SPMS: A Certified Green School
  • Summary
  • Top 5 Accomplishments
  • Systemic Sustainability
    • 1.1 Curriculum and Instruction >
      • Science: Environmental Literacy Standards
      • 6th Grade Habitat Research Project
      • 6th Grade Storm Water Management Lesson >
        • On Campus: Rain Gardens
        • Off Campus: Storm Water Management Project
      • 6th Grade Ecosystem Tanks
      • 7th Grade Water Quality of the Chesapeake Bay
      • 7th Grade Walking for Water
      • 7th Grade Recycled Rube Goldberg Project
      • 8th Grade Terrapin Connections
      • 8th Grade Language Arts Lesson
      • 8th Grade Weathering Investigation
      • Art Class
      • Environmental Guest Speakers
    • 1.2 Professional Development >
      • 1.2 Science Department Professional Development
      • 1.2 Green Course Professional Development
      • 1.2 2018 Professional Development
      • 1.2 2018 Professional Development
      • 1.2 2016 Professional Development
    • 1.3.1 School-Wide Environmental Behavior
    • 1.3.2 Systemic Partnerships
    • 1.4 Celebration
  • Student Driven Practices
    • 2.1 Water Conservation
    • 2.2 Energy Conservation
    • 2.3 Solid Waste Reduction
    • 2.4 Habitat Restoration
    • 2.6 Responsible Transportation
    • 2.7 Healthy School Environment
  • Partnerships & Awards
    • 3.1 Community Partnerships
    • 3.2 Awards and Special Recognitions

Systemic Sustainability: 1.1 Curriculum and Instruction

Green Focus in the Art Department

The Art Department’s commitment to Green School initiatives is evidenced in many practices:
  • Outdoor learning is a regularly incorporated, including drawing still-lifes in the courtyards and studying shadow and light throughout the school grounds.
  • Curriculum posted online, not distributed in paper form.
  • All unwanted portfolios and sketchbooks are recycled at the end of the marking period/year.
  • Weekly, in Digital Palette class, students view the Baltimore Sun’s photography contest, rather than purchasing and utilizing printed format.
In addition to art class, Art Club is a very popular extra-curricular at SPMS, where the principles of re-using and recycling, in particular, are woven into the activities.  A few of our favorite examples of their work are below:
Art Class Studies the Osprey
Keeping with our Green School culture, Art classes study our school mascot, the Osprey, and its habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  The students then made ceramic ospreys as part of a student showcase emphasizing our connection to the Bay.
Picture
2017: Our school mascot, the Osprey, imagined and brought to life by our student artists!
2017: 7th graders create ceramic ospreys in art class.
Weaving the osprey into all classes reinforces our relationship to the Bay.

Students Make Up-cycled Works in Art Class

Art classes also incorporate the environmental credo of the “3 Rs”, making Re-use and Recycle in particular, as basic to art as color.  Staff implore their students to bring in items from home that can be used as materials for art projects, as well as to facilitate and protect the creations.  Below are some works of art made in the 2016-17 school year entirely of recycled materials:
A mosaic of a bird (maybe even an osprey!) is made out of recycle glass beads.
These 3 dimensional collages are made completely of recycled paper.
Our upcycle/recycle art contest included this cute Christmas sleigh made out of a produce box.
A suncatcher made entirely out of recycled push pins hangs in a garden outside Mrs. Hansen's window.

Eco-Friendly Storage
Teachers engage students and their families, to make use of recycled plastic, such as from dry cleaning, which might otherwise end up in a landfill.  Here, you can see those donations used to store our clay for ceramics projects.

Picture
2016: our closet of art supplies relies on many forms of recycled plastic. Here, see our clay storage shelf.
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