ART I is an into  the Elements of Art, the concepts of creating unique artwork that is NOT copied from the internet, learning about composition,  how to create work that is "WELL CRAFTED", and it is meant to "challenge" you hopefully inspire you to put maximum effort into your work daily.  Learning to be creative and to make artwork that is personal to you!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Please see the list of materials needed  on the first page of this website.  

If your student is absent for any length of time,  make sure your student is checking their school email daily, I may be contacting them to see how things are going through email..  

I will post ALL assignments in Google Classroom.  Grading will be handled mostly in class due to the change in student Chromebooks. 

 I would prefer to keep the Stream page of Google Classroom open for resources that I will post for students regarding assignments; this is not a place for questions.  Should any student have an urgent question that can not wait until the next day, they should email me.  If they write it in Google Classroom I will NOT see it!

Please also know that all students work at different speeds, all student's artwork will vary; so some students may have chosen to place more details in their artwork than others, and due to that students may possibly not have completed their artwork by the due date.  As long as students are working diligently, but may not have their artwork completed by the deadline they have nothing to worry about! 

Please understand that students should NOT consider emailing me artwork to get credit.  

I have my Syllabus listed here on this website. I want your student to understand what is expected of them in my classroom.   My classroom is a non-traditional classroom setting, it is a big room, students are moving to get materials, etc.   One student who thinks my room is the gym, or disregards common kindness practices can disturb what we are trying to accomplish.  Please speak with your student ahead of time, and assure them, that if anyone disrupts teaching and normal everyday practices that there are consequences for bad choices.  

Also, should "ANYONE" bother your student, please make sure they know they "MUST" tell me to make sure I know about it!  I don't have eyes in the back of my head, and it is a large room, this is the best way for me to help!

If you have ANY questions or concerns, please email me.   jdaniels@brandon.k12.mi.us    

 SYLLABUS FOR ART I Brandon Middle School

Teacher:  Mrs. Daniels

Purpose: Art I is an introduction to creating unique, personal outcomes in visual fine art through a multi-media experience; through various artist and culture explorations.  Students will learn and apply the elements of art and principles of design to produce creative, unique art projects that reflect their understanding of these principles and concepts to the best of their abilities.

In this visual fine art class, you must use creativity to solve solutions to artistic problems and develop your creativity.  This is NOT a “goof off class”!

Materials: You MUST bring a #2 Ticonderoga pencil (not mechanical), 1 eraser, and your creative mind with a good work ethic to class daily!

 Expectations: My expectations of students are that YOU WILL:

• Conduct yourself in a SAFE and RESPONSIBLE manner in all of your actions.  Safety of all students is my number one priority.

• Come to class on time and prepared! (Pencil and eraser, and bring any homework that was assigned).

• Do your best to complete all personal needs like using facilities, going to your locker, getting what you need from the office PRIOR to coming to class.   It is very important that we focus on working during class, and not leaving the classroom during class.

• Respect the teacher and your fellow classmates with your words and actions! This includes listening and participating during demonstrations in large group situations, without causing distractions!  Inappropriate behavior whether by your words or actions is not appreciated or tolerated.  Inappropriate actions on your part will result in consequences by the teacher.

• I expect students to always be kind to others. 

• Respect materials and tools in the classroom; please do not waste them! Clean and store materials borrowed properly. All students will participate to keep our room clean! This will include helping to clean up around your table, sink areas, or other designated areas by Mrs. Daniels at the end of every class.  We ARE a TEAM!

• Students will not be allowed to leave the classroom unless the room is completely cleaned!  Part of the curriculum for this class is to learn to be responsible for the mess you create.

• Put effort into EVERY project!  Please try NOT to take the easy way out to just get the project done.  You will only be successful if you strive for QUALITY outcomes!  This happens through thoughtful planning, taking time to morph and expand on your original ideas, work through mistakes and sometimes starting over!  Your GOAL should be NOT TO RUSH through projects, but to constructively execute your ideas with careful craftsmanship.   I expect EVERY student to try to create great outcomes in your work.  This takes time, and effort!  We are not in a race to complete our projects; we want to raise our bars for quality work.  Every student can create quality outcomes!

• My greatest hopes are that you will not be afraid to fail.  Learn from our mistakes, and learn to embrace the mistake as an opportunity to create unique outcomes that were not planned!  Sometimes, these “mistakes” can have amazing outcomes! 

                                       Our GOAL is:  Quality in all we do!

•  Please, never touch artwork that is not yours!

•  Please pay attention when I am giving direction on classroom procedures.  This is

Important to keep the work you create safe, and to also care for the work of others.

•  Be kind in your words when talking about another student’s artwork.

• You may NOT take images from the internet and copy them!  This is plagiarism! 

• Stay in your assigned seat during class and once you have cleaned up and put your materials away for the day at the end of class.  

• Every student is required to help pick up anything that has fallen on the floor before we leave the room!  We are a TEAM!  Even if a mess is not yours, please be kind and help out!  One day it maybe a mess that is yours, and I know you would appreciate the help J

Use your class time wisely and work on the project at hand:

•  Artists’ follow certain procedures to ensure their work environment is safe.  This includes using materials in appropriate ways. Wasting materials may result in your replacing them at your expense.  

•  Sitting and talking and not working is not acceptable! You may not use the excuse that you are “thinking about what to do”!  (If this is a repeated practice, then this is just an excuse not to work).

• Good artwork requires hands on work that takes time!  Many times, you will need to rework one idea over and over and change things as you get new ideas during the process of creating.  This can be hard work!  Don’t “settle” for “it’s good enough” or “can I be done”?!!!  I would hope that every student will raise their bar and work towards outcomes they did not think they could achieve.

• IF some students are doing something that is “off task”; this does not mean you should!  Mrs. Daniels will deal with each student on a one-to-one basis.  Be careful not to get involved in inappropriate behavior.

• Grading: Your grade in art will come from the following: Mrs. Daniels uses the Brandon Visual Fine Arts Grading Rubric to determine your grade on every project.  A copy of this is handed out in the first few days of class. You should keep this and use it to determine if you are doing the best work, you can during each project!  You do not have to be the “best” artist to get an A in this class! Everyone is an Artist!  You are here to learn!  Learning to not be afraid to try and push your limits and to not be afraid to repeat and practice, over and over until you get it right is a mind set some of us need to get more skilled.

·         I expect that you will do what is assigned and meeting the objectives of the project; however, if the project I assign does not interest you, and you have a different outcome idea, you should share that with me!  I am not looking for “cookie cutter art outcomes”! I want you create artwork that interests you, but it MUST be school appropriate.

Try your best to create QUALITY WORK!  The Originality of your work, and the content of your work, should be neat and well crafted.  Use your class time wisely going above and beyond the project assigned (creativity).  The goal is to learn to increase your abilities to the fullest, and not rushing to be done!

You MUST be on task and respectful!

There are NO deadlines in this class!  There is only QUALITY ART!

I am looking forward to a productive year with respectful students.  I am here to teach to all students and to help you increase your creative abilities.  I truly believe that all students can succeed in this class.  It is up to the student to be a respectful functioning member of this classroom.  This includes not laughing when other students are disrespectful!  We are all a team in this room, so let’s work together for a great outcome!

PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR AND ACTIONS

• Refusal to work.  (Sitting and talking, and not working)

•  Refusal to clean up (arguing that it isn’t your mess)

• Wasting or abusing art materials and tools

• Throwing “ANYTHING”

• Tampering or causing intentional harm to another student’s artwork or their personal belongings.

•  Putting any materials on yourself / your skin/ NO drawing of any kind on your skin!

• Making a mess on purpose

• You should NOT create inappropriate work OR create distractions during demonstrations, discussions or critiques that are random off topic comments, meant to be funny or disrespectful.  You may be removed from the classroom; a call will go home; a detention will be served or other appropriate discipline up to and including dismissal may result. 

•  Please, think before you speak or act! 

• Please do NOT draw on our tables, or contribute to any “holes” in the surface.  These tables have a long history to me trying to restore them.  Please do not intentionally draw on them!

This majority of this syllabus is aimed at general behavoir expectations for the artroom.  Due to media differences, there are certain other responsibilities that maybe unique to the class we your student in enrolled in, and those specific expectations will be outlined during class. 

                         If you violate any of these rules, you will be given ONE warning, with consequences to follow if behavoir is not changed.

New this year: 

Due to the phone policy this year, any photos you need to use as a reference will need to be printed or emailed to YOURSELF outside of school!   Please do NOT email them to Mrs. Daniels!  Posting them into Google Classroom is also  great option, as I can print them from there.  Just make sure they are as large a full page of copy paper when you upload them or they will be to small!

GOOGLE CLASSROOM INFO:

• IF your student is absent on any given day, they should be able to keep up with what is going on in class via Google Classroom.  I will allow extra time in the classroom to catch up, however, if the student does not attempt to complete any work after their return, points will be deducted.

• Please make sure your student is checking their school email daily, if they are absent for any extended time, I may be contacting them to see how things are going through email 

•   I would prefer to keep the Stream page of Google Classroom open for resources that I will post for students regarding assignments; this is not a place for questions.  Should they have an urgent question that cannot wait until the next day, they should email me.  

• Please also know that all students work at different speeds, all student's artwork will vary; so some students may have chosen to place more details in their artwork than others, and due to that students may possibly not have completed their artwork by the due date.  As long as students are working diligently, but may not have their artwork completed by the deadline, I prefer and need them to post their work that is in progress anyway.  IF this happens, they should write a note in private comments, that they are not finished and what it is they still need to complete. This way, when I grade after the due date it will remind me.  They are required to finish all unfinished work though!

•  Please understand that students should NOT consider emailing me artwork to get credit, UNLESS they have been absent for some time.

                       If you have ANY questions or concerns, please email me!   jdaniels@brandon.k12.mi.us  

                       Please see the list of materials needed on the first page of this website.