Hall Pass Art

Hey there! Welcome to Hall Pass Art! As the technology coordinator for a high school, I see quite a few of students on a daily basis. From students needing help with a broken Chromebook to students needing help with an upcoming project. While some of these students come from their class with a pass from a classroom teacher. Others wander in between classes or at the end of lunch. So, I found myself writing hall passes for students almost daily. Don't worry teachers. These were legit passes.

I don't really teach a "class". Therefore, I don't keep hall passes on hand. You know, the bland pad of white, yellow, and pink triplicate paper. So I just reach for a note card, sticky note, or a strip of paper to write down a student's name, the date, and my signature. Sending the student off with their drab hall pass. 
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Well, during the first week of school, after repairing, troubleshooting, and delivering dozens of Chromebooks to students, I took a 10 minute break (let me tell you, repairing devices is really uninspiring work). A creative break. I typically take these as a mental break and as a part of my creative process for other design projects. So, I grabbed a notecard, some brush markers, and a drawing pen and sketched a quick drawing.

Later that day a student came in needing help and then needing a pass to class. I grabbed the note card sketch I had done earlier, wrote "Back to Class"  and handed him the pass. He glanced at the sketch as he walked.
"Cool! You drew this?"
"Yup."
"Awesome pass! I'll bring it back to you later."
I told him not to worry about it and that it was his now. Then it occurred to me. Why couldn't I draw a hall pass for each student that stopped by? Just as something fun, interesting or maybe inspiring. Why? Because who has time to stop 3 or 4 times a day to make 10 minutes drawings during a typical high school day? So I told myself maybe I could sketch at least one a day and set it aside for one of the several students that stop by Room 15.

​Hall Pass Art was born.  

Follow my daily-ish drawings using the hashtag #hallpassart on Instagram & Twitter.