Long Beach Middle School

Art Department

The Long Beach Middle School Fine Arts Department offers a variety of courses that are intended to:

• Enrich the students' lives
• Stimulate and encourage the students' creative growth
• Increase the students' understanding of importance of Art in contemporary living and in our cultural heritage
• Help the students to enjoy, appreciate and learn to value works of art
• Develop in students those skills, techniques and understandings which are essential for quality work in the visual arts
• Identify and encourage students with particular aptitudes for the visual arts
• Provide guidance for students who have an interest in the vocational aspects of the visual arts. Art courses are open to all students

Our middle school art department offers art classes in grades 6, 7 and 8 and Studio Art. Students participate in many special art events during the course of the school year. On the district level, some of these activities include the Art Supervisors Association All-County Art Exhibition in March, the New York State Art Teacher Association's Portfolio Project in April and the District Art Show in May.

  
NEW YORK STATE LEARNING STANDARDS FOR THE ARTS

1. Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts: Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts and participate in various roles in the arts.

2. Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources: Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts in various roles.

3. Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art: Students will respond critically to works in the arts, connecting the individual work to other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.

4. Understanding the Cultural Dimension and Contribution of the Arts: Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.