Programs

The Arts embody and record human imagination, culture and history. The Arts allow individuals to communicate their thoughts and feelings in a variety of modes, giving them a more powerful repertoire for self-expression.

An education in the Arts contributes to both society and the lives of individuals as they gain skills in music, visual art, dance and drama. The literary arts are offered through language arts programming. The Arts open avenues for innovation and invention, as well as fostering respect for individual, cultural and aesthetic diversity.

Education in the Arts:

• Encourages an understanding of human experience both past and present
• Provides opportunities to respond to, create and present works of art
• Fosters an appreciation of multiple perspectives and solutions
• Builds intuition, problem solving and higher level thinking
• Allows individuals to make informed aesthetic judgments
• Provides opportunities for decision making where there are no standard answers
• Develops attributes of self-discipline, the collaborative spirit and perseverance

The Arts are essential to the core of a rich and meaningful education. They lead to interdisciplinary studies involving authentic connections across the disciplines.

The primary method used in class is the AIM (Accelerated Integrated Method) Language Learning approach. A key component of this method is the Gesture Approach used to teach the high frequency vocabulary that is essential in the oral acquisition of French. The result is the students are speaking more of the time and not just the teacher.

Another aspect of the program is Histories en Action! It is really an art and literacy based approach that uses specifically designed stories that are written in the form of plays. These stories along with integrated music and dance serve to motivate and support the students while they develop confidence and competence in the language.

There is an equal emphasis on the development of all four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) meeting the needs of all language learners. Activities are varied, so the students have the opportunity to work individually, in partners, small groups and the whole class. Opportunities to practice the vocabulary authentically is important. Students often work in pairs or small groups to develop dramatic scenes that they share in class and receive feedback in order to grow. A variety of games are also introduced. Here the students are using the language, learning and having fun.

Each grade has specific themes as outlined by the program of studies. Challenging and exciting projects are designed to engage the students to create and demonstrate their understanding of French.