MRS. SIERRA'S

HOMEPAGE

Mrs. Sierra is the  Visual Arts teacher at

Forbes Middle School. 

Current Art Projects

(February 26-29)

Visual Arts Class Descriptions:

Please note: Many of the class descriptions, projects, assignments, etc. are likely to change over the summer because the Visual Arts teachers are in the process of creating a scope & sequence for GISD.  I know many students signed up for art  especially to get to do certain projects, we will still do many of the same projects you're looking forward to.  2007-08 will just be a transition year to phase into the new GISD Visual Arts Scope & Sequence.

Schedule

        8:40-9:25           1st         Art I: Painting & Drawing

     9:29-10:14        2nd        Conference

    10:18-11:03       3rd            Art I : 6th Grade Art

    11:07-11:52      4th          Lunch

    11:56-12:41      5th         Art II : Sculpture & Printmaking    

     12:45-1:30      6th          Art I: Painting & Drawing       

          1:34-2:19      7th            Art I : 6th Grade Art

   2:23-3:08             8th          ESL w/ Mrs. Cisneros

   3:12-3:57             9th          Art II : Sculpture & Printmaking        

07-08 Supply List

ALL: PENCIL & ERASER are needed EVERYDAY - from the first day of school to the last day of school!

6th Grade Art I:     1-POCKET FOLDER (pocket along the bottom please) 

             1- Sharp wooden PENCIL (better for shading) with an ERASER! ! !

Art I:  1-POCKET FOLDER (pocket along the bottom please) 

                  1-THREE-PRONG FOLDER/REPORT COVER

             1- Sharp wooden PENCIL (better for shading) with an ERASER! ! !

Art II:  1-THREE-PRONG FOLDER/REPORT COVER

             1- Sharp wooden PENCIL (better for shading) with an ERASER! ! !

Folders are due Tues 1/22/08. Work will be expected to be kept in Folders from due dates onward. Please contact me if there is a family hardship requiring the school to provide your student with these materials.

You will need to arrive in class with extra lead if you have a mechanical pencil.

All other supplies will be provided.   Occasionally students may CHOOSEto bring supplementary supplies for a project, but they are NOT required.

Grading

Homework/Class Work will count for 40% of 6^th graders final grade or 33.3% of 7^th & 8^th graders final grade (GISD guidelines).

Daily Work grades (sometimes called participation grades) are earned for use of class time, group process, following directions, and clean-up and will count as “Homework/Class Work” grades. 

Assessments/Tests counts for 60% of 6^th graders final grade and 66.7% of 7^th & 8^th graders final grades (GISD guidelines).

Art Projects & Assignments will be considered as tests or quizzes, depending on their length and complexity.  To attempt to avoid subjectivity, art will be graded by how complete pieces are, how well directions were followed, and evidence that lesson concepts were grasped and applied.  Lengthier art projects will have grading rubrics posted in the classroom to give students greater clarity on what aspects of the artwork they need to focus on.

Self-Evaluations will be done a number of times each quarter, worth 1-2 test grade(s) (to fulfill Art TEKS requirements); Self-Evaluations will be graded by a student's participation (contributions to the discussion and listening to other students' comments).

Quizzes will be given on occasion on vocabulary, sequencing, foundational knowledge and other information which will be made known to students in advance.  1 Quiz (10 points) =1/10 Test (100 points).

Art I & II Journals will be worth 1 test grade each quarter (2 test grades each semester); Journals will be graded on their content and completeness.  

Homework

Rarely  will homework be assigned, although at times optional work may be suggested.  Most of the projects we work on are too fragile to survive a bus ride back and forth from school.  Many time students do not have access to the supplies needed, and I do not have spare supplies to send home.  If students fall behind, they may arrange with me to come in before school or after school to work on projects (please check that I won't be tied up on duty or in a meeting). Near the end of the semester students will be expected to complete research for an artist report/collage project at home if they cannot do so during class time.

Make-Up

Same as GISD policy.  If a student is absent on the day a major project is due, it is up to the teacher's discretion whether that project is due upon the return of the student or to allow additional day (s) to complete the project. 

Excused Absences: Students will receive 1 additional day to complete assignments for each day of absence to make up work that has been missed, counted from the day of their return.  Excused absences include missing class for illness, tutorials, medical appointments, speech, nurse, etc.  Because class time will be used to work on current projects make-up work must be completed before or after school - students will need to make arrangements with me to come in before/after school to complete missed work (just to check that I won't be tied up on duty or in a meeting). 

Sometimes students will be excused from assignments when they return from an excused absence, but students need to check with me to see which assignments will be excused and which assignment will need to be made up by a specific make-up date.  In some cases, I have students turn in incomplete work (due to scheduling challenges of making up art assignments), but in those cases I reduce that assignments grading expectations accordingly.

Truant Absences: No make up work will be accepted. 

Late Work

Same as GISD policy. 1 day late = -10% penalty    /    2 days late =  -20% penalty     /    3+ days late = no credit given 

Extra Credit

Students MUST have ALL regular assignments and project completed and turned in to be eligible to receive extra credit -  extra credit is NOT a substitution for in-class assignments and projects.  A few times a quarter I will give students extra credit opportunities, which range from visiting an art exhibit, watching a documentary on an artist, etc.  Generally, extra credit assignments will be worth a quiz grade.

Most extra credit will involve a writing component; writing will be graded on both content and grade level expectations of writing (clarity, spelling, grammar, descriptiveness, etc.).  Writing will need to be TYPED or written NEATLY in INK.

Last Spring I was awarded a

Japan Fulbright Memorial Scholarship!

This scholarship sent me to Japan for 3 weeks in June as a guest of the Japanese Government, all expenses paid!  While I was there, I got to go to many of the famous Japanese cultural & historical sites, tour factories & laboratories, and meet with education & business leaders.  I stayed with a Japanese family;  I got to observe their schools (their school year is much longer than ours).  

In November I plan to have a mini tea ceremony for students and share some highlights from my trip. 

I was also awarded the Picturing America grant from National endowment for Humanities/We the People.  Through this grant, Forbes will receive a series posters of American Art and a resource guide.   The prints just got here and Mrs. Krenek is cataloging them for teachers to use in their classes! !

Mrs. Sierra's Background

Mrs. Sierra's Contact Information

Georgetown Independent School District

Last updated:  05/24/07 09:30 AM