Music
While prior music experience is strongly recommended for those students who opt for Higher Level (HL), it is not mandatory for Standard Level (SL). The course provides an appropriate foundation for further study in music at university level or in other music career pathways. It is designed to offer students the opportunities to build on prior experiences in music while encouraging a broad approach to the subject and developing new skills, techniques and ideas. The course also aims at developing the student’s potential as musicians, either as a soloist or in ensembles, and as composers and creators of music. The programme of study builds on a strong fundamental and theoretical base, but weights the practical performance and developing of performance skills highly. We offer Music HL & SL.
Visual Arts
This course is designed to provide students with an authentic approach to the Visual arts as a discipline with many facets that lead to a very concrete outcome. The Exhibition is the culminating activity that is realized through many approaches; the exhibition text, curatorial rationale, hanging and placement are just a few that will challenge the student through planning and much discussion. The Curatorial Rationale component of the programme is expected of both Higher Level ( HL) and Standard ( SL) students. HL students are required to submit 700 words and the SL students 400 words that help to justify the inclusion of such work in their final exhibition.
The Exhibition requires work that is chosen from a list of possible media to work from. Basically two dimensional, three dimensional, and digital work are all possibilities for students at the HL and SL to experiment with. SL students are expected to submit 4-7 resolved pieces while HL students need 8-11 pieces.
The Comparative Study is a component that is required of both the HL and SL student and offers both a challenge and opportunity to prove understanding and creativity with presentation methods. HL and SL students are required to submit 10-15 digital screens. In addition to the screens, higher level students also need to submit a piece that was influenced by one of the artists chosen for the study along with 3-5 screens that help to show evidence of the process.
The Process Portfolio provides students at the higher as well as standard level the opportunity to share evidence related to a very structured and defined set of criteria that the IB has laid out. Again the number of screens required, differs according to the level a student has registered for. 13-25 digital screens are required at the higher level and 9-18 digital screens for the standard level.
In addition to the very specific material needed for achievement, the Visual arts students should come prepared to spend class time as well as leisure time exploring ideas and concepts. This approach will help each student to gain an authentic concept of the visual arts as an area of study and will help to prepare them for what is to come at the university level of education. We offer Visual Arts HL & SL.
Theatre
The IB Diploma Programme theatre course is a multifaceted theatre-making course. It gives students the opportunity to make theatre as creators, designers, directors, and performers. It emphasizes the importance of working both individually and as part of an ensemble. It offers the opportunity to engage actively in the creative process of inquiring, developing, presenting, and evaluating. Students are encouraged to work as inquisitive and imaginative artists, transforming ideas into action and communicating these to an audience.
Theatre students learn to apply research and theory to inform and contextualize their work as they experience the course through practical and physical engagement. They understand that knowledge resides in the body and that research can be conducted physically through both action and practice. In this respect, the theatre course encourages students to appreciate that through the processes of researching, creating, preparing, presenting, and critically reflecting on theatre—as participants and spectators—they gain a richer understanding of themselves, their community, and the world.
Through the study of theatre, students strengthen their awareness of their own personal and cultural perspectives, developing an appreciation of the diversity of theatre practices, their processes, and their modes of presentation. This enables students to discover and engage with different forms of theatre across time, place, and culture and promotes international-mindedness. Participation in the DP theatre course results in the development of both theatre and life skills; the building of confidence, imagination, creativity, and a collaborative mindset. We offer Theatre HL & SL.
Last week we had a special visitor to talk to our MYP students about environments and sustainability in the remote rural areas of the Himalayas. Sheeba Sen has been working with Aarohi and Alaap for almost 5 years now. She studied International Relations at LSE and Law at Oxford and was a practicing lawyer in the U.K. Her heart has always been in the mountains and she returned to work with village communities in Nainital District in Uttarakhand. As a school, we have been with involved with the school in Aarohi for 3 years now. During this session we listened to the rest of Sheeba’s journey. This year she undertook a ‘padh yatra’ – a 48 km journey by foot in the remote villages of Uttarakhand. The objective was to understand the valley and its people and to introduce the concept of collective farming of village groups. This tied in with the IB Learner Profile and Attitudes which are in the heart of every IB student.