Term II Update

Hello 5-8 Art families!

The start of Term II brings great things for all artists, especially the beginning of new projects.

5th grade artists are working on a cuneiform mini-project before heading into Ancient Greece, where artists will focus on learning about Greek gods and goddesses with an emphasis on face proportions and figure drawing.
6th grade artists are finishing up a project titled Islamic Tiles, where they created a mixed media project to simulate radially balanced Islamic artwork. Once this project is complete, students will start looking at textiles and the the influence that trading goods had on the art world. Artists will work on a dynamic weaving project for the remainder of Term II.
7th/8th grade artists just began looking at Lorenzo Ghiberti’s famous artwork Gates of Paradise and are using it as inspiration to create a metal embossed artwork of their choosing that demonstrates the use of space: foreground, middle ground, and background.

 A few reminders for the Art Room: 

• I want to bring to your attention that as every project comes to an end, I upload pictures to the Virtual Art Shows that are located on my website. These slideshows are comprised of exemplary artwork that meets all of the objectives of the project. It is a great tool for students to share their artwork with their family and friends at home since all artwork remains at school until the end of the school year. 
•  There is also a contest page on my website that students can reference to find out information about art contests around the community. We do not always have time in class to create artwork for these contests, which is why I encourage you to work with your child(ren) to make art at home to submit to these contests. They are great opportunities to get artwork shown in the community, and students could also win prizes for their school and/or themselves! I am available to assist with ideas for entries, so if your child is interested, please do not hesitate to send me an email. 
• A sketchbook is a required material for Art! It must come to class with students every time they attend Art. It may be left in the classroom, but must go home on days students have sketchbook homework. Failure to bring their sketchbook to class is failed classroom preparedness, which will result in disciplinary actions for repeat offenders. 
•  I update my Twitter and Instagram more frequently of happenings in the Art Room, including in-progress student artwork, finished artwork, and resources for students. Both you and your child(ren) can follow my accounts to get a digital look into the Art Room. 
• Toward the end of Term I I sent an email home as well as a handout about each Remind class. Please be sure to download the app and enter the class to receive reminder messages about homework - This is a great resource for those students who often forget Art homework assignments, so students are welcomed to join the class as well. 

I look forward to working with your child(ren) throughout Term II on the great art projects ahead of us!

Ms. Strasser

Virtual Art Shows

The 2016-2017 Virtual Art Shows have begun!

As students complete projects, I will take pictures to showcase the best artwork in a digital format. The slideshows can be accessed from any phone, computer, or tablet under the Virtual Art Show tab, so it is a great way to show artwork to friends and family! By the end of the school year, each student will have at least one piece of art on the slideshow.

Enjoy the art show!

FCCS Theatre Group

For those 7th and 8th graders who are a part of Theatre Group - rehearsals will be both Tuesday & Wednesday starting this week. The rehearsals will be over at 4:15. Parents, please be at the school promptly at 4:15 to pick up your child.

Ms. Roper and I are looking forward to seeing this play come to life! More details on show dates are TBA, but keep your calendars open late November/early December.

Elements and Principles Quiz

Students have been reviewing the Elements of Art and Principles of Design so far this year. Classes will be taking a quiz in the upcoming weeks. Students should be using the notes they took in class, as well as the example worksheets they have been completing to study with.

Quiz dates:
5A - 10/4
5B - 10/6
6 - 9/26
Pd 3 - 10/4
Pd 4 - 10/5

FCCS Theatre Club!

Ms. Roper and I are very excited to announce the beginning of FCCS' first official Theatre Club! This club is open to all 7th and 8th grade students and will meet weekly on Tuesdays throughout the school year. Permission slips to join the club are posted outside of the Latin/Chorus room, so please grab one if interested!

We will be engaging in a variety of theatre exercises, as well as preparing for our Winter and Spring plays. Even if you are not interested in acting, we are looking for students who are interested in set design, prop creation, costuming, and advertising. No prior theatre experience is needed!

Permission slips are due back to Ms. Roper this Friday - September 9th. Our first club meeting will be Tuesday, September 13, 3-4 pm. We look forward to working with a group of fun and talented students!

Art Homework

I would like to outline the Art homework policy here so that people can refer back to it throughout the school year.

All 5-8 Art classes will have homework on a weekly basis. Generally the assignments will alternate between sketchbook assignments and readings. Sketchbook assignments should be completed in the sketchbook that students are required to have for class, while reading assignments with questions should be completed on loose leaf paper. Students will receive a paper copy in class on the day it is assigned. If a student is absent on the day homework is assigned, it is their responsibility to come to the art room to retrieve their handout. Homework is also posted on my website on the designated grade's page. This page will contain a link to the assignment, directions, and the due date.

Homework is assigned on the first day a class comes to Art in the week and is due on on that day the following week.* This gives students time during the week and over the weekend to complete their homework, therefore, there is no excuse for homework to not be completed by the due date.

 As middle school students, it is their responsibility to make sure they complete their homework on time. When they are absent, they can conveniently access the assignment from their computer/tablet/smartphone at home. If the students have questions about the homework, they must speak with me or email me before the due date, because I will not accept late homework. Homework must be completed and present in the Art Room on the day homework is due, or it will result in a zero. This means that students may not leave the classroom to get their homework out of their locker or classroom.

*Days with no school will interfere with the homework routine. We will try to keep the same homework pattern as closely as possible, but there may be some weeks where classes have a couple days less or a couple days more to complete their homework.

Happy First Day of School!

Hello & welcome to all new and returning families! I am so excited to be back in school and share my love for all things ART. I use this blog to post homework assignments, as well as additional information for students to use. Each tab at the top of the page will take you to valuable sources that can be accessed easily outside of the classroom. My page is the Virtual Art Show where I will be posting pictures of students' completed artwork!

A Welcome Back packet and syllabus is going home with the students this week. The letter can also be found at the link HERE. The letter is accompanied by a student behavior contract and parent signature that must be signed and returned no later than next week.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Email is the easiest means for contact since I only have access to my telephone before school.

Thank you,

Ms. Strasser