Art

Dear Parents of St. Athanasius Academy Students,

        Hi, I am Janet Huderski, St. Athanasius’ Visual Arts teacher. I’ve been teaching Art and Music (K-2) here at St Athanasius for the past 5 years and have taught art and music in public and parochial schools for 30 years. I attended Catholic Elementary and High school. I have two undergraduate degrees: A BA in English Lit/Fine Arts from Douglass College/Rutgers University, and a BFA in Graphic Design from Pratt Institute. I returned to school at 50 and earned a graduate degree in English Lit from St. John’s University and my teaching certification from the state of NY.

          My goal as an art teacher is to help students to develop the skills, creativity and knowledge to enjoy and create art. The study and construction of art supports every other branch of learning. It promotes inventiveness, discipline, and self-confidence, all of which help learners to excel in areas like engineering, science, writing, mathematics and technology. Learning to make art also provides students with training for possible jobs in commercial art fields.       

         Students do one homework assignment each month in support of the concept or skill taught that month. All homework assignments can be found online at the Art web page on the St. Athanasius website www.stathanasiusacademy.org. Click on Mrs. Huderski – Art. Scroll down to your child’s grade/class page. There, you will find homework assignments, art supply lists, study sheets for quizzes and tests, artwork by the artist of the month and student artwork. Current student artwork is now going up on the Main page and the class pages. You can check and see if your child’s work is on display.

        Every student in grades 2-5 does homework in their art notebooks. Notes for tests and quizzes are written in their art notebooks. Please make sure that your child has an art notebook!  Most of the homework for the upper grades is research. They must use google images to find a sample artwork, print it out full page and bring it to class before or on the day assigned to copy or trace for their class project. Since their classwork is based on their homework, failing to bring in homework will result in not being prepared for class, falling behind and having to do class assignments at home (and a lower grade).  Students will also make one “at home” art project during the year: Grades 3 and 4 will have their project assigned during the first trimester; grades 5 and 8 during the second trimester, and grades 6 and 7 during the final trimester.     

         Students in grades 3-5 take a quiz each month on notes about the art concept of the month. Grades 6, 7 and 8 take one test each trimester. Tests are more of a teaching tool than an assessment tool; they only count as 10% of your child’s grade. Besides quizzes, every student receives a grade for each class project. This classwork grade is a measurement of their comprehension of the material as well as the effort put into their work… not an assessment of their talent.  Behavior, art games, art bees, projects, class journals and completed homework are also evaluated as part of their grade. Grades are given as follows –

             1 – Student doesn’t do homework, fails quizzes, doesn’t work on task during class or chooses not to participate at all, shows no understanding of concepts being taught, constantly disrupts learning, and is sometimes disrespectful toward teacher or fellow students.

             2 – Student has missing or incomplete homework; they often fail or grade very low on quizzes. Class assignments are incomplete. Student doesn’t stay on task during class, shows a lack of comprehension and/or concentration in their artwork, and may sometimes disrupt teaching and learning.

             3 – Student may be missing some homework, or grade low on some quizzes, has some incomplete classwork and/or homework, may show a lack of understanding of some concepts, but is always respectful, always stays on task during class time and he/she always does their best.

             4 – Student is always respectful, completes all work, gets high grades on quizzes, always participates, always stays on task during class, and all work, homework as well as classwork, shows understanding of concepts taught with a high level of detail and refinement.

          The concepts covered in art, as described on the art web page are attuned to the age of the students and are in line with state standards for art. They are as follows:

            September: Lines and Shapes, lettering, abstract art, graphic design, Symmetry and balance

            October: Portraits, drawing the face, expressions, cartooning, self-portraits and caricatures,

            November: Crafts, decoration, patterning and multi-cultural art

            December: Sculpture and 3D drawing, interior design

            January: Sculpture and 3D Art, modeling in 3D

            February: Color Theory, the color wheel and the color spectrum

            March: figure drawing, proportions of the human body, fashion design

            April: Still Life, drawing from models, 3D drawing and shading

            May: Landscape Art, perspective, color resist, elements of a landscape

            June: Illustration, drawing from reading, elements of Illustration: Characters, action, background details, props          

         If students in grades K-2 miss class because of illness, they do not have to make up any classwork or homework. Grade 3 students must bring in homework and be prepared for a make-up test the week of their return, but do not have to make up classwork. Grade 4 to 8 students must bring in homework, be prepared for a make-up test the week they return and must finish any incomplete classwork at home.       

       Parents, you can help your children by checking their art web page every week for homework assignments, test dates and project dates. Make sure that they have all their art supplies; remind them to do homework; help them with projects; and help them study for quizzes and tests. Though it isn’t mandatory, you might want to spend some time each month researching artwork by the artist of the month on google image. A little parent – child art appreciation can never hurt! If you or your child have any questions about the artist or his/her work, I’d be happy to respond.       

Parents can contact me by calling the school office and leaving a message or sending an email to [email protected]