Mural Tryout, Planning

We've completed our first round of mural tryouts. The turn out of students was truly amazing! We had around 300 students in both art rooms tryout for the painting our the wave mural that's going to be completed in the library. It's very hard for us to turn students away from doing something they are obviously excited about, but the wall and space we're working in is only so big. We have narrowed it down to 60 students (30 of Mrs. Teems' and 30 of my students) that will go through Round 2 of the tryouts. After this round, we will narrow it down even further.

I have no idea who the students are who have made it through to Round 2. Round 1 tryouts were done completely blind where each student was assigned a number on their tryout paper. This was immensely helpful in making sure we were fair with who was selected. We based our selections entirely on neatness.

For every single student that was not selected, please do not be discouraged! You are still an amazing artist. I would love to offer every single one of you an opportunity throughout the rest of the year once the mural is completed to participate in one of the other art club projects that we will be doing. One that is most similar to the mural project will be 'Art in the Streets' which is put on by the Norwin Art League. More details will follow about this. We should be starting to work on that project sometime between February and March.

Library Mural

I am so excited to announce we (Mrs. Teems and myself) are going to be starting to select students to paint the soon to be mural in the library. I attached pictures of the drawing on the wall they will be painting. We have been thinking long and hard as to how we can select a small group of students (because the wall space is only so big) to help out and be fair with how we do it. So, after much discussion and consideration we’ve decided to have tryouts. For the first round of tryouts, students will be coming to our rooms during activity period and asked to paint as neat as they possibly can within a series of shapes. This tryout will be judged blindly so no special consideration can be given to any students we may already know. We’re assigning students that try out numbers so on their paper we will only see the number as we are choosing those that make it to round 2. When those students are selected, the numbers will be posted outside of the art rooms on the wall, not the students’ names.

For the second round of try outs, students will be asked to do a similar painting activity but this time on a paper attached to the wall. They will also be asked to write a few sentences explaining why they think they are a good choice for the mural team. The students’ grades and behavior within the classroom will also be considered when narrowing down students for our final group. Once students have been selected, after round 2 is completed, permission slips will be sent home with them to stay after school and work with us in the library on either a Tuesday or a Thursday until 5pm.

Again, both Mrs. Teems and I wish that we could have everyone interested be a part of this. However, although it’s not possible for this project, we will be doing other art club activities throughout the year, during activity period and after school, that will be open to ALL students, no tryouts required. If you have any questions regarding the mural please feel free to contact me.  mbrown@norwinsd.org. 

Student Teacher in 126- Miss Kisner

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

My name is Jennifer Kisner and I am a Post-Graduate, Student Teacher from Saint Vincent College. I graduated this past May with my Bachelors in Fine Arts and am currently pursuing my certification in K-12 Art Education. Over the next 8 weeks I will be with Miss Brown, not only assisting her in teaching but also developing and teaching my own set of lessons.

Art is a way to express creativity and individuality. It is a way to relax; to put thoughts and emotions on paper in more than just words. It is hard to compare myself to other artists or to call myself an artist in general. I do not know which medium I prefer over the rest, but what I do know is the feeling I get whenever my work is in front of me. I enjoy working with my hands to discover new ways to express myself whenever I cannot finds the words to do so.

My dedication lies within the pride I take in my own artwork.  I know that the effort I put in to my work represents the person I am. I love taking the time to solve problems within my own artwork because at an upper level, that is what art is all about. Being able to take colors, textures and materials and turn them into a masterpiece. Once I become an educator it is my goal to instill these ideas into every student I have the opportunity to inspire.

During this time I would like to encourage you to motivate your child to keep up with his/her classroom projects and assignments. Feel free to encourage your students to attend activity periods in the art room to finish artwork that they are behind on or that they may have missed. With your constant encouragement at home, your child will be a success in my classroom!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email me at jen.kisner@email.stvincent.edu.

                                                                                            Sincerely,

                                                  Jennifer Kisner