Pop Art!

POP ART!!

Eighth grade students have been flying through third quarter!  This week they started their final project...Pop Art!!  Students studied the works of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Keith Haring. I asked students to think about the popular images they see today; my example above showcases some of our art supplies.  Students are working on using thick, dark outlines and vibrant, solid colors.  I was able to sneak a few pictures today of some in-progress works!  I cannot wait to see how these all turn out....more to come next week!!!

Checkin' the Kiln!

As you may already know...I love opening up the kiln. Especially after a glaze fire!! My fifth and seventh grade students have been working very hard on their clay sculptures. Check them out below!! Fifth grade students have been working on building clay houses and seventh grade students have been working on building clay mugs. I love how different each sculpture is!! Such great and creative kids!

Behaviors in the Classroom

This week we have been asked to review the "How often do you choose to behave intelligently?" survey that we conducted last week. Upon completion of this survey, we were asked to reflect on and provide examples of how we have shown any of the behaviors in our classrooms.

The following examples are ways that I have shown some of these behaviors both in and outside of my classroom with my students, co-workers, family and friends:

-I take pride in practicing good listening skills - if I cannot fully listen I am sure to tell the person so we can discuss a better time that might work - More often than not, I do whatever I can to make the time right then and there.  I think it is important to actively listen with empathy and understanding; I look for this when I speak with people, so I find it very important to practice myself.

-Having quality of the work I create is very important to me and I always try to teach that to students in my classroom.  We may not like or truly enjoy everything we have to do, but that shouldn’t change the quality of work we complete.  I have always taken great pride in the quality of work I do, and I like to share that lesson with my students.

-I absolutely love the outdoors!  I love to go camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, four-wheeling, pretty much anything outside!  I also really love to travel and see new places and learn about the world around me.  I really love my hometown and state, but it intrigues me to travel!

-I laugh and joke a lot!  I love sharing those “laughing moments” with my students, co-workers, family and friends! 

-I love to learn!  I will never claim to be an expert at what I’m learning, however, I really do enjoy the process - I try to teach this lesson to my students also, because it is something that they will always continue to do, whether they realize it or not :-)

Servant Leadership

“Commitment to the Growth of People: Servant leaders are committed to the personal and professional development of everyone on their teams.  To develop your people, make sure that you use Training Needs Assessments   to understand their developmental needs   and give them the skills they need to learn effectively. Also, find out what their personal goals are, and see if you can give them responsibilities that will help them achieve these.”

I have chosen “Commitment to the Growth of People” for the characteristic of Servant Leadership to focus my work on.  I feel that, as teachers, we do this automatically - it’s the reason we’re in this profession!  I want to focus my work on this characteristic because I never want to forget my reason for teaching - I want my students to grow and learn because of what I can teach them!  Not only can I teach this lesson to my students, but to my co-workers as well.  We have been struggling in our building to create stronger connections between staff and it has been really challenging.  My goal is to get more people participating in the activities we provide this Spring.  I know there is only so much I can do, however lately I feel that I have been bogged down by the poor attitudes of others and I do not want them to dictate what I can do in the workplace.  I am going to continue to commit my time to my students and co-workers and guide them to grow and learn right along with me - whether it is in the classroom or out!

One way I plan to get my co-workers growing and learning is by giving them a voice!  I plan to create a form for staff to fill out that will ask them questions about what they would like to see happening at BMS for staff!  I plan to take the results of this survey to our Sunshine Committee to plan our upcoming Spring activities.  I am hopeful to receive information from each staff member so that we can create a fun-loving, growth-mindset work environment.

16 Habits of Mind

After reading through the 16 Habits of Mind, I saw a direct connection to our BMS Staff Norms as well as to our BEARS language used throughout the school among students and staff.  Our Staff Norms at BMS are:

We will maintain a safe and trustworthy environment for all.

We will be timely, be actively engaged and listen for understanding.

We will be respectful of other people, their ideas and differing opinions.

We will maintain a positive, kind environment by refusing to complain, gossip or slander.

BEARS Language is an initiative that started this year at our middle school.  Each letter of the word "BEARS" stands for what we believe our students encompass at BMS.  The characteristics that we have learned about this year are:

B - Belonging
E - Educated
A - Active Learning
R - Respectful
S - Selflessness

I am excited to continue this learning process with our students and staff at BMS!

This week we have been asked to develop an action plan to implement activities involving the 16 Habits of Mind.  My co-worker and classmate Gretchen and I plan to share and discuss the 16 Habits of Mind with our Social and Sunshine Committee at the middle school.  Our goal is to generate with this group some ideas that we can use to incorporate the Habits of Mind with our staff activities throughout the year.  The three habits we would like to focus our attention on for the beginning of the 2015-16 school year are: Finding Humor, Thinking Flexibly, and Creating, Imagining and Innovating within our school.  We will also be sharing this information with one member of our Site Team as well as our Advisory committee, in hopes that they will in turn begin to develop communication between other committees in the building in order to share a common goal among staff and begin implementing activities that continue to outline the 16 Habits of Mind.

Unloading the Kiln!

It is so exciting to open up the kiln after a firing to check the progress of student work!  I am so thrilled with the 6th grade Totem Masks and 8th grade Ceramic Containers.  They all worked so hard on these projects and continued their learning of the clay building process.

Sixth grade students studied the Totem Mask sculptures by Cynthia Baush.  Baush creates Totem Masks to honor the animal totems and features many animals in her work including the wolf, spider, bear, dragonfly, eagle, lynx and more.  Baush also includes unique symbols on each mask that communicate the animal's strengths and gifts.

Students learned about the importance of animal totems in the Native American culture and combined both human and animal characteristics to their mask.

Cynthia Baush - Totem Mask

BMS 6th Grade Animal Totem Masks

Eighth grade students have been focusing their time and energy on creating functional clay containers with lids.  One or more notches were added to keep the lid from falling off and a handle was added for easy removal.  Students chose their own theme to decorate their containers; using both adding and carving techniques.  I am so happy with the work they each class completed - I cannot wait to get the kids glazing next week!!

Eighth Grade

 Clay Containers

Aboriginal Art: Dot Paintings

I really enjoy teaching sixth grade students about the Aboriginal Culture in Australia.  This visual arts unit combines creativity in multiple ways; students choose an animal to draw, use traditional Aboriginal symbols to create a unique story about their animal and write their stories using complete sentences.  Students add color to their Aboriginal stories using colored pencil, then practice the process of dot painting using acrylic paint (using the end of paint brushes, wooden skewers or chopsticks).  Students enjoy learning about the Aboriginal Culture and have a blast sharing their animals and stories.  Check out some sixth graders below as they dot paint away!