Let's make 2021-2022 a great school year!

Whew! The past few months have been quite a whirlwind! I hope everyone is safe, healthy, and doing well.  We will be starting virtual art class soon using Microsoft Teams. I suggest you check out this page from our school district to access and learn more about using Microsoft Teams. With some patience and time, we will get the hang of it!

 

I hope everyone had a peaceful, relaxing, and joyous holdiay.  Now that it's a new year, it's time to think about how you will be improving yourself for 2020. Once you figure how what you would lke to improve, gain, become, or let go of, it's time to set a concrete goal for yourself that you can achieve.  Here is a SMART goal worksheet I made up that can help you break down your goal and make it more manageable.

 

 

Goal Setting Worksheet

Each year, third grade students paint a candelabra.  This is considered a culminating project that reviews everything third grade students have learned thus far in art class. The challenge is to design a candelabra that is symmetrical, which can be quick tricky to draw the matching arm if it spirals. The candelabras are drawn using lines and shapes, which are two of the elements of art they learned about. When it's time to paint, students must recall what they studied about value and add a shadow and highlight to their painting.  The candles are top of with tissue paper of warm colors to create the illusion of fire!  Great job third grade!

Some classes made these beautiful scarecrows using materials donated from Michael's Warehouse. 

The shirts and pants were made from cut 12"x12" scrapbook paper. Kinders practiced scissor safety and cut straw pieces from yellow strips of paper. to add to the shirts and pants. The face was attached using a pipcleaner strung through a button. Centers were removed from artificial sunflowers and the petals were gathered behind the face.

Art teachers LOVE Halloween.

Why?  Because we get to be creative and make costumes of course!  Here is this year's Olivia Octavious costume from my favorite movie, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. Ms. Perchak's second grade class was kind enough to pose with me this afternoon!

 

It was awesome getting the meet the families of my students. Here are some pictures of families making a pumpkin craft in the art room.

September was a really fun month to be an art student at West Hazleton!

 

First grade students learned about Cave Art and made some cave art of their own by our class "campfire." Did you know that the first cave art was drawn using burnt sticks in a dark cave?

 

Second grade students got to take turns as models while their classmates practiced drawing them. They learned different techniques to draw people. No more stick figures allowed!

Third grade students are learning about the Elements of Art: Line, Shape, Texture, Color, Space, and Value.

Fourth grade students are learning about four major Renaissance artists: Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael.  These artists share the same names as the Ninja Turtles! Students had special tasks to complete about each artist that were organized in pizza boxes (The Ninja Turtles' favorite food).

 

 

Fifth grade students are working on drafts for an individual painting project.  Each student can select what they would like to learn how to draw and must seek out resources to help them draw it.

 

And lastly, 6th grade students learned about Jackson Pollock and got to make some abstract expressionist art to music.

 

Starting this year, my name has changed from Miss Zaverack to Mrs. Murphy. It will take me some time to get used to the switch, and I imagine it will take teachers and students to get used to it as well!

Students are getting familiar with the art room during their first 2 weeks of school.  Stay tuned for updates!