Ms. Bronzino

Current Happenings

This year has really gone by quickly.  We are half-way through the quarter and I am starting to feel that "end of year crunch."  We have very long projects in the 8th grade.  We started the quarter with our "anchor project," the "Gravity failed" project.  This project remains in your tray and you will work on it as you finish other projects.  We started our Magazine Mozaic project about a week ago.  I am starting to see the beautiful results of this project as students finish and turn these in to me.  I will display these on the main hallway bulletin board for the week of the art show (more info to follow).  As they are finished, I will post the grades to I-Parent.  I am hoping that all students can have these finished by tuesday, 4/29. 

Our next project will be a pencil/shading project.  It will be a radial design project with much detail.  I will talk to you about this more as we finish the mozaic.

Mark your calendars for May 13th!  This is the date of Dickerson's annual "Night of the Arts!"  The art show will be held from 6:00-8:00P.M.  All are invited, even if a student does not have an art work in the show.  In a week or so, you will be receiving a personalized invitation for the event.  Any student who had art this year and completed the event-specific project will have a framed work of art in the show.  On the night of the event, Orchestra, Band, Chorus and Facs will be performing and/or selling baked goods.  We all look forward to seeing you there!

End of Quarter Information

As we wrap things up for the third quarter, please be aware of the deadlines.  Your Gravity project is due on Wednesday the 12th of March, at the end of class.  The decorative Sun Face is due on Friday, the 14th of March.  Projects will not be accepted past these dates.  Art Journals will be collected on Monday, March 10th.  Note that this means that 3 more grades will be entered before the end of the qaurter. 

Aboriginal dot painting

As we continue to work on our dot paintings, please keep in mind that this is a long-term project.  It will be due on Wednesday, February 6th.  Please remember to custom-mix your paint.  The colors will not be rich and deep unless you custom-mix the paint.  Also remember to paint neatly.  You will be graded on craftsmanship as well as following directions.  The overall appearance of the work does matter.  Do your very best, it always pays off in the end!

I will be grading your reading assigments this weekend.  It looks like most of you did well from what I have seen so far. 

Ceramic bowls

We are glazing your ceramic bowls this week.  I intend to fire these as you finish glazing them.  They need to all be completed by Tuesday, 12/18.  Journals will be collected by Monday, 12/17.  Gravity will be collected Thursday, 12/20.  The decorative sun faces should be finished by Friday, 12/21.  Enjoy your winter Holiday break. Happy Holidays!

Progress Reports

Please be advised that progress reports are coming home today, 11/27/07.  If your grade is a C or below, please bring the progress report back to me signed by a parent or guardian.  Parents, please read the progress reports as I have written comments on some of them.  Thank You1

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break.  It is nice to be back.  We will be starting a  ceramics project this week.  We will be making a coil bowl with a bird on it.  Rolling coils is a skill that can be a challenge until you get the hang of it.  Ms. Dempsey will demonstrate how it is done this week.  Please be reminded if you are in my second hour art class, we will be taking the AR test on Thursday of this week, the 29th of November.  Please finish up your reading for November so that you will be ready on Thursday.

Progress

We are making progress with the dot paintings.  Many of you will be finished next week.  For those of you who are painting more detailed pieces, I am allowing students to work until Monday, the 19th of November.  Please take you time to finish these paintings as focused time will result in less mistakes. 

When we return from Thanksgiving break, we will explore the idea of a ceramics project.  Ms. Dempsey is currently narrowing down her ideas for you.  I know it will be a fun experience for all of you. 

Reminder!  If you are in my second period class, please start reading your AR book.  We will be discussing taking the AR test in the next few weeks.  I have been allowing students to go to the media center to check out a book if you don't already have one.  Everyone should have a book by now and should have started reading it.

Aboriginal dot painting

Welcome second quarter 8th grade classes!  You have all been working very hard on the "Gravity failed" project and they are looking very nice.  Toward the end of the week, we will begin a new project.  The Gravity project will be our anchor project or long term project.  This will not be due until the end of the quarter and will be worked on when we finish other assignments. 

Aboriginal dot painting begins with a video of the aboriginal people and the method of painting used by these people in the outback of Australia.  We will choose a subject to draw and then paint using a special tool to make tiny dots on black paper. All of the paint colors must be custom blended to develop rich, vibrant colors.  This is a lenthy project because it is so detail oriented.  Two and a half weeks are usually dedicated to the completion of this project. 

Please remember that November is Connections month to test for Accelerated reader.  If you have not yet chosen a book to read for November, please stop by the media center and speak to Ms. Inman.  She will help you choose something that will be interesting to you as well as satisfy the AR requirement.  If you are reading a book that you are not sure is an AR book, you may look it up on the Dickerson web site.  Simply go to the site and click on media center.  Once there, click on Accelerated Reader.  You will be able to look your book up by title or author.  Since November is fast approaching, please begin planning for this assignment.  If you are currently reading an AR book and finish reading it soon, let me know.  I will let you take the AR test before the end of the month.  All second hour Connections students will be AR tested by the end of November, so start reading soon!  If you have any questions, come talk to me and I will try to make things clear.

Thank you to my 8th grade classes for writing such lovely letters to the military personnel.  You wrote thoughtful and kind letters and I know the men and women who receive them will see them as a gift , just as I do.

The TellTale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

As we read The Tell-Tale heart in art class, we are looking for good visual details to illustrate.  These illustrations will be put into a 6 panel comic strip.  Think about the images that have been conjured-up as you read the story.  Some of these can be very powerful when drawn. Keep in mind that reading cards from all first period Connections classes are due on the 28th of September.  As discussed in class, there will be no exceptions.  Reading cards are due in class on Friday, September 28th.

8th Grade

As we begin our Aboriginal dot painting project, I need to remind students to take the necessary time on the rough draft for this project.  As I mentioned in class, a good drawing will result in a good painting.  Put forth the effort on the drawing, you will see how much it matters in the end.  This is a long term project with the due date set for Sept.10,2007.  I may change the due date if I see that most students are progressing quickly.  Please remember to keep your materials in your tray at all times so that you can come to class and get started immediately.