ART everywhere
800 works of art representing every student will be exhibited!
Art Chair Raffle 6:00PM
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Refreshments
Art Activities
Come and be inspired!
Please come to our fabulous art celebration!
What a switch!
Recently 15 year veteran visual art teacher Tina Wood, Marcia Buker Elementary School (Richmond), emailed me about the work she is doing with students. I could hear the excitement in her voice about what is happening in her classroom that I just had to ask her permission to share it. Below is the email – in Tina’s own words.
I recently had an amazing breakthrough in teaching and learning and must share! At RSU#2 we adopted National Art Standards for our district as our learning targets. I put these in “I can” statements for students and their interest and understanding in learning outcomes was noticeable. Students were curious, questioning and open minded. Using these statements and their unique art ideas I have been looking for an enjoyable, fun way to assess student knowledge.
Dan Tompkins, IT support at Marcia Buker Elementary School (MBES) found an app, Easy Blogger JR, for the 4 new iPads I wrote a grant for and it has been electric in the art room. Students easily photograph, text or talk about their art and ideas matching their learning to their learning targets independently. It is easy to comment on their posts and students will be able to comment along with parents and teachers. Students are coming in the art room to do their assessment during recess!
This is the biggest amount of joy and bubbling creativity I have ever seen expressed by students!
The first blogs posted are 5th grades alabaster stone sculptures that they began while at Viles Arboretum Sculpture Symposium on October 3rd during a day long field trip exploring nature, creativity and stone carving. The article was published in Portland Press Herald Sunday October 11th about MBES students in the Outdoor section called Making a Solid Impression.
I hope you might have time to visit our blog, mbesart.blogspot.com. This is an inspiring adventure for myself and Marcia Buker Elementary School students. If you have questions for Tina please contact her at twood@kidsrsu.org.
And a recent update from Tina: It is exciting in the art room as we learn and grow and express ourselves. Students in the 5th grade have started tweeting what they are learning in art as part of their end of class evaluation. FUN! mbesartstudio on Twitter!
CONGRATULATIONS and BEST WISHES!
Best Wishes to the following for a wonderful – happy and healthy retirement. Combined they have contributed over 350 years of teaching art or music to students across the state of Maine. Their expertise and commitment to education is appreciated and I am certain their students will miss them! Never to be taken away from them, or the districts they have served, is the impact they have made on students education in the arts. THANK YOU all! I hope you will continue to be involved in arts education in Maine by providing me (argy.nestor@maine.gov) with an email address to continue to be on the Maine arts education list-serv.
Featuring one teacher’s journey as an arts educator
This is the third in a series of blog posts telling arts teachers’ stories. This series contains a set of questions to provide the opportunity for you to read educators stories and to learn from others. Jeff Orth is the featured teacher this week and has been teaching visual arts for 13 years, the last 10 in Richmond, grades 6-12. Jeff sees around 175 students every two days in his art room. He has served as the curriculum leader for visual art for the last three years and has been involved in helping the way the arts are delivered and assessed in schools. Jeff is one of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative’s Teacher Leaders, Phase I.
What do you like best about being an arts educator?
I like opening up the world of art to the students that I teach, to help them see the world in a different light and to help them see that they are creative people.
Tell me what you think are three keys to ANY successful arts ed program?
What specific way(s) do your assessment practices tie into the success of your program?
The goal of my assessments is for the students to understand what they are learning and how to show that learning. I believe in formative assessment which calls for feedback at all stages of the art making process.
What have been the benefits in becoming involved in the arts assessment initiative?
The best benefits have been the connections made between educators and learning about different assessment strategies.
What are you most proud of in your career?
That I am always striving to learn better ways to deliver my program to my students.
What gets in the way of being a better teacher or doing a better job as a teacher?
For me it is the cliché of time, but I have very little time in the school day to work on inventive lessons for the classroom.
Apple or PC?
Apple
What have you accomplished through hard work and determination that might otherwise appear at first glance to be due to “luck” or circumstances?
I can not think of anything specific at this time but I am always aware the importance of putting yourself in the right place for “luck” to happen. Some things are out of a persons control but once you decide what you want or need to happen you can do things that increase the chances that something positive will happen.
Look into your crystal ball: what advice would you give to teachers?
Stay true to what you know and be an advocate for your program and your students.
If you were given a $500,000.00 to do with whatever you please, what would it be?
Pay off the little debt that I have, buy a house and put the rest away for my kids collage education. Safe and boring I know, but at this stage in life this bit of financial security would be great to have.
Thank you Jeff for taking the time to tell your story!
me arts ed 