Kinder - This week, Kindergarten will jump into our next element of art, value. Value is the use of lightness and darkness within an artwork, whether that is black and white or tints and shades of a color.  We will be creating a winter scene utilizing value to show shadows. 

 

1st Grade - This week students get to study the parts of a face, creating a portrait inspired by Yali Ziv. She is a contemporary artist from Tel Aviv who focuses a lot on shape and color, which are the elements of art we will be focusing on as well! 

 

3rd/4th—This week, students will learn about and begin planning their clay creations for this year. We are going to be creating tic-tac-toe boards, encouraging self-expression through themed boards. We are starting this early so that students will have an ample amount of time to be able to paint their pottery at the end of the rotation.

 

5th/6th—This week, we are jumping straight into clay. Students are going to learn about Japanese culture and create a Japanese Tea Bowl that is unique and personal to them. Students will sketch out multiple design ideas this week, and start creating hopefully on Thursday. We are starting this project first so that students will have an ample amount of time to be able to paint their pottery at the end of the rotation.

 

7th/8th - Welcome to Quarter 4 where we are exploring art through the digital realm. Students will start this quarter by working on various websites to create Digital artworks, exploring and learning new techniques, and how our digital world is not all bad. The second half of this quarter, we will explore photography, its history, and steps that professional photographers use to create some of the most eye-catching images. 

 

Students are prohibited from using AI for this quarter, as I am looking to see what they can create on their own, not what a program can create for them. I will be monitoring their processes through Go Guardian and will give an automatic 1 in the grade book if AI is used. 

Good Morning!

 

Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Don't forget, conferences are this Thursday and Friday. Signups will close at 4pm today. 

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - This week Kindergarten will be glazing their pottery. Glaze is a special kind of paint for clay with microscopic pieces of glass so that when it is fired, the glass fuzes together to create a shiny, waterproof surface. 

 

1st grade - This week, 1st grade will be finalizing their habitat sketches and glazing their pottery. Glaze is a special kind of paint for clay with microscopic pieces of glass so that when it is fired, the glass fuzes together to create a shiny, waterproof surface. 

 

3rd/4th—This week, Students will be finalizing their self-portraits and glazing their tic-tac-toe boards. Glaze is a special kind of paint for clay with microscopic pieces of glass so that when it is fired, the glass fuzes together to create a shiny, waterproof surface. 

 

5th/6th—This week, we are finalizing our reverse self-portraits. Students are working in the style of Roy Lichtenstein from the Pop art movement of the 1950s, taking on a comic book style. Students have been painting on a transparency so they have been working in reverse, starting with their details and then finalizing their painting with the big general colors. Then students will have time to glaze their Japanese tea bowls. This process (if instructions are followed) will result in a bowl that students will be able to eat or drink from because the glaze creates a water-tight seal. 

 

7th/8th - Students finishing their final project, working with wire. Students are working on proportion and the ideas of surrealism. Students will create a wire sculpture of their hand, adding a surrealist element. Once completed. students will have time to glaze their clay architectural structures. 

Good Morning!

 

Happy Wednesday! My apologies for the late post, yesterday got away from me. I hope you all enjoyed your long holiday weekend. 

 

This week, classes are working with clay so be aware of the clothing your students are wearing, if they do not want it to get dirty, maybe wear something else. 

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - This week, Kindergarten will finish our work with texture, creating their clay tiles. We will then continue with the idea of 3D work and create our own paper sculptures.  

 

1st grade - This week students will complete their self-portraits, taking inspiration from Yali Ziv, an illustrator based out of Tel Aviv who focuses on shapes and colors more than lines.  

 

3rd/4th—This week, we are finalizing our clay tic-tac-toe boards. Students are to choose a theme and create a board, as well as 10 tiles (2 kinds, 5 of each) that match the theme they chose. 

 

5th/6th—This week, we are finalizing the building of our Japanese tea bowls. Students will use a pinch pot method to create their base, before adding details through additive or subtractive methods. 

 

7th/8th - Students finalized their clay architecture sculptures. They will choose their clay method for the base of their sculpture (pinch pot, coils, or slab building), creating a piece inspired by an architectural time period of their choosing. 

Good Morning!

 

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend! Welcome to a new rotation (K-6). 

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - This week, Kindergarten will jump into our next element of art, value. Value is the use of lightness and darkness within an artwork, whether that is black and white or tints and shades of a color.  We will be creating a winter scene utilizing value to show shadows. 

 

1st Grade - This week students get to study the parts of a face, creating a portrait inspired by Yali Ziv. She is a contemporary artist from Tel Aviv who focuses a lot on shape and color, which are the elements of art we will be focusing on as well! 

 

3rd/4th—This week, we are beginning work on our final self-portraits, which we began last time we were together. We will begin with a short review and jump right into the project, focusing on Value and Shading. 

 

5th/6th—This week, we are jumping straight into clay, so that students will have an ample amount of time to be able to paint their pottery at the end of the rotation.

 

7th/8th - Students finalized their planning sketches last week and will be starting on their clay sculptures this week. We are creating architectural constructions using the slab method, focusing on form and texture. 

Dear Westgate Families,

 

As Thanksgiving approaches, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for each of you. Working with your children every day is a true gift, and I am thankful for the joy, curiosity, and enthusiasm they bring to our classroom. Their dedication and growth continue to inspire me, and I feel so lucky to be a part of their learning journey.

 

I am also deeply grateful for your partnership and support. Your involvement, encouragement, and trust make such a difference in creating a nurturing and enriching environment for all our students. Together, we are building a wonderful community of learners, and I couldn’t do it without you!

 

During this holiday, I hope you have the chance to relax, reflect, and enjoy time with family and friends. May your Thanksgiving be filled with warmth, love, and countless blessings.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Warm regards,

Ms. H

Good Morning!

 

Welcome back. I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend. This week K-6 are starting a new specials rotation! 

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

1st Grade - Starting a new rotation. I will now have Mrs. Freeland's Advocacy class. We will start off our art adventure creating our contributions to the school mural inspired by Thank You X, an LA-based street artist. We will then round out our week by talking about lines and patterns while creating a Farm Landscape demonstrating what we learned. 

 

3rd/4th—I am starting a new rotation. I will now have Ms. Rosenblatt's Advocacy class. We will start off our art adventure by creating our contributions to the school mural inspired by Thank You X, an LA-based street artist. Using their prior knowledge of human facial proportions, students will then set to work designing the covers for our sketchbooks by creating their own original characters. 

 

5th/6th - Starting a new rotation. I will now have Mr. McGinnis's Advocacy class. We will start off our art adventure creating our contributions to the school mural inspired by Thank You X, an LA-based street artist. Using their prior knowledge of the human facial proportions, students will then set to work designing the covers for our sketchbooks, by creating their own original character. 

 

7th/8th - This week students are continuing their Second Life Paintings. These will be due at the end of the week (Friday, November 15th). The students seem to be very excited and invested in this project so I am very excited to see the outcome! 

 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me! Have a fantastic week! 

Good Morning!

 

Happy Monday. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

 

This week, I will be attending a conference on Thursday and Friday, so I will have a substitute cover my classroom. 

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - This week we will complete our final project - Our Warm and Cool Sunsets. Students will learn about the difference between warm and cool colors and how to identify them. Students will then create a sunset landscape separating the warm colors in the sky and the cool colors in the ocean water. 

 

1st Grade - This week we will create a still-life drawing, focusing on value and shape. I will help the students work with their pencils to "draw what they see". 

 

3rd/4th—This week, we are beginning work on our self-portraits, which we will finish when they return to me in March. 

 

5th/6th—This week, we are completing our second project, neuro doodles. Students will work on calming their minds and letting the artwork tell them what it needs instead of forcing colors, lines, or patterns. 

 

7th/8th - This week students will be beginning the planning process for our Second Life Paintings. Students will study and learn the techniques of impressionist and post-impressionist painters by giving a second life or "modernizing" some famous paintings. 

Good Morning!

 

Happy Monday. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - This week we will complete our second project - Color Wheel Umbrellas. Students will learn about the Primary and Secondary Colors and experiment with how the primary colors are used to create the secondary colors. 

 

1st Grade - This week we will discuss abstract art, using lines, colors, and shapes and how to use them to create an image. We will be studying the work of Jaque Miro who is known for the child-like nature of his artwork. 

 

3rd/4th - This week we are continuing/finalizing our first big project. Students will be working on their final zentangle landscape this week, starting with their outline and then moving to filling their shapes with different patterns. Our final Zentangle Landscapes which will be due Friday, 11/1.

 

5th/6th - This week we are finalizing our first big project, Still Life drawings. We started by learning the basics of how to draw/form a still life. Then students will bring in their own objects to draw close-up "zoomed-in" viewpoints of in order to complete 9 small drawings for their final image. This project will be due next Friday, 11/1. 

 

7th/8th - This week students will be finalizing their Fairytale/Folktale watercolor paintings. Students are focusing on the use of color and how to add highlights and shadows without the use of white or black. These are due on Wednesday 10/30 and we will have a full class critique, Thursday 10/31. 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome back. I hope you all enjoyed your Fall Break. This week K-6 are starting a new specials rotation! 

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - Starting a new rotation. I will now have Ms. Lubang's Advocacy class. We will start off our art adventure creating our contributions to the school mural inspired by Thank You X, an LA-based street artist. Then we will round out our week by completing our first project - Our Rainbow Self Portraits. Students will learn about different types of lines and colors to create the background for their self-portraits and attach their faces after our backgrounds are dry. 

 

1st Grade - Starting a new rotation. I will now have Mrs. Koenig's Advocacy class. We will start off our art adventure creating our contributions to the school mural inspired by Thank You X, an LA-based street artist. We will then round out our week by talking about lines and patterns, while creating a Farm Landscape demonstrating what we learned. 

 

3rd/4th - Starting a new rotation. I will now have Ms. Papiernik's Advocacy class. We will start off our art adventure creating our contributions to the school mural inspired by Thank You X, an LA-based street artist. Using their prior knowledge of the human facial proportions, students will then set to work designing the covers for our sketchbooks, by creating their own original character. 

 

5th/6th - Starting a new rotation. I will now have Mrs. Lounsbury's Advocacy class. We will start off our art adventure creating our contributions to the school mural inspired by Thank You X, an LA-based street artist. Using their prior knowledge of the human facial proportions, students will then set to work designing the covers for our sketchbooks, by creating their own original character. 

 

7th/8th - This week students are starting their new specials rotation for Quarter 2. This quarter will be all about Painting and different materials/techniques we can use to create with paint. This week, students will start with a small assignment to begin their sketchbook covers. Then we will move on to our first project, focusing on the art of Illustration through fairytales and folktales spanning history. 

 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me! Have a fantastic week! 

Good Morning!

 

Happy Monday. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Don't forget about conferences this week. We will have online conferences on Thursday, September 26th from 1 pm-5 pm, and in-person conferences on Friday, September 27th from 8 am-8 pm. I hope to see you there! 

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - This week we will complete our final project - Our Warm and Cool Sunsets. Students will learn about the difference between warm and cool colors and how to identify them. Students will then create a sunset landscape separating the warm colors in the sky and the cool colors in the ocean water. 

 

1st Grade - This week we will finalize our abstract line drawings. These drawings are inspired by Jaque Miro, a famous French painter who is known for his more "childish" type artistic style. 

 

3rd/4th - This week we are finalizing our Zentangle Landscapes. They are due by the end of class on Wednesday, September 25th. 

 

5th/6th - This week we are finalizing our 2nd project, Neuro doodles. They will be working on calming their minds and letting the artwork tell them what it needs instead of forcing colors, lines, or patterns. 

 

7th/8th - This week students will be finalizing their scratchboard animals, which are due at the end of class Tuesday, 9/25. We will complete a critique of their work as well as a peer's work, before the end of the quarter. 

Good Morning!

 

Happy Monday. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

 

What's on the Docket for this week?

 

Kinder - This week we will be completing our first project - Our Rainbow Self Portraits. Students will learn about different types of lines and colors to create the background for their self-portraits and attach their faces after our backgrounds are dry. This will show up as 2 grades in the grade book: 1 for their background, and one for their self-portrait. 

 

1st Grade - This week we will be talking about shapes and how to use them to create an image. We will be studying the work of Mary Blair and how she was able to introduce new ways of using color within Walt Disney Studios and how we can use those colors to create our castles! This is inspired by the vivid colors and designs of the "It's a Small World" ride at Walt Disney World that was created by Mrs. Mary Blair.

 

3rd/4th - This week we are beginning our first big project. We will be starting the week off with some sketchbook work, learning and practicing patterns and landscape proportions. We will then begin to work on our final Zentangle Landscapes which will be due next Tuesday, 9/17.

 

5th/6th - This week we are beginning our first big project, Still Life drawings. We will start by learning the basics of how to draw/form a still life. Then students will bring in their own objects to draw close-up "zoomed-in" viewpoints of in order to complete 9 small drawings for their final image. This project will be due next Tuesday, 9/17. 

 

7th/8th - This week students will be finalizing their fantasy cityscapes, which are due at the end of class Monday, 9/9. We will complete a critique of their work as well as a peer's work, before moving on to our final project of the quarter, Animal Texture Scratchboard Drawings.