The Weekly Update #4
October 23rd, 2024
Dear HDES families,
If you wonder why you are not seeing your student’s artwork coming home on a regular basis, it is because, in the Art Room, each student creates a portfolio of their work which will be taken home at the end of the school year (or perhaps halfway through depending on storage space!). I find this approach preferable for various reasons. Firstly, with this system, both the student and I can see and experience the development of their artwork over time. This not only supports my assessment process but more importantly assists the students in self-evaluation. Most assignments at each grade level are multi-step which involves returning to their project during several consecutive art lessons. This model helps to develop the student’s capacity to sustain interest and effort. My intention is that they come to the realization that the creative process is worthy of the commitment of time and energy and benefits greatly from review, reflection, and revision. The focus of the art room will be quality over quantity and to create reflective practitioners who develop multiple perspectives and problem-solving skills through the artistic process. In the younger grades, I give the students’ artwork to their classroom teacher to send home as they see fit. The older students are expected to take responsibility for taking their artwork home and sharing it with their families. Examples of student artwork are regularly displayed in the school hallways and on Artsonia for those who have registered.
Best wishes
Mrs. Brett
2nd graders completed a literacy unit about animals and habitats. Students are now learning about plants from different habitats in science. Mrs. Kimball's class visited the new HDSD greenhouse to plant seeds. They will observe their growth over time, create scientific drawings, measure and graph the data. Classes have also visited the HDES garden for a plant parts scavenger hunt, have learned about plant parts and dissected seeds and flowers.
The fifth grade has a new enrichment class this year. Each class will be involved in a Leadership class where the students will focus on tasks around our school to display our leadership skills. Students in Mrs. Savoy's class just completed their leadership class and helped with our school mail, changing the school sign, working on our school recycling program, along with helping out in kindergarten.
