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Our Classroom Expectations:

*Be Creative

*Be Responsible

*Be Respectful

*Be Safe

*Be Honest

A person’s life, at any given point, is the result of that persons actions.

All of the regular school rules apply in the art room as well.

Be Creative: Being a creative thinker is a valuable asset that every student will benefit from. Many of the experiences students are exposed to in our art class can be related to everyday activities. Most importantly, in our art class, it is about the PROCESS more than the final product! Every student can be successful in art class if they put forth their best effort. Following the directions for each project will give students a creative thinking experience allowing them to learn from their actions. Most of the projects are new experiences for the students and by participating in the brainstorming and practice procedures we are able to see first hand how doing is learning. And every time we do something we get better. “To try and fail is to have at least learned but to not try at all is to certainly fail!” Students are expected to be prompt, prepared and participate during their art rotation. Respect for the creative process filters through the classroom and resonates with the final artwork. All students are expected to take home their artwork! They should have put forth their best effort and should also be proud of what they have accomplished. Any students whose artwork is discovered in the garbage or destroyed in any way will be penalized participation points for defacing the artwork. SPMS also has an annual Art Show and every student is able to enter any artwork that they would like into the show. 

Be Responsible: Each student is responsible for their own behavior, supplies and art projects. Responsibility in the classroom is essential for student success. Each student is in control of their own words, actions and overall behavior and they are held accountable for them. Any inappropriate action will be recorded in the online grade book for parents to view. Participation points will be deducted for any infractions. I will be entering “exactly” what the student says or does for the parents’ information. All of the regular school rules apply and are expected to be following in the art classroom. Student supplies are readily available and made easily accessible for the students. It is also important that students be responsible with the supplies so that they last and are not wasted. A significant responsibility of the students’ is to clean up after themselves. Chairs must be pushed in. Student must also be responsible for not only their own artwork but also their time management during class. It is important that each student make sure they use their class time appropriately in order to finish their project. Students are not expected to take any work home but are welcome to do so if needed. All projects must be brought back for the next class period in order to keep that days participation points. There is NO HOMEWORK given in art class. Students are also responsible for the storage of their own artwork. Every grade, class and student has specific and safe areas in which to store artwork and they must do so at the end of each class period. If a student does not have their project they must begin again and are expected to complete the project on time. Every project will have a clear due date and for each day a project is handed in late 5 points will be deducted from the final project grade.

Be Respectful: All students are expected to respect each other, their teacher, all artwork (ones own as well as others), class materials and the classroom. When commenting about any artwork students are to use CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, which are helpful suggestions that could improve the artwork. Students are also expected to respect their own project as well as any other projects in the room and are not to touch or deface any artwork. Students are expected to listen attentively to their teacher while addressing the class, presenting new material or demonstrating and to raise their hand when they have a question.  

Be Safe: It is very important to maintain a safe environment in the art room at all times. Even minor actions can present a danger to oneself and to other classmates and as a result no horseplay is tolerated. Any supply used inappropriately can be dangerous and there is also no tolerance for any misuse. Art supplies also pose the risk of damage to clothes and belongings. Aprons are provided to help protect student clothing but I encourage choosing appropriate clothing for the time period each student has art. It is likely that paint, ink, etc. will not wash out of clothing. Students are encouraged to remove hoodies, jerseys and any important item of clothing including purses and bags and leave it in the area where books are located. Push up sleeves and be cautious. It is important to be aware of your location and movements as well as the location and movements of other students in the room. Try not to make sudden moves, look around before you move and always let each other know that you are behind or around one another. If there is ever a doubt and at any time students are unsure of what or how to do something all they need to do is ASK FOR HELP! 

Be Honest: This is too often over looked as a “rule” but issues with honesty are very common place in the middle school setting. Being honest and trustworthy are invaluable lessons to learn. We are all faced with making choices constantly throughout our lives and we should try our best to make the right decisions. But there are some times when we make a bad decision or choose the wrong path. Now this is understandable and forgivable because we ALL make mistakes. We are also able to fix most of our mistakes without much damage to ones character. With very simple steps such as verbally apologizing and fixing or replacing anything damaged we are able to make things right again. BUT if a person makes a wrong choice and then lies, now not only have they done the wrong thing but now being a liar proves to be detrimental to ones character. Being dishonest is a trait that is very hard to overlook and trust is even harder to gain back. We strive to be honest and trustworthy to our classmates, teacher, friends and family. 

Our Classroom Philosophy:  

The daily activities, projects and procedures in our classroom are all valuable learning experiences that are beneficial to every learner no matter what level of artistic ability they possess. Our willingness to partake in new experiences is what allows us to learn. 

In our classroom, as in life, you must TRY to do what is asked of you even if it is outside of your comfort zone. This holds true during both our school years as well as when we enter the work force as an adult. Attempting to do your best will make stronger individuals with more learning experience which is invaluable. Being creative is a trait that is valuable to possess no matter what your actual ability level in art and helps prepare you for the real world ahead. 

Putting forth your best effort in all of our experiences will take you further than you can even realize at any point in life, with every new experience you improve yourself and gain knowledge. Our classroom expectations have been designed to help guide you towards learning and growing creatively for years to come, not just in this one classroom. 

Our Classroom Rewards: 

1. 100% Participation Point grades at end of rotation receive prize
2. Individuals awarded an Extra Effort Certificate
3. Fun classroom activity or art game
4. Participation in the SPMS Annual Art Show

Our Classroom Consequences: 

1. Participation points deducted (1^st and 2^nd Warnings)
2. Student will complete an action plan & have one on one conference with teacher
3. Written assignment will replace the hands on project
4. Phone call home to discuss behavior and action plan

Participation Points System: 

Our classroom philosophy and our class expectations require that all students follow high standards. Doing well in the classroom will positively effect your overall grade. Each student will be given a 100% participation point grade. From that 100, percentage points will be deducted for EACH infraction.  

Any instance that a student chooses not to follow any one of our classroom expectations they will have that infraction recorded “exactly” in the grade book and posted online for the parents to see.

There is no way to regain these points once they are lost. Some infractions will also result in school discipline actions such as a write up, detention or suspension. 

For grades 5 & 6, each infraction will be a 2 point deduction for the first 3 offenses, 5 points for each additional offense. 

For grades 7 & 8, each infraction will be a 5 point deduction for the first 3 offenses, 10 points for each additional offense. 

Student Action Plan:

The Student Action Plan is a problem-solving tool that the students will be asked to utilize if there is a reoccurring behavior that was not corrected after the first and second warnings. I have chosen this plan because problem solving is a skill that students can use in the future. The goal is to isolate and identify the problem. To fix the problem you must change, eliminate or correct the factors that are causing the problem. I am not interested in degrading or scolding a student on a personal level, but instead to treat a specific behavior & correct the problem. This technique provides the student with a method that will allow them to self-correct the behavior. The STUDENT ACTION PLAN consists of the following questions the student will answer:

1. What is the problem?
2. What factors are causing the problem?
3. What plan will YOU use to solve it?

I feel that Parental/Guardian support is important and I encourage open communication between home and school. Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.

Self Evaluations:

Being able to critically evaluate any work of art is a valuable tool that can be applied to many aspects of everyday life. We use constructive criticism when speaking about an artwork, positive suggestions to help improve the work. Student Critiques are a part of our evaluation process. Peer review is essential to growing as a creative thinker. The key to being successful in this classroom is EFFORT. I realize that not all students have the same level of artistic ability but all students are able to make the choice to try something new. In addition to constructive criticism and student critiques we also use project evaluation sheets made specifically to meet each projects objectives. The students evaluates themselves on the same RUBRIC as the teacher in order to gain a better understanding of how a student feels about their art and the process of creating that work. All of the project objectives are presented to the class in PowerPoint presentations and hands on demonstration to ensure that each student know what is expected for each project. Those objectives are what the project grade is based on. Objectives such as effort, pride, craftsmanship and creativity also play a role in each student’s grade, more so than a project simply “looking good.” In summary every child does not have to be the best artist to be successful in this art classroom. Each student is graded individually according to their personal effort.  

Portfolio:

As our first project in each class we make an Art Portfolio. This serves as an organized location for each student to keep and record their class material. Because I expect the students to take pride in their work I want to provide a protected and organized place for each student to keep their actual art projects. This is meant to eliminate crinkled up and/or throw away projects by giving them a special place to be housed.  I expect that all student artwork make it home and this is also a good way to protect and keep all artwork safe going home at the end of the art rotation.  

Daily Journal Entries:

Our second art project is to design a Journal Entry Book. This book is used to record all of bell ringer activities. As a way to focus the entire class upon arrival to the art room, we begin each class period with a journal entry. This is to be the first thing each student does immediately when they enter the room. These journal entries are meant to get the creative juices flowing and get everyone thinking more critically about art in our everyday lives. A journal entry may be either a written assignment or a drawing assignment; the choice is each student’s preference. This writing across the curriculum also helps enhance our students PSSA skills for writing and comprehension. All journal entries are checked and students are given a grade for completing them daily. 

Daily Objectives & Due Dates:

Todays daily objective is written on the board for each grade level. This is a clear outline of what the students can be expecting to do that day upon completion of their daily journal entry. This allows the students to begin working as soon as they are ready and keeps everyone on track. It is also clearly posted when each project is due. Each project due date is clearly posted and it is each students responsibility to have his or her work done on time. Projects that are handed in late will be graded and then 5 points per day will be deducted to get the final grade on the project.

Extra Credit:

We have several choices for extra credit in our classroom. There is an extra credit drawing drawer to help foster free-drawing. There are over 200 different ideas of pictures to draw. Any student that has any free time is encouraged to use this drawing drawer for inspiration. The idea behind the extra credit is the more art of any kind that a person does, the better they will become at it. Any idea is worth extra credit, it does not have to come out of that drawer, and they are only suggestions to get the students thinking. There are also “how to draw” books and the students are encouraged to learn how to draw something new if they have extra time. There are other books also, such as origami, that the students are encouraged to learn from in our art library. Finally, there are extra credit coloring sheets that are designed to sharpen the students precision. These extra credits are meant to be mini artworks and should look complete. Quick sketches with little effort do not count; I am looking for the student to develop their skills and in order to do that they must work at their highest potential. For each COMPLETED extra credit that is done the student will receive extra credit points added to their final averaged grade. I feel this is important and a good use of our IN CLASS free time and want it to be rewarding for the students. 

Displays of Student Artwork:

Throughout the school year, as the students rotate through the art room, we will be displaying many of our projects in the hallways. All students work will be displayed, no exceptions! Students are made aware of the project displays and should do their very best work, if you do your best work then you are sure to have pride in the work and enjoy showing it off. Students are in charge of the displays, as a class they must decide the location the work will be displayed as well as the layout of the works in the display. Each display will have a project description poster with it also. Students are also responsible for taking down and taking home their artwork at the end of their rotation. All art that is left will be kept for a 9 week period and then it is either used as a project example or recycled. 

Class & Bell Schedule

                Period 1- 8:03 -8:54- Life Skills

                Period 2- 8:57-9:41- Preparation Period

                Period 3- 9:44-10:28- 7^th Grade

                Period 4- 10:31-11:15- 8^th Grade

                Period 5- 11:18-11:48- Lunch

                Period 6- 11:51-12:35- 5^th Grade

                Period 7- 12:38- 1:22- 6^th Grade

                Period 8- 1:25-2:09- 7^th Grade

                Period 9- 2:12-2:56- 8^th Grade

South Park Middle School follows the district wide grading scale.

A-                 100-90

B-                 89-80

C-                79-70

D-                69-65

E-                64-0

Quotes:

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.  ~Scott Adams

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. 

~Leonardo da Vinci

All art requires courage.  ~Anne Tucker