The Humanities Department at APS is composed of Foreign Languages and Visual and Performing Arts.

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The Visual and Performing Arts curriculum is interdisciplinary and strives to provide excellence, by integrating areas such as visual arts, drama, music and home management. A professionally qualified faculty is committed to empowering students through a holistic (mental, physical, emotional, social and spiritual) and collaborative learning approach.

 

Children from pre-kinder to 8th grade take Music and Visual Arts classes; and students from 9th to 12th grade enjoy a varied elective courses offering, that includes Applied Music, Voice and Repertoire; Drawing I and II; Advanced Drawing and Painting I and II; Graphic Design; Art Appreciation I and II; Drama and Home Management.

 

Our mission is to develop each student’s artistic skills, promoting the acquisition of regional, national and international culture as part of an integral formation. Throughout interactive and dynamic classes, students learn with novel approaches and technologies to improve their fine motor and oral communication skills, while developing self-esteem. The students’ social, cognitive, and emotional realm is transformed as a result of the interactions that take place while exchanging creative ideas and performing.

 

Visual and Performing Arts activities:

• Christmas Concert

• Theater Play

• Gallery Night

• Spring Concert

• Choir Festival Tours

 

Every year there are different artistic activities that celebrate creativity, passion, and talent. The Drama Club offers its theater play, three days in a row due to a large audience. During the spring season, Visual Arts and Home Management professors work together organizing a Gallery Night where different art techniques and handcrafts are presented. The Concert Choir, besides singing in Mass, participates in other school activities such as the Christmas and Spring Concerts, where 8th graders are integrated performing music instruments, as well as other different musical ensembles (instrumental and vocal). The Concert Choir participates in national and international Music Festivals, having won first and second-places, highlight the talent, perseverance and group work striven to achieve at APS. The great success of these activities enhances and enriches the intra and interpersonal skills in students. APS alumni have successful careers in the arts, including famous opera singers (Yali Williams, Laura Virella, Christian Figueroa), musicians (Roy Brown), actors (Benicio del Toro, Johanna Rosaly), writers and filmmakers (Jaime and Tony Vallés) and visual artists (Miguel Trelles, Beto Torrens).

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The Foreign Language curriculum integrates the study of a given language history, cultural legacy and behavior of native speakers. Language courses are open to all students with the desired interest in language and culture of native speakers. Language teachers encourage their students to be creative and to apply what they have learned in class. The Foreign Language Department stands out for an impressive variety of teacher-directed activities which serve to enhance student-learning and interest in becoming acquainted with cultural patterns and behavioral trends of native speakers. The Department is compatible with the principles highlighted in the school’s philosophy and objectives. Instruction is based on humanistic, multidisciplinary, and foremost, a pragmatic approach. Foreign Languages are taught primarily to communicate and promote human understanding. Values such as respect and tolerance are implicitly taught through analysis and understanding cultural differences. The use of technological resources has improved considerably in the last years. Every other year, the Foreign Languages Department sponsors the European Soirée, where the different classes present an artistic production which is awaited by parents, teachers, and students in our school community with great enthusiasm.

 

Activities:The European Soirée takes place every two years, integrating new technologies such as blogs, Facebook, Laboratories, Noche de Lenguas Extranjeras.