Anne Ruffner
Group 2 – Date of Visit – 10/28/08
Notre Dame High School Observation
The School Environment
Notre Dame High School is a mostly white middle class school. There are some African American students as well as other minority groups, yet the vast majority of the school is white. The building is in good condition and has a controlled and comfortable environment. One can tell immediately that the school is student-centered by the various displays of artwork in the main entrance, hallways, and the library. The school day is structured into block periods of 40minutes with some classes having double blocks, such as art. There is a 40minute activity period in the middle of the day where student clubs meet and students may come to do extra work in classes. The school has rather lax visiting procedures. A visitor needs to only sign in and get a visitor sticker and they are free to go on their way. Art is an elective course in Notre Dame high school, which deviates from public schools where art is a required course.
The Students
Students that are taking an art course have the class everyday for a semester. Art is not required so some students may not have any art courses. The students are well behaved in their art class. They seem interested and focused on their art projects. In the Design class the students were working on mosaics for the tops of tables that they had made out of wood earlier in the semester. In the drawing and painting class students were working on making a pastel drawing, mimicking the style of the cubism, with the subject matter of shoes. I think both of these projects are at a correct level of difficulty and hypothetical thinking for a high school level class. You can definitely tell the work of different students apart in the classes, especially in the design class. Each mosaic has a distinct personality to it and reveals the students own unique personality. The Drawing classes work was a little harder to distinguish since all the students were drawing shoes in a cubist style; however, even here there were differences in the works of the students. The students ask for help if necessary but they also seemed to be working out problems on their own. They talked about the project between themselves as they were working.
The Art Classroom
There are two fine art classrooms in Notre Dame High School. The classes offered are Ceramics, Advanced Ceramics, 3D Design, Art 1 and 2, Drawing and painting 1 and 2, as well as Honors Art Portfolio. The walls are an off-white color and the tables are off white as well. The floor is a tile/linoleum floor. Both classrooms are well organized and have lots of posters and student work decorating the room. The number of students fit very comfortably in each class. 
Classroom Management
The students enter the classroom and go to their seats and start working before the bell rings. The teacher does not need to tell them to get started. Since the students were already in the middle of a project the teacher did not need to pass out any new supplies, or give a demo. The students simply got their artwork out from where it was kept on the sides of the room and began working. Students come to work during the teacher’s prep time as well as the activity period in the middle of the day. The students understood the clean up procedures. About five minutes to the end of the period they put away their pieces of art and cleaned up their mess. The student work is stored on the sides of the room in various shelves and cabinets.
The Lesson
The lesson in 3D Design involved the students making a mosaic with glass and bits of tile on the tops of wood tables that they made. In the drawing class they were drawing shoes in a cubist style. We observed the class in the middle of the assignments so we did not get to hear the motivation that the teacher gave the students in regard to the project. In the class the students simply worked on their projects. The teachers told us that they had gone over the art history of each type of style before starting the project. Mrs. Tamasi showed us the quizzes that she gives her students that test the students on their knowledge of the art history and key terms for each project. The projects connect to previous projects in both classes. In 3D the students made the tables, and now they are making mosaics for the tables. In Drawing the students drew shoes in a realistic perspective using ink, and now they are using the same shoe but using pastels and drawing in a cubist style. At the end of the class there was no particular closure to the class. The students cleaned up and put away their work and then waited for the bell to ring. It may have been partly due to the fact that the teacher was talking to us about the class and how things run in the class and school. The teacher spends multiple weeks on one project. Depending on how the class is progressing the deadline can change for different projects. The teacher had good rapport with the students. Both students and teacher were comfortable talking with one another and there was mutual respect.
The Teaching
Due to being a private school the teacher has more freedom to plan lessons. There is no set curriculum that they have to fulfill or any bureaucratic limitations that restrict the teacher in planning the lessons. Also the budget is not defined. Both teachers reported that they have never been turned down in their requests for money for specific materials. Therefore, the teachers have a broader scope of projects they are able to do with their students. I would say the lessons are age appropriate for the students. Students are experimenting with mediums they may have never used previously, and learning about art history in the process. Both teachers require their students to take written exams that go over the art history and terms that have been taught for each project. This balance between written exams and the individual projects helps give all students multiple ways to excel in the class and get a broader education. Mrs. Tamasi was trained at Trenton State Teaching College. Her specialty is ceramics, as is seen by the fact that she teaches a ceramics course after school hours for adults or students who would like to learn more about ceramics. Mrs. Tamasi and Mrs. Caucci both work together to set up a May Art Exhibit. They judge the artwork and the winners are selected to be in the show. Some artwork is displayed in the classroom and some is displayed in the gym for the May Art Exhibit. Mrs. Caucci runs the art club, which runs during the activity period during the day since that seemed to be easier for students to attend rather than after school when too many students had sports or other activities.
