IB Course Descriptions
	Art The arts allow us to connect our imagination with the history of human experience – the study of art helps us to learn and appreciate cultural complexities. IB Art will encourage students to explore artistic intention. Students will study art from a diverse range of cultures and time periods, providing them with exposure to various values, philosophies, art historical styles or movements and expressive intents. The course will encourage creativity and will balance academic rigor and exploration with related studio work, gallery talks and museum visits. Offered in HL (Higher Level) and SL (Standard Level). Biology Based on the premise that science is a process, not an accumulation of facts, IB Biology will encourage students’ intellectual curiosity. A two-year project and laboratory based course, IB Biology is designed to provide opportunities for scientific study and creativity within a global context while providing substantial training in analysis and critical thinking. With emphasis on research, problem solving, scientific investigation and experimental design, students will examine life on all organizational levels: from the molecular to the cellular level, from organ systems to whole organisms, from whole organisms to entire ecosystems. Offered in HL (Higher Level). Chemistry Like IB Biology, IB Chemistry is a two-year project and laboratory based course and includes the same focus on scientific study and creativity within a global context while providing substantial training in analytical and critical thinking. Students will examine topics including, but not limited to, measurement and data processing, quantitative chemistry, atomic structure, perodicity, bonding, acids and bases, oxidation-reduction reactions, energetics, kinetics, equilibrium, organic chemistry, human biochemistry and food chemistry. Offered in SL (Standard Level). Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) Designed to provide a balance to the rigorous work done in the classroom, the CAS course is one of three essential elements in the student’s IB Diploma Program. Students will be involved in a range of activities alongside their academic studies, including focus on Creativity (arts and other experiences involving creative aptitude), Action (sports or other physical activity) and Service (a volunteer experience providing a learning component). Students will initiate and organize an individual project. CAS activities will continue on a regular basis for 3-4 hours per week for at least 18 months.   Dance The practice of dance helps to explore and value the diversity of the arts across history, the world and its cultures. The IB Dance course will help students to understand dance as a set of disciplines with their own background and assumptions, and to understand that these practices incorporate physical, intellectual and emotional knowledge. This course aims to appreciate mastery in various dance styles in traditions familiar and unfamiliar. Students will focus in three major areas: choreography, performance and research, and will aim to express ideas with self-assurance and proficiency. They will come to see that dance can communicate various world cultures from their school environment, the surrounding community and the globe.   Offered in SL (Standard Level). English Elizabeth Drew once said, “The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it.” IB English will inspire students to be original, to exercise creativity, to think critically and to actively engage with the literature assigned. Students will explore novels, plays, poetry and nonfiction prose. They will be encouraged to strengthen and develop their analytical skills through textual analysis, oral presentation and written assignment. World literature and literature of varied genres, time periods and styles will challenge students to gain an appreciation for and understanding of artistic technique and to develop a global perspective of life and the shared human experience, thus preparing them for a lifelong pursuit of learning. Offered in HL (Higher Level) and SL (Standard Level). French Conducted exclusively in French and offering exposure to the Francophone regions in the world, the IB French curriculum will develop advanced communicative, linguistic and cultural competencies. To encourage growth in all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), students will read, analyze and discuss poetry and prose written by authors from the French-speaking world, listen to Francophone music and watch classic French films. Students will be encouraged to challenge assumptions and learn to compare and contrast ways of life in francophone regions and our own culture(s). Essay writing will be emphasized to learn to communicate ideas with greater accuracy and advanced grammar in writing. Pronunciation and cadence will be honed through regular participation and presentations. Offered in HL (Higher Level) and SL (Standard Level). History Intended to provide students with both a domestic and foreign relations perspective, IB History will examine the institutions of war and peace in the 20th Century with a specific focus on the Americas. While emphasizing methods of historical investigation and data analysis, this course will explore the root causes of war, the variety of forms in which war can manifest and to what extent war resolves issues of conflict. Students will also learn the critical component of peace as a preventative strategy in world affairs and as a stabilizing tool to end conflict. Critical thinking and analysis skills will be developed through written assignments, close reading of multi-perspective historical documents and in-class discussion. Offered in HL (Higher Level). Mathematics IB Math is a two-year course that will promote mathematical inquiry, build confidence and encourage an appreciation for the beauty of mathematics and mathematical understanding. The course is based on the fact that the nature of mathematics can be seen in a number of ways; for example, as a well-defined body of knowledge, an abstract system of ideas, a useful tool or a combination of all of these. Topics of study will include algebra, functions and equations, circular functions and trigonometry, matrices, vectors, statistics and probability and calculus. The course aims to provide opportunities for mathematical study within a global context that will develop logical and critical thinking, in addition to honing powers of generalization and abstraction, along with clear communication and use of technology. Offered in HL (Higher Level) and SL (Standard Level). Music IB Music will immerse students in the in-depth study of the musical links between cultures to train students to think about music within a global context. The curriculum will cover topics in Western and non-Western music such as theory, aural skills, performance, composition and music technology. Students will benefit from various approaches to instruction including, but not limited to, listening, reading, harmonic analysis, composition and performance projects. Students will choose to focus on one of these study areas: music creation, solo performance, or group performance. Offered in HL (Higher Level) and SL (Standard Level). Spanish IB Spanish is intended to provide students with a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of another language and culture. While the main objective of the class is to provide the student with the ability to communicate effectively and confidently, the exploration of Spanish literature, art and history enhance the linguistic study. Written and oral activities are highly interactive, allowing students to study, analyze and draw conclusions. Students will be encouraged to ask questions, challenge topics and think creatively while comparing and contrasting ways of life in Spanish-speaking countries to ours. Offered in HL (Higher Level) and SL (Standard Level). Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Focused on the synthesis and exploration of all arenas in which students think and exist, this course is designed to encourage students to think critically about knowledge itself, thus engendering a richer, more complete understanding of all they encounter. In keeping with its position at the heart of the IB Diploma Program, much of the exploration and development of these knowledge issues takes place within the context of students’ cultures, pursuits and other studies. By examining short texts (including but not limited to current events, local and world issues, history and its perspectives and scientific research) and the knowledge issues they contain and inspire, students gain the skills necessary to critically analyze knowledge claims, their underlying assumptions, and their implications. Students draw links between areas of knowledge and ways of knowing in writing, discussion and formal presentations.   To explore the nature of this course, click here to read a blog maintained by the TOK class.