Welcome Letter

A few suggestions to help your kid succeed in my class:

“Respect the Work”

One of ACT’s core values that students hear all the time, is that at ACT, we “respect the work”.  In the context of my classes, I ask everyone to remember that artwork is work. Art is hard work. Sometimes in art, we learn as much from what didn’t work as we do from what did.  It is my expectation that students in my classes choose to be there, and want to be there.  It is my expectation that every student can improve, so long as they see the value in what they are doing.  

Artists play a part in the design of everything we use throughout the day. Art helped us to survive the pandemic.  From our favorite TV shows, to the logo on your drive-thru drink, from our home decor to our office buildings and schools… an artist made all those things or, at least, made them better. While ⅓ of the careers the class of 2026 will go on to have don’t exist yet, the chances are pretty good your child will be employed in a creative field and the skills they learn in arts classes will help them succeed. Collaboration, meeting deadlines, research, planning, and dedication to the task are all non-art skills reinforced in art class and used daily in the workforce.

Arts education teaches students how to observe, experiment, self-evaluate, reflect, persevere, innovate, envision solutions and problem solve - all things that are skills they will need to be successful adults.

Trust the Process

Art is never something a person is “done” learning how to do.  There is always room for growth.  We will only have a handful of graded, formally critiqued assignments a quarter.  The rest of the time, we will be working on what is referred to in teacher jargon as “formative assessments.”  These may be sketchbook exercises, practice projects, skill-building exercises, or journal reflections.  These assignments will not be graded in the traditional way.  Instead, we should think of them as rungs on a ladder.  It will be a lot harder to reach the top of the ladder if you try to jump straight from the ground to the top.  If a student has not quite achieved mastery of any particular concept, or skill, they will have opportunities to receive feedback, and to revise.  This is part of the process, and should be expected.  Check out this video, Austin’s Butterfly for a rather vivid demonstration of the concept in action. 

When they were learning to talk, they probably did some pointing and grunting, said some pretty silly things, or adorably mispronounced words.  It probably took them a while to figure it out, and they probably sounded pretty ridiculous at first.  They had help, of course.  No one learns language in isolation.  Someone probably interpreted toddler-ese for them, and helped them to begin to communicate.  But no one could speak for them forever.  Eventually they had to learn to do it on their own.  It probably took some of them longer than others to figure it out, but eventually, their experimentation, baby babble, and exploration of language paid off, and they learned to speak.  Sometimes in more than one language!

Ask your child about what we are learning

Don’t be afraid to ask them to teach you something, to show you, teach you what they've learned. 

Photograph their work!

I have a 7-year-old, and he comes home with all kinds of drawings, and art projects.  It’s just not possible to keep every single one.  However, nothing embarrasses flatters a teenager more than their loved ones gushing about how amazing their work is.  They still secretly love it when you put their work up on the fridge, or better still, in a frame on your wall.  Being enthusiastic in your admiration of their work can go a long way to boost their confidence in their ability to be an artist.  I highly recommend photographing their work, and making a photo album of it, or just saving it to brag about them later.

Stay Connected: Contact info, Syllabus Website, and Survey

 I have created a website that will help communicate to families what's going on in my classes, and to help you share in your child's artistic development.  I would encourage you to keep this link to reference - https://sites.google.com/act.eastconn.org/act-sarah-murphy/home

During the unbridled chaos adventure that was the 2020-2021 school year, I learned the hard way that families and guardians do not have access to  Google Classroom the same way that students do.  As a solution to that problem, I am trying something new.  I created this Google Site as a way to organize assignments and class resources.  It is my hope that this platform makes it a little easier for families and guardians to stay connected to what's going on in the costume shop.  I'd like to hear from you.   Let me know what you think of the website, or just send a note to introduce yourself.  You can  email me anytime.

• ACT Gmail: (for students to use) smurphy@act.eastconn.org

• Eastconn Outlook Email (for staff, parents, guardians)  smurphy@eastconn.org

• Parent Survey:

I have created a brief survey that I would love for you to complete.  This will help me to help your kids to be their best selves, and to be successful in my class, and at school.

Sarah Murphy