01St. Mary’s Online Academy

St. Mary's Online Academy (SMOA) is a global online learning platform offered by St. Mary's School, a renowned U.S. private preparatory school located in Medford, Oregon.

Our school started in 1865 in southern Oregon, located on the beautiful west coast of the United States of America. St. Mary's School has grown to provide an authentic American elementary, middle, and high school education to students in China, South Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of the world. Our integrated online courses are taught by an experienced American faculty whose skills and commitment are second to none.

We take pride in the program we deliver to your child! Courses are taught during normal school hours in Asian standard time. Online and offline learning networks are available to students.Live classroom and in-person, on-campus instruction is available.Students choose to attend online learning only or a combined offline/onsite learning environment. Students earn credits and receive transcripts and diplomas from St. Mary's School in Oregon.We offer a strong, professional and experienced bilingual tutoring team available to your student.One-to-one academic guidance and family education consultation is offered to all SMOA students and families. Our program provides a one-stop solution for students and parents interested in international education who want a full range of options and services.

02Credits Certificate
All Credits are issued through St. Mary's Oregon in the US
03Prerequisites
None, but any experience creating two-dimensional art and design work, in or out of the classroom, will be helpful.
04Grade Level
Grade 11-12
05Teacher Info

Ms.Selda Acar took many courses in the fields of Graphics, Interior design, and painting&drawing before university. Later she won first place in the Art Academy entrance exam. In Turkey's best fine arts academy, which is Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, she received higher education on Textile and art. She has degrees in various design competitions. She worked on fashion in London, England, prepared special collections, and taught painting and art for an early age. She worked as an art teacher in different courses and schools between 2005-2013. She also gave her students preparatory training for the art academy entrance exams. Selda Acar is a person who is curious about exploring different worlds and cultures, has a positive perspective on life, and is in love with her profession. She is a teacher who is very happy to convey her knowledge and experiences to her students. She also believes that anyone can make art. However, she states that this requires a strong desire and hard work. She believes that art is of great importance in understanding, analyzing, expressing himself, and gaining an aesthetic point of view in human life. She also thinks that it is an important factor in her students' understanding and achieving other lessons with this art education. For this reason, she always emphasizes the importance of art education, it's coordinated functioning with other courses. She is an educator who believes in the success of cross-curricular education and sees art as an undeniable part of it. She has been living in China since 2017. She has been with Knowledgelink since 2018.

06Course Syllabus

Students begin the course by working through guided projects. This will introduce students to materials and topics that they can investigate, practice, and experiment with. This beginning portion helps guide students to the sustained investigation of their portfolio, where they will investigate materials and a topic of their choosing. In the portfolio students are expected to show their mastery in concept, composition, and execution of ideas. To help students understand my expectations, they are shown examples of past AP portfolios for ideas and inspiration. I start with structured assignments first, the first assignment being observational value drawings, and students then move on to individual preferences in media and topics such a mixed media, scratchboard, printmaking, as well as using assigned materials to explore topics of their choice.

Students are also given homework assignments due every week. These homework assignments will focus on the inquiry, investigation, communication, and reflection portions of their artwork. In addition, they will prepare for larger projects with sketches, materials exploration, and honing their ideas for their final piece. Class discussion of homework assignments, as well as class critiques, are held at least once a week. Critiques are a required part of class participation. Students are expected to discuss their own work, the work of their peers, and the work of master artists in written and verbal form. During these class critiques the vocabulary of art will be used to form decisions about the work being discussed. These verbal discussions will help students develop the language needed to explain their work in written form.

Once students understand the process of inquiry, investigation, practice, experimentation, revision, communication, and reflection through their guided projects, students will develop and choose an idea to explore in depth for their sustained investigation. In the sustained investigation section, students are expected to develop a body of work that is an investigation of a theme, idea, and inquiry. It should be well planned and investigate an idea that is of personal interest to the student. 15 works of art will be submitted to the AP board, this can include process images of their work.

From both the guided projects and sustained investigation assignments, we submit five selected works as examples of excellence to be sent to the College Board to be evaluated. Students understand that making art is an ongoing process that uses informed and critical decision making as these selections are made for their portfolio submission.

07Materials Needed

Student are required to bring in the following supplies:

•1 Notebook for notes and sketches (preferably not lined)

•1 Large sketchbook

•A4 or Letter paper

•Pencils, colored pencils, pens, crayons, markers (must contain white, black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple colors)

•Watercolor Paint (must contain white, black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple colors)

•Various materials and resources TBD

•Access to a Camera for photographing artwork

08Course Design

This course is designed to adhere to the requirements set by CollegeBoard and the 2020 AP Program. Students who engage in the course will acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in a college level art course as well as the 2020 AP Exam.

The course includes the following three components:

A. Study of artists and trends. In addition to class work, students are expected to visit galleries and the local art museums on their own. An understanding of contemporary artwork and trends can help inspire and guide students in their own work.

B. A sketchbook to be composed of visual ideas, notes, photos, doodles, plans, short assignments, quick drawings, and practice of various techniques.

C. Development of the student’s submitted portfolio for AP 2-D Design, which has two parts: selected works and sustained investigation totaling at least 15 pieces (this can include process images).