Mr. Mills Blog

And just like that, she is gone. Ms. Fischer will be spending her last day at Murray today. The time does go by very fast. She will be teaching at a high school for the next seven weeks to complete her student teaching. We wish her all of the best and good luck!

This week, Ms. Fischer finished up all of the projects she had started with the students. The 6th and 5th graders completed their “instructed” paintings. And, the 4th and 3rd graders finished their gesture drawings. Check out the pictures below of the students hurriedly completing their gesture drawings.

All of these projects will be graded and part of the students quarter grades which will are just around the corner. Next week, we will be finishing up the projects we had started before Ms. Fischer began teaching. The 6th graders will finish their emotion paintings, the 5th and 4th graders will finish their logos, and the 3rd graders will finish their voting posters.

Until next week…

Technically, it is the second long weekend, but Labor Day always precedes the first day of school. It never really seems like I am getting a “day off”. Anyway, Ms. Fischer is about to enter her last week here at Murray. The 5th and 6th grade students have finished their artist trading cards. The students were allowed to take them home right after the project, and we have put them on Art Sonia. Both grades are now working on a short project based on the artwork of Yoko Ono. Each student wrote down directions for making an artwork that would be given to another student. The students were given some freedom on the how to write the directions, but they could only use paint, scissors, and glue as the materials.

The 3rd and 4th grade students have finished their contour line sculptures. They are also on Art Sonia. Now, the students have started a gesture drawing project. A gesture drawing is a quick drawing of a model’s pose. The idea is to quickly draw the shapes and position of the model.

If you have any questions about your child’s midterm, please contact me at the school. Thanks.

Finally, I am offering an after school video and technology class. If your child is interested, please see me for a permission slip.

Until next week…

As some of you might now, we are using a new grading system this year called Gradebook. With any new technology, you have a learning curve. Since we have midterm grades due this week, the curve is certainly steep but it has to be done. Speaking of grades, all students in Ms. Kaiser’s, Ms. Gorman’s, and Mr. Brookin’s class will be receiving a “B” for the midterm. The beginning of the year schedule meant that we could not finish their first project. Since Ms. Fischer and I did not want to rush the project, we felt this was the best solution. If you would like to no more about your child’s progress, please contact me.

The other 5th and 6th grade class have finished their artist trading cards. Some of the examples are above.

Also, the other 4th grade class has finished their Alexander Calder Contour Line Sculptures. Check them out above. All of this work has already been or will be posted on Art Sonia.

Until next week…

First…an announcement. I am offering a video/technology after school class starting on October 7th. The class is on Tuesday and Wednesday and will last until after school ends in early March. If you need a permission slip, I have them. I hope to only give these to students who are interested. Have your student please see me.

Ms. Fischer is finishing up her second week of teaching. That is a picture of her working above. The 3rd and 4th graders are in the middle of working on their Alexander Calder contour line mobiles. This week, they began shaping wire into one of the contour line portraits they drew during the previous 3 class periods. The 5th and 6th graders are in the middle of creating their 3 artist trading cards. They are applying the skills they learned last week to the cards they made this week. I plan on putting all of these artworks on to Art Sonia next week.

Also, in case I did not mention it, I have a download page where you can download and install free/open source programs. These are all programs I have either used myself or checked out. In some cases, I have used them with the students. They should install easily on your home computer, so if you get a chance, check them out.

Until next week…

Please come see our booth on Satuday, June 7th at the St. Thomas Art Fair. Mr. Brown and I will be selling watercolors made by the 1st graders, prints made by the 3rd graders, and canvas paintings by the 5th graders. Above, some of the students are painting a sign for our table at St. Thomas. The funds raised from these artworks will be used to support the fine arts department.

The 3rd graders finished their prints this week. Above, you will see some of the students rolling out the ink, pressing their printing plate on paper, and pulling their printing plate off the paper to reveal their print. As stated above, these prints will be available to purchase at the St. Thomas Art Fair on Saturday.

The 4th graders finished up their light and shadow paintings this week. The paintings were an exaggerated look at how a direct light source can effect the color, in this case, of a cube. Not only does it change the appearance of the colors on the cube, it casts a shadow. They will be bringing them home this week or next week.

The 5th graders finished up their canvas paintings this week and worked on signs for the St. Thomas Art Fair. Some of the finished pieces are above. And, as stated above, these will be on sale this Saturday.

The 6th graders are in the middle of watching My Kid Could Paint That. We have been watching the movie to discuss two questions, “Is abstract art art?” and “Did the parents help their child paint the artwork?” I would suggest asking your child about this movie since it touches on a lot of different ideas about art and, as I have told the students, they have to form their own opinion about the above questions because the movie will not answer it for them.

Until next week…