk
,br/> You've seen it in movies, but nothing can prepare you for the size of Vatican City Thank goodness we arrived early enough to avoid the long wait to get through security Even though we spent nearly 2 hours in the Basilica, our tour was too short Needless to say, all the kids wanted to stay longer but, we had VIP tickets to get into the Sistine Chapel at a specified time

With our guide, we walked around The Vatican to the Museum and Sistine Chapel Having prepaid VIP tickets was a blessing The line to get into the Sistine Chapel was 2 city blocks long! I've visited the Getty Museum in LA and the Louvre Museum in Paris Nothing compares to this Touring the many rooms of the museum, viewing famous ancient history sculptures, seeing modern and antique paintings up-close was awesome But entering the world famous Sistine Chapel, to view Michelangelo murals took our breath away Words cannot explain the beauty of it all Hopefully our pictures will give some idea of what we experienced

After lunch at Sicilian Bocca, it was back to the Porta Blu Art School for another 2 hours of instruction

For dinner, we rebelled and ate Chinese It was quite amusing to see them search the menu for PF Chang-like dishes Sorry kidsnot at a an authentic Chinese restaurant!



DAY #3: Una Bella Giornata - A Beautiful Day In Italy!

I'm a sucker for beauty, art & nature and today really represented those three things

After breakfast we jumped in 2 cabs for a trip to the world famous Borghese Museum & Gardens to meet our favorite art historian from our excursion to Florence last year, Margherita Abbozzo

Margherita took a 2-hour train ride from Florence just to meet us in Rome! Not only is Margherita an artist, she also studied art history in Italy and the United States She is a native Florentine still residing in Florence Her passion is Italy and its richly beautiful art history Touring the most famous art collection in Italy with her was a real treat!

Our tour of The Borghese Gardens & Museum began at 11am Two hours is the maximum amount of time tourists have and absolutely no photos are permitted of the extremely rare artworks Lucky for us though, Margherita is well-respected and known so a few photos by our photographer, Ben Rose were permitted They are a rare treat Enjoy them!

The museum tour was followed with lunch in the garden I believe the highlight was drawing and riding bicycles in the private Borghese Gardens Beautiful is an understatement!

Afterwards, Margherita guided us on foot to the famous Spanish Steps where the kids had another opportunity to capture Italian art history on the sketch pads

I hope these pictures illustrate a very special day in Rome with the Frank Ski Kids Foundation

To see all of the photos from our amazing excursion, please log on to wwwfrankskikidsorg

Arrivederci
Frank Ski



DAY #4: Avventuroso – ADVENTUROUS is what we were today

After breakfast we walked to Campo di Fiori and Piazza Navona to draw and enjoy the famous tartuffo ice cream and the local artists exhibiting their work We returned to the hotel @ 1:30pm for the bus pick-up and off to gladiator school we went Yep, you read correctly, I said gladiator school

Gladiators are a very important part of Roman history Training to be a gladiator is intensely physical and FUN! At the conclusion of our training, we were presented with diplomas from the school

In the words of Russell Crowe as Maximus in the movie in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained Are you not entertained Is this not why you are here"

Please log on to wwwfrankskikidsorg to view all of the great pictures from our excursion

Arrivederci
Frank Ski



Day #5: Storico – What a 'Historic' day we had today!

We traveled 1 hour by motor coach to visit the ancient ruins of Ostia During ancient times, Ostia was an important Roman port Bigger than Pompeii, the only difference between Ostia and Pompeii is that Pompeii was destroyed by the volcanic explosion, Ostia was abandoned

This was the best history lesson we’ve ever been taught The advanced technology and economics of Ostia was mind blowing

Arrivederci
Frank Ski



Day #6: Saturday was our free day for shopping Who knew kids would take so much time to shop, lol! It was enjoyable to see them negotiate with shop owners and say “what’s the euro exchange rate again”



Saturday evening the kids got dress up to hit the town We found a nice restaurant with a great patio and TV to watch the US vs England World Cup game We had such a good time and what a great way to culminate such amazing experiences in Rome On to the nextAtlanta, Georgiawe're coming home



On behalf of our 2010 Frank Ski Kids Foundation International Art Excursion Students:

-Naomi Niwano | Age 14 | Duluth Middle School
-Romelo Goss | Age 14 | North Clayton Middle School
-Zhaavier' Reeves-EL | Age 13 | Uplift Humanity Homeschool
-Devin Boykins | Age 15 | Collins Hill High School
-Julia O'Gara | Age 14 | The Westminster Schools
-Charles Evola | Age 15 | Riverdale High School

We would like to thank our sponsors State Farm Insurance, Nike, Mist Premium Spring Water, Pace Academy, United Front Media, Tara Murphy/Michelle Marron - 360 Media & V103/CBS Radio

Ciao, Ciao!
Frank Ski
See You Back In Atlanta!

]]>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:06:56 +0000http://www.frankskikids.org/news/blogging-from-rome/http://www.frankskikids.org/news/blogging-from-rome/
On Sunday, June 6rd, the Frank Ski Kids Foundation departed with six Atlanta area school students on our International Art Excursion to Rome, Italy The flight from Atlanta was nine hours long, but I believe the kids enjoyed it, despite the turbulence Lol!

We arrived at our hotel in Rome Monday morning around 11am We are staying at the Hotel Pace Helvezia, on Via Quattro Novembre 104, in the historic center

Day #1:

Monday June 7th - The weather was great! Temps in the 80's & clear blue skies After checking into the hotel we ate lunch Around 1pm, our guide arrived at the hotel Her name was Francesca and she is a local artist She took us on a walking tour of “Imperial Rome” We toured Campidoglio, The Forum, The Colosseum and The Pantheon We learned about the history of Rome and the various periods of architecture The kids really enjoyed sitting outside The Colosseum and drawing it!

On any Frank Ski Kids Foundation excurson, our #1 rule is to always stop for ice cream In Italy it is called gelato It was definitely a big hit!

Our first day ended in the Lago Argentina area, where the kids attended an art course at the Porta Blu Art School and Gallery taught by Alberto Parress Alberto is a wonderful teacher, the kids really connected to the lesson and to him He taught them to draw with feeling, without actually looking at the canvas You can learn more about him by logging on to wwwlaportabluit and wwwalbertoparresit

Needless to say, after class we were all exhausted, so we had a quick dinner near the hotel



Day #2:

Sorprendente! That's sums up our experiences on day 2 here in Rome

After an early breakfast, we left the hotel on foot and walked along the Via Corso Vittorio Emanuele to the Vatican It was an awe-inspiring 20 minute walk
,br/> You've seen it in movies, but nothing can prepare you for the size of Vatican City Thank goodness we arrived early enough to avoid the long wait to get through security Even though we spent nearly 2 hours in the Basilica, our tour was too short Needless to say, all the kids wanted to stay longer but, we had VIP tickets to get into the Sistine Chapel at a specified time

With our guide, we walked around The Vatican to the Museum and Sistine Chapel Having prepaid VIP tickets was a blessing The line to get into the Sistine Chapel was 2 city blocks long! I've visited the Getty Museum in LA and the Louvre Museum in Paris Nothing compares to this Touring the many rooms of the museum, viewing famous ancient history sculptures, seeing modern and antique paintings up-close was awesome But entering the world famous Sistine Chapel, to view Michelangelo murals took our breath away Words cannot explain the beauty of it all Hopefully our pictures will give some idea of what we experienced

After lunch at Sicilian Bocca, it was back to the Porta Blu Art School for another 2 hours of instruction

For dinner, we rebelled and ate Chinese It was quite amusing to see them search the menu for PF Chang-like dishes Sorry kidsnot at a an authentic Chinese restaurant!



DAY #3: Una Bella Giornata - A Beautiful Day In Italy!

I'm a sucker for beauty, art & nature and today really represented those three things

After breakfast we jumped in 2 cabs for a trip to the world famous Borghese Museum & Gardens to meet our favorite art historian from our excursion to Florence last year, Margherita Abbozzo

Margherita took a 2-hour train ride from Florence just to meet us in Rome! Not only is Margherita an artist, she also studied art history in Italy and the United States She is a native Florentine still residing in Florence Her passion is Italy and its richly beautiful art history Touring the most famous art collection in Italy with her was a real treat!

Our tour of The Borghese Gardens & Museum began at 11am Two hours is the maximum amount of time tourists have and absolutely no photos are permitted of the extremely rare artworks Lucky for us though, Margherita is well-respected and known so a few photos by our photographer, Ben Rose were permitted They are a rare treat Enjoy them!

The museum tour was followed with lunch in the garden I believe the highlight was drawing and riding bicycles in the private Borghese Gardens Beautiful is an understatement!

Afterwards, Margherita guided us on foot to the famous Spanish Steps where the kids had another opportunity to capture Italian art history on the sketch pads

I hope these pictures illustrate a very special day in Rome with the Frank Ski Kids Foundation

To see all of the photos from our amazing excursion, please log on to wwwfrankskikidsorg

Arrivederci
Frank Ski



DAY #4: Avventuroso – ADVENTUROUS is what we were today

After breakfast we walked to Campo di Fiori and Piazza Navona to draw and enjoy the famous tartuffo ice cream and the local artists exhibiting their work We returned to the hotel @ 1:30pm for the bus pick-up and off to gladiator school we went Yep, you read correctly, I said gladiator school

Gladiators are a very important part of Roman history Training to be a gladiator is intensely physical and FUN! At the conclusion of our training, we were presented with diplomas from the school

In the words of Russell Crowe as Maximus in the movie in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained Are you not entertained Is this not why you are here"

Please log on to wwwfrankskikidsorg to view all of the great pictures from our excursion

Arrivederci
Frank Ski



Day #5: Storico – What a 'Historic' day we had today!

We traveled 1 hour by motor coach to visit the ancient ruins of Ostia During ancient times, Ostia was an important Roman port Bigger than Pompeii, the only difference between Ostia and Pompeii is that Pompeii was destroyed by the volcanic explosion, Ostia was abandoned

This was the best history lesson we’ve ever been taught The advanced technology and economics of Ostia was mind blowing

Arrivederci
Frank Ski



Day #6: Saturday was our free day for shopping Who knew kids would take so much time to shop, lol! It was enjoyable to see them negotiate with shop owners and say “what’s the euro exchange rate again”



Saturday evening the kids got dress up to hit the town We found a nice restaurant with a great patio and TV to watch the US vs England World Cup game We had such a good time and what a great way to culminate such amazing experiences in Rome On to the nextAtlanta, Georgiawe're coming home



On behalf of our 2010 Frank Ski Kids Foundation International Art Excursion Students:

-Naomi Niwano | Age 14 | Duluth Middle School
-Romelo Goss | Age 14 | North Clayton Middle School
-Zhaavier' Reeves-EL | Age 13 | Uplift Humanity Homeschool
-Devin Boykins | Age 15 | Collins Hill High School
-Julia O'Gara | Age 14 | The Westminster Schools
-Charles Evola | Age 15 | Riverdale High School

We would like to thank our sponsors State Farm Insurance, Nike, Mist Premium Spring Water, Pace Academy, United Front Media, Tara Murphy/Michelle Marron - 360 Media & V103/CBS Radio

Ciao, Ciao!
Frank Ski
See You Back In Atlanta!

]]>Thu, 20 May 2010 07:46:00 +0000http://www.frankskikids.org/day-1/international-art-excursion-rome-so-far/http://www.frankskikids.org/day-1/international-art-excursion-rome-so-far/
Erica Parkman April 29

I am the science teacher of Naomi Niwano, one of your five talented winners I persuaded her to enter the contest even though I did not get the information to her until a week befor the deadline She didn't even think she would be able to complete the project I am so very proud of her[break] As teachers, we get to see students with wonderful gifts and I knew she was one of those students She made sure she called me when she found out and I've never heard such happiness in her voice My goal is to change the lives of students and I hope that I have changed hers by telling her about your contest Thank you for helping me to be a better teacher to my students I am truly blessed to have a career I love We at Duluth Middle School are very proud of our Naomi Thank you for all that you do for children Keep up the fabulous work

Erica Parkman
8th grade science teacher
Duluth Middle School
[break]
Tanya Ski, Naomi Niwano and Frank Ski at the Live art competition at Pace Academy

Photog Cliff Robinson ]]>Mon, 03 May 2010 14:16:11 +0000http://www.frankskikids.org/news/this-is-an-email-from-a-local-teacher-we-love-great-teachers-thank-you/http://www.frankskikids.org/news/this-is-an-email-from-a-local-teacher-we-love-great-teachers-thank-you/
Science/Technology, Athletics and the Arts – a Successful Trifecta for Frank Ski Kids Foundation

[break] ATLANTA – The winners of the Frank Ski Kids Foundation International Art Excursion: Rome, Italy, were selected last night at metro Atlanta’s prestigious Pace Academy and announced on radio host and Foundation Chairman Frank Ski’s V103 program Ten students competed in a final live drawing contest to determine the five fortunate and talented teens who will head to Rome, Italy for an inspired educational excursion this June

The students took part in an impromptu drawing competition based on a surprise theme, being judged on their creations in addition to their landscape drawings that landed them as finalists And on June 6, the following five Georgia students will go on an all-expense paid journey to one of the planet’s greatest centers for art and education: Rome, or “Caput Mundi,” latin for “The Capital of the World”

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Naomi Niwano age 14 Duluth Middle School

Romelo Goss age 14 North Clayton Middle School

Zhaavier' Reeves-EL Age 13 Uplift Humanity Homeschool

Devin Boykins Age 15 Collins Hill High School

Julia O'Gara Age 14 The Westminster Schools

Charles Evola Age 15 Riverdale High School

[break] ]]>Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:01:25 +0000http://www.frankskikids.org/news/we-have-our-winners/http://www.frankskikids.org/news/we-have-our-winners/


Naomi Niwano age 14 Duluth Middle School

Romelo Goss age 14 North Clayton Middle School

Alex Wilson Age 14 River Trail Middle School

Charles Evola Age 15 Riverdale High School

Nicolaas Turner Age 14 Chamblee Charter High School

Arulita Gupta age 14 Druid Hills High School

Julia O'Gara Age 14 Westminster

Mark ZamLinsky Age 14 Holcomb Bridge Middle School

Zhaavier' Reeves-EL Age 13 Uplift Humanity Homeschool

Devin Boykins Age 15 Collins Hill High School

LIVE COMPETITION THIS THURSDAY AT PACE ACADEMY OPEN THE PUBLIC!! [break] SCHEDULE:
5:00pm Doors open
6:00pm Introductions and Drawing Contest Begins
8:00pm Winners Announced

WHERE:
Pace Academy
966 W Paces Ferry Road Northwest
Atlanta, GA 30327

Dont miss the Frank Ski Kids Foundation International Art Excursion: Rome, Italy live drawing competition at Pace Academy on Thursday, April 29, 2010 where 10 finalists will draw their way to a fabulous cultural experience and 5 winners will be chosen! Art lovers from all across Atlanta, ages 13-15 years old, took to their palettes the last 2 weeks and submitted their landscape drawings in hopes of winning a trip of a lifetime The competition began on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 and on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, the top 10 finalists will be announced on V-103 on the Frank and Wanda In The Morning Show

The eight day excursion will include inspiring art instruction, drawing time in distinguished city locations and professional tours of Romes most memorable landmarks like the Vatican Museum, Saint Peter's Basilica, Borghese Gardens and the Roman Coliseum

Special thanks to the Frank Ski Kids Foundation International Art Excursion: Rome, Italy sponsors: State Farm Insurance, Nike Store Lenox, Pace Academy and Mist Premium Spring Water and United Front Media

]]>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:02:25 +0000http://www.frankskikids.org/news/congratulations-to-the-ten-finalists/http://www.frankskikids.org/news/congratulations-to-the-ten-finalists/