~ Letter to Parents
August 18, 2017
Dear Parents,
It is with great honor and pleasure that I have the opportunity to share my love of photography with your child. It is a subject that I hold near and dear to my heart, and I believe that the skills that they will learn in my class will be some of: patience, process, overcoming frustration, quality and craftsmanship, and pride in one’s self and their work. These are skills that will last a lifetime.
Cameras
For this class, your child will need a fully manual 35mm SLR camera. These cameras have a lens that sticks out in the front, which doesn’t retract into the camera. These cameras are often sitting in closets gathering dust, and when the owners find out that a high school student wants to use it, they are often excited to lend or even give the camera to the student. I encourage students to ask around to aunts/uncles, grandparents, neighbors, friends… to see if anyone has a camera that they can borrow. It always amazes me how many students find cameras this way. If you are interested in buying one, there are many places around town to acquire one, new or used (there is a list of locations below). Craig’s List or Nextdoor are a good place to start. If you have a camera that you would like to donate to our program, we would love to use it. If your child does not find a camera, I do have some that they can borrow, but due to the limited number of cameras that I have, they will have to be shared with other students. They will need their cameras in a few of weeks.
Cost Of Photo
This is the part that I hate talking about…
We receive no funding for this class from the school or district, all the funds are raised through fundraising and donations. Though this class cost quite a bit of money to keep it going, I feel that it is an extremely important subject to keep alive here at Grant, and it happens to be one of the most popular classes offered. It costs $100 per student to keep this class going. That is a lot of money… I know. But anything that you can pay helps keep this valuable class going. If you can afford to pay the $100 all at one time… AWESOME! If you are able to pay the $100 over the course of the year in payments… GREAT! If you are able to pay part of the cost… THAT WORKS, TOO! Anything that you can donate to keep Photography alive here at Grant helps and is GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all that you do.
Important Dates to Remember
September 19th Back to School Night- I look forward to meeting you, in Room A9.
November 8th & 9th Parent Teacher Conferences & SouperBowls- Fundraiser during conferences where the Art Department sells soup in student made bowls, soup donations in Croc-Pots are always needed.
December 14th Grantasia- Fundraiser for the Fine and Performing Arts Department, during the winter concert, student artwork will be displayed and sold.
May 17th & 18th The Art Show- Fundraiser where student artwork will be displayed and sold.
Things We Always Run Out Of
- Money for chemicals & printing supplies
- Kleenex
- Cameras
- Scissors
- Glue Sticks
- Rubber Cement
- White-out
- Post-its
- Masking Tape
My Teaching Philosophy
On the first day of grad school, in my first class of the day, the professor said, “Some of you will be the same in the classroom as you are out of it, and some of you will be completely different in each of the two areas of your life, you will learn quickly which you are. There is no wrong or right way to be, it is just the way that it is.” He was right. And I learned quickly that I am pretty much the same both in and outside of the classroom. I can admit when I am wrong, I often laugh at myself, and I am a good listener. I am transparent, compassionate, warm, and forgiving, but I have high expectations and no tolerance for lack of integrity. I believe in me making mistakes in front of the students, and in pointing them out. I feel that this promotes a safe space, and allows for students to feel comfortable making mistakes of their own and to not be embarrassed to ask for help. I believe that a nurturing environment keeps some of our most venerable students at school, and it also encourages them to come to school. This is something that I strive to provide. I was not a fan of high school, when I was in it, and I couldn’t wait to get out. I struggled throughout the whole thing. Part of this had to do with the fact that I have a learning disability, and part of it had to do with the fact that I had many friends who had babies in high school, while other friends tragically died. These three things made for a stressful time. I wasn’t one to get into trouble, and my relationships with my teachers were fine, but I did somewhat fall through the cracks. But when I got to college, it was a totally different story. I LOVED college, I graduated with 3 bachelors degrees and well over 200 credits. And in some classes I was even “The Smart One”, where others wanted to be in my group. I believe that this had to do with the fact that, in college, there were more teachers who taught to different learning styles, which is exactly what I needed. Because of this, I try my hardest to incorporate as many different information delivery methods as I can.
Student Teacher
This year we will have a student teacher from Lewis & Clark, named Kay Blankenship. Kaye is a graduate student at the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. She earned her honors BA from the Lewis & Clark undergrad program in 2012, majoring in technical theatre and design, and minoring in the visual arts. For the last 5 years she has been working in Portland as a scenic, lighting, and props designer for theatre companies such as Artists Repertory Theatre, Third Rail Repertory, Oregon Children's Theatre, and many more. She plans to continue designing on a smaller scale, but as she was a theatre and art nerd in high school, she is excited to be venturing towards the other side of the teacher's desk. And of course, she can't wait to get to know your students and their artist brains.
About Me
I grew up in a small town in Northern California, which I visit often. This is where my huge extended family, which I am extremely close with, lives. My parents, who have been married for almost 40 years, still live in the house that I grew up in with my 2 sisters, which happens to be just 5 blocks from my cousins’ home. I live with my partner and 2 kids, Neiko (1st grade) & Keian (5th grade). And I have known many of my closest friends since elementary school, and I have considered myself an artist for my entire life, and was always supported in following that passion. I don’t think that college is for everyone, nor do I think that you have to go to college to be “educated”. I graduated from Del Oro HS in 1998, after that, I went onto Sierra College. Which was then followed by Humboldt State University where I received degrees in Studio Art, Art Education, and Psychology, while focusing in Metalsmithing, Photography, and Ceramics. At that point I knew that I wanted to teach, but felt as though I needed a break from the education system for a while. So, I took some time to travel, and made money doing some things that I loved along the way. One of which was being a personal chef. But then the feeling of wanting to place roots came to me. It was at that point that I decided to leave the north shore of Kauai, where I had been living, and head to Portland, where I had spent little time but loved. I got settled into Portland and quickly applied to Portland State University, where I started my Masters of Education in 2008. It was at that point that I started my student teaching in the classroom where I taught until at Grant moved to Marshall. When my amazing mentor teacher decided to retire in 2010, I was honored with opportunity to try to fill her huge shoes. This is the 10th year that I have taught photography at Grant, and I am truly living my dream everyday by doing so. Grant is a great school, and I am honored to be a part of it. That being said, I am venturing down a new road this year. With the loss of our beloved darkroom, I have decided to merge analogue and digital photography together to create, what I feel, is a well rounded experience for you child.
With that ALL Being Said…
- This job exhausts me, BUT I LOVE IT! And look forward to being here everyday.
- I cry at graduation, every year.
- I live in the grey.
- I know that if the kids laugh with me (and sometimes even at me) that I am doing something right.
Thank you for taking the time to reading this,
Cristy McCarty
Photo Teacher, Grant HS
503.916.5160 x81002
https://sites.google.com/site/photowithcristy/home
Where to Buy or Fix a 35mm SLR Camera
Camera must be a film camera with a fully manual shutter speed & aperture
- Citizen’s Photo: (503) 232-8501
3070 NE Sandy Blvd
- Hollywood Camera: (503) 284-2060
4039 NE Sandy Blvd
- Pro Photo Supply: (503) 241-1112
1112 NW 19th Avenue
- Advance Camera: (503) 292-6996
8124 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway
- Blue Moon: (503) 978-0333
8417 N Lombard St.
- Craigslist.org
- Nextdoor
- Ebay.com
- bhphotovideo.com
- Ultrafine Used Camera Page