Feel free to read below to learn a little bit about me, Sarah Addison.
I describe myself as an artist, wife, mother and teacher. Those are the main facets of my personality that make me, me!.
I divide my time between my family, my art, my classroom and future career opportunities. When I have the time I also enjoy playing video games, watching movies and reading comic books with my husband and daughter.
In the future I will continue working alongside the wonderful team of teachers, administrators and staff here in Prince George, BC. Now that I have a continuing contract at College Heights Secondary, I will focus on reshaping lessons and making connections to make a safe, and strong art environment.
I graduated from Emily Carr University and use the knowledge I gained there to inform my artistic practice. I enjoy creating large format, hyper-realistic portraits and paintings of the human figure. My goal is to be represented by a gallery.
I divide my time between my family, my art, my classroom and future career opportunities. When I have the time I also enjoy playing video games, watching movies and reading comic books with my husband and daughter.
In the future I will continue working alongside the wonderful team of teachers, administrators and staff here in Prince George, BC. Now that I have a continuing contract at College Heights Secondary, I will focus on reshaping lessons and making connections to make a safe, and strong art environment.
I graduated from Emily Carr University and use the knowledge I gained there to inform my artistic practice. I enjoy creating large format, hyper-realistic portraits and paintings of the human figure. My goal is to be represented by a gallery.
Professional Responsibilities
Work Experience:
Professional Development:
Education:
Volunteer Experience:
Exhibitions:
- September (2016) to Present - Continuing Contract, College Heights Secondary, Visual Arts, Media Arts.
- September to June (2016) LD, Kelly Road Secondary. Core French, Learning Commons (Case Management), Visual Arts.
- April to June (2015) LD, Foothills Elementary. Grade 6 and 7
- March to April (2015) LD, Kelly Road Secondary. Sustained Learning Resource
- February to March (2015) LD, Duchess Park Secondary. Visual Media Arts, Planning 10 and Health/Careers 8
- September to December (2014) Mountain Secondary. Visual Arts and Planning 10
Professional Development:
- (2016) "Integrating Core Competencies into Curriculum" Daneen Sawchuck
- (2016) "Aboriginal Education Symposium" SD57 Aboriginal Education Department
- (2015) "Play is the Way" Sean Smith
- (2015) "Artist Inquiry: From Study to Studio" Bryan Gidinski
- (2015) "What's in your UDL Toolkit?" Scott McKay
- (2015) "Technology in the Classroom" Duchess Park Secondary
- (2014) "Writing For Teachers" Daniel Dunford
- (2014) "Indigenous Knowledge, Pedagogies and Epistemologies" Timothy Michel
- (2014) "Autism Spectrum Disorder and Special Education" SFU Special Education Panel
- (2014) "Promoting Written Literacy" Jonathan Varvaet and Leanne Ewen
- (2014) "Multimedia in the Classroom" Linda Hof
- (2014) "Indian Residential School System" Dean Cunningham
- (2014) "Developing Observation Skills" Paul Newfeld
- (2014) "Exceptionalities and Special Needs" Carla Edwards and Colleen Elderton
- (2014) "Understanding by Design: Big Ideas" Kau'i Keliipio
- (2014) "Ethical Assessment" SFU Faculty Panel
- (2014)"Child Protection" Colin Chow
- (2014) "The Inclusive Classroom" Anne Belanger and Panel of Advocates
- (2014) "Lesson Planning" Catherine Johnson
- (2014) "Intersectionality" Ozlem Sensoy
- (2014) The Inconvenient Indian" Timothy Michel
- (2014) "Personal Stories as Anti-racist Education" Kau'i Keliipio
- (2014) "Literacy and Numeracy in Mathematics" Peter Liljedahl
- (2014) "Assessment and Evaluation" Faye Brownlie
- (2014) "Indigenous Education Goals" Kau'i Keliipio
- (2014) "Imaginative Education" Ross Powell
- (2014) "Professionalism and Identity Boundaries" Teacher Regulation Branch
- (2014) Health and Physical Education" Kavita Hoonjan
Education:
- High School Diploma, Walnut Grove Secondary School, Langley BC/Canada
- BFA Concentrating in Visual Arts, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver BC/Canada
- BEd Majoring in Secondary Curriculum, Indigenous Perspectives Module, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC/Canada
Volunteer Experience:
- 2013 - I interned with the Vancouver School Board to co-run an art class for an Alternative program at Britannia Secondary School. (http://artistslearningtogether.wordpress.com/)
- 2010 - 2013 - I acted as a teacher's assistant volunteering my knowledge and time in various classrooms.
- 2009 - I was a role model for youth at Walnut Grove Secondary as a Gator Quality Ambassador
- 2008 - I assisted Imaginethat! Productions to run an one week art camp for youth through the YMCA.
Exhibitions:
- 2013 - Concourse Gallery, Graduation Exhibition, Vancouver BC/Canada
- 2012 - Richmond Art Gallery, Temporary Assignment, Richmond BC/ Canada
- 2012 - Concourse Gallery, 39th Annual Student Art Sale, Vancouver BC/Canada
- 2012 - CityScape Gallery, 8th Annual Anonymous Art Show, N. Vancouver BC/Canada
- 2012 - Baron Gallery, Goat Money Auction, Vancouver BC/Canada
- 2010 - Concourse Gallery, Foundation Show, Vancouver BC/Canada
Classroom Responsibilities
Beginning of the year activities:
Classroom Routines:
Behavior Management:
Classroom Management:
- Introductions: The first thing I do in my classrooms is take one day for introductions. I start by giving my own, then give some time for students to talk among themselves. I ask them to learn one thing about the people to each side of them, and play an introductions game so that every student gets introduced with an interesting fact, but doesn't have to introduce themselves.
- Name Games: I have a hard time remembering names, but I find it necessary in beginning a respectful relationship with a student.
- About Me Assignments: Whether I'm teaching art, or french or learning assistance the first week's assignment is either an autobiographical project about the student, or a biographical project about a partner. This helps to start the class off slowly while time tables are being sorted out too.
- Classroom Goals: I outline what I want to teach in this class and through both small and large group brainstorming we come up with ideas that the class wants to learn.
Classroom Routines:
- Every student who walks into my class is an individual and needs to be treated as such through individualized instruction and adaptations or modifications. Open ended projects, flipping the classroom, one on one learning and office hours help to achieve student success. Some people however flourish under routine. To keep all types of students in mind I like to have routines that direct the flow of each class while allowing time and space for individual creativity.
- Schedule: I have a daily schedule placed on a poster at the front of the room. I go over it at the beginning of the year and refer to it when students seem lost or distracted.
- Start Up Situations: I also have a weekly schedule poster in the room for students to identify what type of activity will start the day.
- Giving students an opportunity to get themselves defines maturity demands, behavioral expectations and allows me to assist students who need it while others are able to get started on their own.
Behavior Management:
- Positive Reinforcement vs. Negative Punishment: I prefer to reward behavior that follows my rules (with movie days or "homework free passes") when I see it rather than punish students when they go against the rules. I set goals with certain students to outline the behavior that I expect to set them up for success rather than wait until there is a failure.
- Self Regulation: I communicate to a student when I find they've gone against my classroom rules to see why they have done what they have done. We set up a goal and discuss alternate approaches to the situation in order for the student to be in control of their own success.
- Social/Emotional Learning: I have always been an empathetic person. I use this as a strength in the classroom along with formative assessment and educational flexibility; when I can see that a student's mind is off their work I communicate with them or their support teams to find out how we can adapt the work load so that they can be successful in and outside of school.
Classroom Management:
- Safety: Classroom safety is a key component of my teaching philosophy. I maintain both physical and emotional safety in my class by asserting certain notions such as: homophobia and racism free zones, constructive criticism , positivity over negativity, and non-judgement. The last one is important for my philosophy, I always let students know that their personality is not under attack in my classroom, I merely set rules for the general well being of everyone in the room.
- Communication: I always communicate my feelings to my students in respectful ways so they know why a rule or assignment is being set. I expect the same from them and have found that many students feel comfortable and open towards me.
- Formative Assessment: While some students learn well with the "study and test" formula typical to classrooms, I do try to assess most learning in the classroom. I set up projects which address a variety of learning styles and communicate/observe students while they are working to assess their learning.
- I refer to BC's Revised Curriculum to ground my lesson plans and projects in curricular relevance. I strive to collaborate with other teachers in the Fine Arts to keep current with my creativity to benefit student's imaginations. I also collaborate with teachers in other departments to make cross curricular connections for students to bring outside knowledge into the classroom. My illustration students can collaborate with drama and theater students when practicing how to "pitch" their ideas to a creative director. My Art History assignments align with the social studies curriculum for each grade so students can begin to learn about artists working in the time periods they're already learning about. I collaborate with the math and science departments on colour theory and sculpture building to incorporate the visual light spectrum as well as mathematical nets in slab building and chemical reactions during ceramics and plaster units.
- I am happy to offer Visual Art classes to students from grade eight through to grade twelve with multiple grade options for each semester.
- 2017 will mark an exciting year for art at College Heights as I am pleased to offer a variety of studio classes for senior students. I am offering, in total, ten Visual Arts related courses between the 11-12 level for students to choose from. I offer "Art Foundations" as an extension of lower level classes which learn a unit about a variety of sections of art; drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and print media and illustration. I have also offered a specialized course in each of these areas to serve as self-directed courses where students can build skills and creativity in order to create a strong portfolio. Lastly, I offer two levels in Media Arts: Yearbook in which students will learn to be journalists, photographers, graphic designers and editors in order to fully create their high school yearbook from the ground up. Each type of course has it's own expectations which are outlined in various pages of this website.
Artistic Responsibilities
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For as long as I can remember I've loved to draw. I started drawing comics when I was in elementary school and was quickly introduced to the world of Anime.
In high school I developed skills in painting. I also developed my skills at photography and have since shot fashion shows, couples, weddings, engagement, maternity, and family photos. While attending University I went back to drawing and majored in the media. I learned there the impact of large scale and hyper-realism, drawing up to 9 foot drawings at a time. |
Sarah Addison
Phone: (250) 964-4431 ext. 134
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (250) 964-4431 ext. 134
Email: [email protected]