Grade 1

We began the week with a constructive gallery walk, showcasing our Miró-inspired work. Students engaged in meaningful feedback, celebrating successes and identifying areas for improvement. We also got creative for the Halloween door decorating competition, where students used paper to design and craft pumpkins of their own unique styles. Additionally, we took the opportunity to wrap up several ongoing projects, ensuring we are all set for the week ahead.

Grade 2

Our alebrije sculptures are now complete! Students focused on ensuring their creations had both structural stability and vibrant patterns. After assembling the basic shapes, they referred to their sketches to bring their imaginative creatures to life.

Grade 3

To finish our Henri Matisse-inspired still life projects, students focused on composition and craftsmanship. They laid out their painted paper, cut it into various fruit shapes, and arranged them in bowls to complete the still life. Next week, we’ll be ready for a group assessment and a gallery walk to showcase our work.

Grade 4

As we dive deeper into our Surrealism unit, students explored the work of Salvador Dalí and responded to key themes in surrealist art. We collaborated on a classic drawing game called "exquisite corpse," where each student contributed to a div of a surrealist figure. Additionally, we studied automatism and reflected on Miró’s paintings, practicing our own automatism drawings by releasing control and embracing spontaneous creativity.

Grade 5

We are making great progress on our ancient civilization quilted landscape project. After completing their sketches, students began cutting fabric and pinning it to their compositions, thinking carefully about patterns, layers, and perspective. We also sorted our upcycled clothing and fabric into color bins, making it easier to find the right hues to bring our vibrant landscapes to life.

Grade 6

This week, Grade 6 students are focused on putting the last touches on their projects and are meeting with me to reflect on their creative process. These self-reflections will allow them to analyze the stages of their work and understand how they developed their ideas from start to finish.

Grade 7

Grade 7 students are finalizing their color theory projects and beginning self-reflections on their overall creative process. This reflection phase will enable them to assess how they moved through each stage of development, from initial research to their final pieces.

Grade 8

This week, Grade 8 students are editing their videos and filming the last scenes of their shadow puppet plays. They are also meeting with me for self-reflections on their creative process, which will help them gain deeper insight into their production and storytelling choices.

Grade 9

Linocut is a relief printing technique where an image is carved into a linoleum block. Ink is then rolled onto the uncut surface, paper is placed on top, and pressure is applied to create the print. Emerging in the early twentieth century, linocut is a relatively modern medium akin to woodblock printing and was championed by artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. During this unit, students will explore the historical, cultural, and conceptual facets of printmaking, focusing specifically on the linocut technique. They will apply the basic Elements of Art and Principles of Design to develop their printed compositions. Through project-based activities, students will have the chance to practice fundamental artistic skills while acquiring technical printmaking knowledge. To succeed, students are expected to meet assignment criteria, engage in self-reflection and critique of their own and others' work, and approach each artistic process with an open mind and a positive attitude.

This week, Grade 9 students started their research of major printing techniques aiming to understand the similarities and differences between them.

Grade 10

Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site specific and designed to transform the perception of space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called public art, land art or land intervention. During this unit, Grade 10 students will study and understand installation art in its environmental context, while applying their newly acquired to creating a three-dimensional artwork of their own to be exhibited in an environment of their choice.

During this week, Grade 10 students finalized their work on their scaled-down maquette of an installation artwork.

Grade 11

In Diploma Programme, our students continued working on their 2D unit adding to their portfolio, while developing their concept based sketches of ideas. They continued applying their concepts in creating artworks using various art-making forms.

Pre-K

OurPre-K students exploring the sounds of a Choo-Choo train! They used their armsto show how the train moves fast and slow while making train sounds. We alsohad fun with rainbow shakers. The students loved shaking them to the music anddiscovering how they can play on a steady beat. 

K1

Music class with the K1 students “Here Comes a Choo-Choo Train." The students were encouraged to use their arms with fast and slow movements, stepping forward and backward to enhance spatial awareness while working together to follow the fun movements. We also played along to the lively song "Sarasponda." The students shake their rainbow makers to the strong, steady beat.

K2

K2students are developing their singing and cooperation skills with the song"Five Little Fish." We practiced the sequence of the song andfollowed the movement cue "snapped" by tapping their hands together,adding a fun element to their singing. They also enjoyed "Here Comes aChoo-Choo Train," where the students matched their movements by movingforward and backward as suggested in the song. They loved imitating the soundsof the "bells and whistles," showing their development in soundrecognition. 

K3

This week's instrument activity with our K3 students is “Sarasponda." The students listened to the music and challenged their skills in responding to changes in tempo and rhythm. Using rhythm sticks, they alternated tapping, adding challenge to maintaining the beat. They tapped along to "Ret-Set-Set," catching the rhythm with enthusiasm! This activity support improved their listening skills and coordination.

Grade 1

This week, Grade 1 students were introduced to the concept of the music scale, helping them understand how notes are organized from low to high. We used the piano to demonstrate how scales work and practiced singing simple scale exercises. The class also started learning two festive songs: Feliz Navidad and Jingle Bell Rock. Both songs were a hit with the students, and they were excited to practice singing the melodies while clapping along to the rhythm.

Grade 2

This week, Grade 2 focused on listening and vocal training, continuing to build their musical ear and singing skills. We introduced new concepts such as the treble clef, whole note, and music staff, which are crucial for reading and writing music. The students are working on identifying notes on the staff and applying this knowledge to the festive songs we are learning :Feliz Navidad and All I Want for Christmas is You. These songs are giving the students an enjoyable way to practice their vocal techniques and apply their growing understanding of music theory.

Grade 3

In Grade 3 this week, we focused on improving listening and vocal skills through a variety of training exercises. Students continued learning about the musical staff, gaining more confidence in reading notes and understanding pitch. We also began working on two holiday songs: Feliz Navidad and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. These songs offer a great mix of rhythms and melodies, giving the students a chance to practice what they’ve learned about reading music and singing in tune. Their progress with both vocal techniques and music theory is noticeable, and they are excited to perform these songs.

Grade 4

This week, Grade 4 students worked on learning two contrasting songs: the festive Feliz Navidad and the modern pop hit Golden Hour. In addition to singing, we continued developing listening and vocal skills through targeted training exercises. We also spent time reinforcing their understanding of the musical staff, helping them with note reading and applying this knowledge to the songs we’re practicing. The combination of holiday music and contemporary songs has kept the students engaged and excited to sing and apply what they’ve learned about music theory.

Grade 5

Thisweek, Grade 5 focused on deepening their understanding of music theory, whilealso continuing listening and vocal training. The students worked on readingmore complex rhythms and melodies, applying these skills to the songs FelizNavidad and Lovely. Both songs allowed students to practice a range of vocal techniques,from dynamics to expression, and also challenged them with their unique rhythmsand melodies. The class is doing well in balancing both theory and performance,and they are excited to continue working on these songs.

Grade 6

It's working the unit "An Introductionto Theatre" An entry level course into the world of thetheatre. This unit gives students a taste of the art known as Drama. From theHistory of the Theatre (ancient times - present) to Theatre Cultures and Traditions,to Play Analysis and Playwriting; finally, to Theatre Practice, they areworking on Musical theater play research.

Grade 8

The grade 8 is working the unit “Formal Elements of Music”. Students should listen to each audio file carefully and select one that they feel best represents an identifiable idea or theme. What is the central message or idea of the audio file, emotional Impact: how does the audio make them feel, does it convey a specific emotion or mood, clarity of expression: Is the idea presented clearly and effectively in the audio, written presentation options, poem, text, story, movement presentation option: choreography or dance.

Grade 9

Essentials of music theory, some definitions of theory terminology include music notation, pitch, scale, modes, rhythm, key signatures, intervals, melody, harmony, chord progressions and musical periods, now they are working on the Western Music History Periods.

Grade 10

This week, Grade 10 students delved into the IB Areas of Inquiry, focusing on how music serves as a medium for sociocultural and political expression, as well as its role in listening, performance, dramatic impact, movement and entertainment, and technology in the electronic and digital age. The students engaged in various activities that encouraged critical thinking and creativity in their understanding of music's multifaceted nature.

Grade 7

This week in Grade 7 Drama, students wrapped up their solo summative tasks, where they had the option to either write a monologue as a character from a specific era of theatre history or create a timeline or visual representation highlighting key moments in theatre history. This individual task provided a refreshing shift from the group work they've been immersed in. After completing these projects, the students transitioned back to collaborative work, starting a new group project where they were challenged to showcase and perform scenes representing various eras of theatre history, allowing them to explore historical context through creative performance.

Grade 10

This week in Grade 10 Drama, students continued rehearsing and performed their lively scenes, which incorporated Shakespearean insults. The task required them to develop a modern-language scene filled with conflict, climaxing in the creative use of Shakespearean insults. The groups worked cohesively, with great energy and engagement, making the process both productive and fun.

Grade 6

This week, Grade 6 students explored geometric patterns, focusing on completing tables, describing patterns in words, and finding the nth term rule. They practiced using the nth term formula to solve problems and applied substitution to relate variables. Real-life problems were integrated to strengthen pattern recognition.

Grade 7

In Grade 7 this week, we continued learning Unit 2: Patterns & Relations. We studied a cool application of solving algebraic equations – cryptography. The students were enthusiastic to learn about codebreaking and codemaking. We were also able to include fun activities such as Crypto Hide-And-Seek, where students hid something then encoded a message for another student to find it. The students were also introduced to Modular Arithmetic as part of this subtopic.

Grade 8

Grade 8 students concentrated on coordinate geometry, covering the 2D coordinate system, calculating distances between points, classifying triangles, and identifying right-angled triangles using side lengths. They also studied midpoints and the gradient of horizontal and vertical lines.

Grade 9

This week in Grade 9,

-Assessment from last week was returned and feedback provided in class

- The class started investigating the Quadratic function.

- Looked at the general shape and basic definitions

- Reviewed expansion from Grade 8 and started factorising of Quadratic functions, where a = 1 and not 1. Different methods was presented.

- Investigating the factorisng of Cubic function was presented as extension.

Grade 10

Mathematics 10 students are currently working on parabolic transformations and exploring the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. This unit emphasizes the application of quadratic equations in various contexts, with potential extensions into physics-related topics, such as motion and trajectory. Students may also engage in graphing exercises using data collection, allowing them to see the real-world relevance of quadratics and how they apply to practical situations like motion or object displacement. The focus is on deepening their understanding of parabolas, how they transform, and connecting algebraic principles to physical phenomena.

Grade 11 (AI)

In G11 this week, we finished off U1 with the students completing their Summative Assessment on Friday. During the week, we reviewed some of the more difficult aspects of U1. The students worked hard throughout the week and were very professional and diligent in their studies. On Monday, we will begin U2: Functions.

Grade 12 (AI)

In G12 this week, we have continued studying Functions. We focused on quadratic and cubic functions this week. The students were also given a significant amount of time to work on their Internal Assessments with the deadline coming up next week.

I have been impressed with the students’ determination and self-motivation when working on their Internal Assessments this week.