THE SUNSET ELEMENTARY ART DEPARTMENT

The Sunset Elementary Art Department offers students the highest level of aesthetic education. All of the lessons introduce and reinforce the elements of art and principles of design, while following the Sunshine State Standards in art, as well as the Mami-Dade County competency-Based Curriculum objectives in art.

Art classes at Sunset are not just painting, drawing, printing, sculpture, and photography experiences. They include art history taught through many sources including Scholastic Art Magazine and Adventures in Art, as well as Art Connections. All of these are fine, well illustrated textbooks that expose the students to all aspects of art as well as relating art to the rest of the curriculum. All of the material includes the lives and times of historical and contemporary artists, art styles and how they relate to history and social movements in the United States as well as South and Central America,Europe, Africa and Asia. Each lesson relates to an artist, art style, historical and social references, a studio art experience, and written and/or oral response to the work of the artist or the student work.

The Art Department at Sunset is immersed in the art world. Ms Norman and Mr. Gaffney are practicing artists who have sold work professionally for years.

Ms Norman is a painter who has studied art and art history while traveling around the world. Her undergraduate degree is in art history earned at Franklin College in Switzerland. She has also studied art in the U.S., England, Italy, Greece, Russia, Spain, France, and Mexico. Ms Norman feels that studying art in different places is very useful and important in her teaching of art. Ms Norman has also worked for galleries in London and Miami. She received her Masters degree in art education from Florida International University and loves teaching. When she is not teaching, she enjoys painting in her studio.

Mr. Gaffney has been a museum educator for the Miami-Dade Public Schools for over 10 years and as an art teacher for 24 years. During this time he has helped to develop this unique program which bridges the gap between the local art museums and galleries and the school system. Mr. Gaffney has brought students on specialized tours that use original art to reinforce concepts from the total school curriculum. He has worked in this capacity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Coral Gables, The Bacardi Art Gallery, The Bass Museum of Art, and ArtWorks Student Art Gallery at the Omni Mall. Students at Sunset get the opportunity for at least three field trips to different galleries or museums during the school year. The Art Education Office, through the Museum Education Program, offers each teacher at least one free bus to be used to visit a museum. Each museum visit has at least one art lesson as a follow-up to the tour to reinforce the concepts learned on the tours. Mr. Gaffney also served as lead museum educator for one year.

Students keep a sketchbook/journal with notes and drawings to help them to see the sequential aspects of developing a creative idea into a work of art. This sketchbook, along with a portfolio of their work shows their progress and their development of art projects throughout the school year. At the end of the school year, the students will take home a portfolio of finished works of art that represent the lessons taught.