Arts

HS Foundations of Art is a project-based approach to visual investigation and creation. We begin with a survey of the types of viewing practices involved in considering 'masterpieces' of two and three-dimensional forms of art. Our investigations include organizing works of art according to style and period, as well as curating 2-D and 3-D works of art in public displays. Students will imagine, create and reflect upon personal goals and interests in the selection and expression of diverse media, methods, concepts, and approaches to art and design. Unit themes and projects practice art skills and give opportunities to experiment with art and design thinking with independent and collaborative projects. Projects develop visual vocabulary and visual communication skills while practicing art appreciation skills discussing our own and the artwork of others. We will explore contemporary art techniques and processes that develop the students’ range across the art spectrum.

Drawing and Painting is a hands-on course for experiencing the qualities and techniques of various uses and forms of drawing and painting from 2-D to 3-D surfaces. Works of art from historical and contemporary painters will be researched and discussed as examples of various types of skills used with observational, realistic, and conceptual drawing activities.

In this course, students will explore the qualities and techniques of various drawing and painting methods, materials, and styles of art. Historic and contemporary works of art and production processes will be explored and used as a drawing study. This is a project-based curriculum with emphasis on skill-building activities as an embedded component within the course for student growth. Students will keep a sketchbook for documenting one's personal research style, notations, and sketches as well as maintaining a physical and digital e-portfolio throughout the course. Paint materials will be used during various projects and themes, including water-based, plastic-based, fabric and mixed-media materials and processes. Methods of work include but are not limited to oil painting, gouache, watercolor, acrylic, staining and color washing. Students work at their own pace and will keep records of process-based work including documentation of sketches, resource materials, and reflective writing for each project. In doing so, they will develop an understanding of the research component of art practice and practice techniques that contemporary artists use today. By the end of the semester, students will have developed a portfolio of work and documented it digitally as an e-portfolio of each completed work of art. Students create a final e-book for group presentation of their work.

Advanced Art builds visual arts dispositions and anchor standards in 3D drawing and painting that sequence the student’s previous experiences using visual arts media. The purpose of this elective is for students to strengthen and deepen visual expression using advanced strategies, methods, and media. Students self-assess their current skill set and visual arts experiences in order to establish goals and responsibilities for personal growth and development during the semester. The semester begins with drawing activities using the elements and principles of art with an emphasis on technique and developing personal visual arts vocabulary, syntax, and the unique, personal visual arts language of each student. Historical and contemporary artists, visual arts collectives and art installations from visual arts practices around the world are presented as inspiration for subject matter and styles of expression.

Studio in Art is designed as an advanced high school course that satisfies part of the graduation requirement in Fine Arts. Advanced art students who have developed their skills and experience in two-dimensional and three-dimensional art practices have the opportunity to further develop concentrated projects of their choice and work on portfolios for submission to art schools. Emphasis is placed on self-directed learning to develop proficiency and excellence in the application of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design as a basis for conceptual projects, curatorial projects, exhibitions, theme-based multiples, installations, group projects, and community-based interventions. Students will experience a variety of contemporary production processes, contemporary practices artists, historical roots of art processes and materials used for traditional media such as drawing, painting, printmaking, two & three-dimensional design, mixed media, and intermedia projects in the digital arts. Student artwork will reflect aesthetics & cultural and historical contexts. Willingness to get involved in the creative process is a more important requirement than the student’s talent or previous experience.

The AP Studio Art course includes three main areas of focus: demonstrating foundational skill proficiency; the development and evolution of own’s personal creativity; and the preparation and analysis of thematic concepts discussed theoretically. This is an advanced art course for high school students who have already taken the existing Foundational Art and two art elective courses of any combination. Students who enroll in this class are serious about preparing a personal portfolio for college entrance exams and/or for passing the Advanced Placement Studio Art Portfolio Exam in 2D Art and Design or AP Drawing. Students may elect to take the class if they intend to prepare a portfolio for needs not specified above or other common app requirements.

The purpose of the course is to:

• Encourage creative and systematic investigation of formal and conceptual issues.

• Emphasize making art as an ongoing process that involves informed and critical decision making.

• Help develop technical skills and familiarize them with the functions of the visual elements.

• Encourage students to become independent thinkers who will contribute inventively and critically to their culture through the making of art.

In addition to creative production, students will produce reflective writing and create artist statements about each portfolio piece. Students conduct historical and visual research about Artists, Art Critics, and Art Curators in order to critically analyze artistic and cultural production trends and influences and discuss what types of influences inform their creative process. From this critical discourse analysis, students will develop a personal Narrative about one’s process, inspiration for, and interpretation of their works of art. Portfolios for evaluation are based on specific criteria, which include skillful synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas and sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision, guided by questions.

Graphic Design course is intended as part of creative and visual art. Students build upon their existing visual language and design thinking by using hand tools and digital design elements for producing projects with their own visual style. This course will focus on projects related to graphic design careers and production work that uses textual and symbolic elements together to produce various visual campaigns such as those used in various promotional advertising and marketing, start-ups, product designs, ezines, posters, and using static design as a part of group collaborations for motion graphics. Students will be introduced to motion graphics design and usage of Adobe After Effect software, they are encouraged to use their personal creativity with design software to prepare for further study in motion graphic design.

Interior Design is a semester-long course in which students learn to apply the principles of design as they relate to the creation of interior spaces that are both highly functional and aesthetically pleasing. Students will create plans using a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques, and will, in some cases, execute these plans in the real world.

Publications is an elective semester long course for learning print design and journalism integrated with website creation. Students participating in this class learn writing skills, digital photography, graphic design, and the following computer programs: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and basic level website integration.During this course, the students will create a magazine publication called the Eagles Eyrie as well as a website developed around the Eagles Eyrie. In addition, the students will work on the first semester’s portion of the annual yearbook. In the process of making these publications and website, students learn the value of creating goals, meeting deadlines and working together to produce a finished product for the school.

HS Drama is a one semester course which introduces students to a wide range of dramatic texts and forms. Students will experiment with different ways of performing and recording drama, and will be introduced to a variety of performance styles to be matched to the texts studied. Students will learn how to speak and move with fluency and clarity of intention, and will have opportunities to improvise around central themes of stimulus in order to gain greater insight into its dramatic potential. The class will work towards a formal presentation of a drama, and will respond critically to written texts of plays and will review how their own explorations of ideas in drama match the ideas of other practitioners and commentators, thus providing students with the opportunity to reflect on how they, as active agents, interpret what drama communicates and how their experiences will inform new acts of communication.

High School Handbells is a one semester long, elective course for 9th-12th grade students. In High School Handbells, students have the opportunity to develop musical skills as part of an authentic performing ensemble. Although standing as an independent one semester course, it also acknowledges that many of the students will have had previous handbell experience in their Middle School years. For this reason, much of its content will be at a higher, more demanding level. However, students with no prior experience can also participate in technically less demanding areas of the bell choir. As in the Middle School, students will initially learn or review the foundations of handbell ringing, including basic techniques of ringing, note reading, and concepts of rhythm and simple beat divisions. Later, as their skills develop a wide range of advanced techniques will be introduced at the appropriate level. Advanced repertoire will also include complex and mixed meters, the realization of complex rhythmic patterns and syncopations, articulations and changes of tempi. In addition, students will learn to read and write basic Western staff notation through regular music theory classes and completion of worksheets to enhance their practical note reading ability. The course also prepares students for formal presentations, such as school and community concerts and celebrations, where they will be able to demonstrate not only their personal progress, but also their ability to work together with their peers using appropriate concert etiquette.

Creative Music is a one semester course that provides students with the opportunity to create their own music through improvisation and composition. The course is based on a series of projects that cover different aspects of music using a variety of materials to compose music. The aim of Creative Music is to allow students define their own musical materials and explore their possibilities. For example, this can include deciding on what kind of sounds to use, the instruments involved, or it can also be the organization of sounds and silences into rhythmic, melodic and harmonic patterns. The course is exploratory and experimental in nature, requiring imagination and curiosity. No prior musical experience is required.