A short week before a VERY short week, but we were busy!
Ms. Gaudette's Ceramics class "testing out" their Asian inspired dinnerware...
Ms. Laprise's Durfee Orchestra students performing at the BMC Durfee Groundbreaking Ceremony!
The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra performed at a few schools across the district this week!
In the News This Week:
- The Annual Michael Troy Tribute Concert is this weekend! This event, held at the Narrows Center for the Arts is a fund raiser for the Durfee Music Program- please consider attending, or even just buying a ticket if you can't make it! Here is the link: TICKETS
- This week, we had the NEW BEDFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA play for our 3rd graders at a few schools across the district! Their performance was all about how composers throughout time have "recycled" pieces in their compositions... they tie this thinking to how kids can be great "recyclers" themselves- whether in musical composing or in their daily lives (plastics, glass, paper..). Great connections to the sciences in this presentation! The group has also been working with 3rd grade classrooms in 5 of our schools to deepen this learning. In March, these groups will travel to the Zeiterion Theatre to view a grand scale performance of these "recycled" pieces.
- Revisiting our PD: Have you considered building a Google Quiz yet? Or a Google Form? They are a great way to measure learning and provide you with an easy to communicate format (pie chart/bar graphs)! Let me know if you need support!
- I will be continuing to do unannounced observations when we return from Thanksgiving break, and am excited to see the great tasks you plan for your kids!
Planning Ahead:
- Thanksgiving Break- begins at end of school day on Wednesday- Friday!
- Monday, December 3rd is a release time day for students- this is a teacher led PD day. I will not plan anything, but feel free to reach out to each other if you are thinking about using the time to collaborate for Arts Expo planning, Concert planning or any other co-teaching stuff!
- Monthly Department Meetings for November:
- Wednesday, November 28th- Durfee
- Thursday, November 29th- K-8:
- K-5 Art- Printmaking Demo (Location TBD)
- K-5 Music- Letourneau to co-plan for Link Up
- 6-8 Art and Music- Virtual meeting time- 3:45-4:45
National Core Arts Standards:
- We have been using the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks to plan lessons and build maps and these are solid sets of learning objectives for our kids around the arts. This winter, I would like to dig into the National Arts Standards to support our district wide goal of ARTS LITERACY. I know that Becky Jontos' work at the state level drafting the new standards for the state looks very similar to these national standards, so my plan is to take a big chunk of time at the Friday February 1st PD day to unpack these standards. This way, we can begin to plan more tasks that adhere to these. Here is a quick snapshot of how they are broken down...
...If you would like to take a look at them, here is a link:
And because I know that many of you have set a professional practice goal to establish "I Can" statements- here is an example for middle school art:
Middle School Art Core
NCCAS "I CAN" STATEMENTS
Learning Goal #1: Creating
- I can take risks and experiment with my creative process.
- I can learn from art history and make my own decisions to show my personal style.
- I can take risks, grow from peer reviews, collaborate, and revise my process using my knowledge of elements and principles of art to successfully develop my artwork.
- I can be responsible for the conservation, care and proper use of my art making supplies.
- I am intentionally communicating through my choice of images, colors, and symbolism.
- I can learn from my experiences, reflect on peer reviews and collaboration, and revise my process to show good craftsmanship and intentional decision making in my artwork.
Learning Goal #2: Presenting
- I can recognize the value of my work and finish it in a way that can be preserved or displayed.
- I can identify criteria that would be important in selecting successful artworks for presentation and see the value in refining my artwork to meet these criteria.
- I can explain and describe how artwork reflects the time period in which it was created and how my artwork expresses meaning for me.
Learning Goal #3: Responding
- I can identify artwork that appeals to me through my understanding of aesthetics and how they affect our world.
- I can recognize and interpret meanings from images and am learning to understand how they influence my world.
- I can participate in an art critique using the Elements and Principles of art to analyze a body of work. I can verbally express my interpretation of images used in an artwork.
- I can contribute to discussions about criteria for learning goals and am aware that the skills we learn can be applied differently depending on the type of artwork being created. I also am becoming aware of my personal preferences in art techniques and mediums.
Learning Goal #4: Connecting
- I can make choices about my art that contributes to and communicates my personal experiences.
- I can understand and discuss how art helps people understand, preserve, and impact life. I can make connections to how art is affecting our current society and culture.
I would also like to share with the team that I spent a great deal of time with a super awesome team here at Durfee a couple of weeks ago, writing a grant proposal for what could be an awesome "school within a school" here at Durfee. It would be designed with conceptual artistic learning as the center of all planning, for a small group of Durfee students. Their academics would all be tied to mastery standards but learning would be demonstrated through the National Arts Standards... We shared the draft with an organization called Big Picture Learning (Guess who is on the board there- Daniel Pink!), and they are super supporting us through the process! This Barr Grant is for $175,000 (planning grant) and if we get it, fingers and toes crossed, we would be developing a "new way to do school" for our kids, through conceptual tasks and the arts.
In closing, have a wonderful weekend- get out there and have fun. Oh, and don't forget to get the turkey in the brine!
Jackie
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