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I created the following two attachments for teachers to include within your weekly parent newsletters. There is an English and a Spanish version. Please add this to your outgoing ParentSquare correspondence this week!

If you need a JPG/image format  instead of PDF, or if I can provide you with anything else, please let me know.

Thank you!

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If you haven’t already done so, please email me a copy of your classroom roster ASAP. It would be incredibly helpful if you could make a note or star any names on your roster that require special accommodations, and another unique notation for students that speak little or no english. In any case, please send me a copy of the roster as soon as possible, I can always fill in the blanks as I go.

I had hoped to be able to join in on PLC meetings so as to observe and take notes on your grade-level agendas as the year gets underway. Unfortunately, my schedule is very tight, and teaching back-to-back classes means morning minutes are precious prep time that cannot be sacrificed.

Fellow Longview teacher and esteemed colleague Nate Stock gave me an idea to tackle this issue when he added me to his list of recipients for classroom weekly newsletters.  I welcome the same from all teachers willing to share... though one per grade-level would be ideal. I hope that reading these weekly newsletters will provide the insight I need to better plan for integration.

As always, I appreciate your assistance, contribution, input and feedback, as well as your ideas and inspiration! Thank you, team!

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As we wrap up with the second week of art, I wanted to share a brief synopsis of what we have been doing in class.

The first week was devoted mostly to introductory items like "getting to know" each other and presenting my rules and expectations for the classroom. In case you missed class, I have expressed THREE primary and fundamental expectations for students  when the enter my classroom:

1. When teacher is talking, kids are looking and listening, (I explained this on the heels of teaching the art classroom attention-getters.)

2.  Students must respect the art materials and environment so that I may continue to provide the necessary supplies all year long.

3. Students must always TRY. Even when something seems too hard, as long as they  try,  they are doing what I required.

Following the expectation conversation we played a game, "Who Sees an Interesting Thing," with the purpose of familiarizing the kiddos with our new art studio environment and to get them excited about the new program. Based on the overwhelming participation in each and every class, I would say this game worked!

Finally, as time permitted, we created self-portraits to mark the beginning of the year in art. I plan to keep the work the students completed until the end of the year when we will have them do the same exercise again so we can compare it to BOY.

WEEK two was my chance to show classes what "integration" actually looks like in the classroom. I selected a MATH/ART lesson based around data visualization. Below is a video clip I presented to 3rd-6th grade classes during my lesson, following which we began our project, to create another self-portrait, this time using data.

Most classes reached the same point in this project with some mores steps left to complete. We will finish up the portraits and use them for reflection next week via part two of this lesson.

These types of lessons are great for offering a wide range of differentiation opportunities for foundational arts integration concepts. I hope to teach as many of these types of classes as possible, but as the year continues, the grade-level lessons will gradually become more customized and unique to curriculum and content. The more input, insight and feedback I receive from teachers, the faster this will happen.

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PARKSIDE FIELD TRIP CONFIRMED [Seussical@ Kingsbury Hall, 03/09/23]

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PARKSIDE FIELD TRIP CONFIRMED [Seussical@ Kingsbury Hall, 03/09/23]

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Our field trip is confirmed and all available slots have been filled!

As of right now grades 3, 5 and 6 are scheduled to attend in this group.

The 2nd grade will also attend, but in a separate group for a different date. I have requested additional seats so we can also include 4th in this group, I will let you know as soon as I receive a response to that request. If I have left anyone off this list that wants to attend, please let me know asap!

It is going to be a great time, thanks to all of you that joined in!

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A big feature of the BTS Arts program is that of exhibition and special events. These annual happenings are designed to showcase student work and celebrate learning but they also provide for community engagement as well as ongoing opportunities for relationship-building with our families, stakeholders and patrons.

For students, this means saving our work on-campus, for use during these events. Some students may initially grapple with this concept, and even push back when told they cannot take their work home with them upon completion. Please help me communicate to these students the importance of retaining their finished work on-campus, just until a specified date following such an event.

PARKSIDE ONLY:
It also means I must contend with the challenge of storing said work. My classroom is not adequate for such storage, so I am working through my options to determine the best solution for all parties. I will be responsible for keeping finished work, but I may need to lean on teachers to help store any work that is unfinished, between class times.

For larger items, we may have use of the backstage area. In this scenario, students would take their unfinished work with them when departing my class and drop it off in the backstage area on the way back to your classrooms. Similarly, you would pick it up on your way to my classroom the following week.

Your understanding and support in this matter is much-appreciated, and if you have any alternative suggestions or solutions to propose, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with those ideas at anytime.

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I am accepting any and all donations for suitable coverups students can use to protect their clothing during art.

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Fourth Grade Data Portraits {Week of 9/12/22}

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Fourth Grade Data Portraits {Week of 9/12/22}

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Third Grade Self-Portrait, [Week of 08/29/22]

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Third Grade Self-Portrait, [Week of 08/29/22]

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I told this student to draw the way he feels, and he drew this tornado. Impressive, to say the least!