February/March2023 Issue

MBIS Arts
Department
newsletter

CONTENTS
UPPER SCHOOL VISUAL ARTS
IB 11 “Sense of Place” Sculptures
7 & 8 Science in Art: Abstacted Cell Textiles
IBDP Grade 12 Showcase

LOWER SCHOOL VISUAL ARTS
Montessori and Kindergarten Lunch Box Creations
Grade 2 Clay Creatures
Grade 5 Pastel Explorations

LOWER SCHOOL MUSIC
Kindergarten Music Classes

UPPER SCHOOL
Jazz Band
Hyogo Foriegn Schools Association Cultural Exchange

UPPER SCHOOL FILM
Marist Monthly Mornings&Short Films

UPCOMING EVENTS
Spring Arts Festival: April 20, 2023

2MBIS Arts Department NewsletterDepartment Teachers:
Becky Carter:

Arts Department Head,
Grades 7-10 Visual Arts,
11 & 12 IB Visual Arts
Brian Petersen: M-6 Visual Arts,
Grades 1-6 Digital Skills
Jayme Jo Smith: M-5 Music,
Grades 6-10 Band,		
Jazz Band
Zachary Carter: Grade 8 Film

Welcome!

Spring is here! February and March have been very busy in the Arts Department!
The Jazz Band participated in the Hyogo Foreign Schools Association Cultural
Exchange on February 25. It was very exciting to see our Marist students perform
alongside 10 other schools from the area.
The Film students have been hard at work filming their short films and ElementaryVisual Arts have been getting their hands messy working with pastels and clay!
The Grade 12 IB students completed their Senior Showcase Exhbition at thebeginning of March. The opening reception was held the evening of March 4 and theexhibition was open to the public over the weekend. The student artists’ hard workand dedication over the past two years showed through every piece!
Please check out the course pages in order to see write-ups on these events and somuch more!
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UpperSchoolVisual Arts

IBDP 11 “Sense of Place”
Sculptures7&8 Science in Art:
Abstracted Cell Textiles
IBDP Visual Arts SeniorShowcase

The IBDP Grade 11 Visual Arts students have been
exploring the concept of “Sense of Place” through thelens of contemporary sculpture. By examining the works
of artists who create site-specific installations and landart, the students have developed a deeper
understanding of how art can impact the environmentand how our relationship to place shapes ourexperiences and perceptions of the world around us.
Throughout the course of the lesson, the students haveresearched a variety of artists in order to develop a
broader understanding of the different techniques andapproaches used in contemporary sculpture, and how
artists are using their work to address social andenvironmental issues.

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Grade 7 & 8 Science in Art:
Abstracted Cell Textiles
During February and March, the Grade 7 & 8 Visual
Arts students have been creating a 3-dimentionalversion of an abstracted cell.
First, the class looked at how visual arts and sciences
are closely linked and discussed various professions
and artists who have created a connection between
the two subjects. The students then found a cell they
were drawn to for the visual elements- line, texture,color, forms- and sketched it out as realistically aspossible. We discussed how to take our realistic
drawings to an abstracted design and the students
created their final design ideas!
Using various fiber techniques to enhance the designs, the students created a 3D textile version of
their sketches. They all turned out so interesting!
This lesson encouraged creativity, but also how tocombine various techniques and materials to create aunique and abstract representation of a cell.

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IBDP VisualArts Grade 12Showcase

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Visual Arts Exhibition was a resounding success,showcasing the incredible talent and creativity of our students. Over the course of the weekend, we had thepleasure of welcoming a diverse range of visitors to the gallery space, who were all impressed by the highcaliber of the artwork on display. The students’ hard work, dedication, and artistic growth over the past twoyears were evident in every piece, and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. We would like to thankeveryone who attended the exhibition and helped to make it a success, including our talented students,dedicated faculty and staff, supportive families, and the wonderful team at Flore Artist Gallery. We lookforward to continuing to celebrate the arts and supporting our students in their creative endeavors.

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Montessori andKindergarten
Lunch Box Creations

We have been exploring modelled forms with clay,
practicing our techniques in montessori and thinkingof ways to combine media with clay in kindergarten.
Kindergarten also began to look at healthy eating at
the food groups, and this led into creating delicious
and nutritious looking lunch box art! What treats wait
inside? Can you tell? Ask us and we will be happy totell you all about our ideas and how we made them!

Grade 5 Pastel Explorations
We have been learning about compositional possibilities and using (and sourcing) reference images. On the theme of spring, we looked for images that represented spring
to us, documented where we found them, and then found an interesting section of thatimage to enlarge and employ pastel techniques to render.

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Lower School
Visual Art
Grade 2 Clay Creatures

We looked at animals in habitats at Animal Kingdom earlier this winter,and combined our observations with our clay skills to create these animals. We reviewed pinch pot and coil construction, and applied theseskills along with our new knowledge of score, slip and blend to design
these wonderful creations. It took a long time to dry, then fire, and ofcourse paint, but we are so proud of our works and how well they haveturned out.

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LOWERSCHOOLMUSICKindergarten Music: MarchThis month many of the elementary music classes have been exploring Irish and Celtic music in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day. InKindergarten we have been learning about “beat”, high sounds versus
low sounds, and listening for when there is sound and when there issilence. We explored both of these concepts while singing and listening to festive music. The students particularly enjoyed singing the Irish
song “Oro the Rattlin’ Bog,” and learning the Irish two-hand partner
dance “Stacks of Barley”. Please enjoy these videos from our musicclass.

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Jazz Band
Saturday February 25th the MBIS Jazz Band performed at theBunka Performance Hall for the Hyogo Foreign Schools
Association Music Festival. This festival was an inspiring eventthat included music performances from 10 different schools.
It was a great way to celebrate our schools by sharing music
together. Our Jazz Band represented Marist well, and showed
great musicianship. We are proud of their performance. Thestudents enjoyed having their own warm-up room to preparein, as well as a delicious lunch provided by the Kobe City
Rotary Club. We are grateful for this wonderful performanceexperience in such an amazing facility.

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Hyogo Foreign SCultura

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Schools Association
al Exchange

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Grade 8Film ClassThe Grade 8 Film class has recently embarked on an exciting new project
where they were tasked with creating their own short films. The students
were divided into groups and given creative control over the direction andcontent of their films.
Over the course of several weeks, the students have worked to develop
their ideas, write scripts, scout locations, cast actors, and shoot footage.
These films are the culmination of the content they have learned acrossthe year-long course, including the fundamentals of storytelling and film
production, including shot composition, lighting, and sound design.
Each group’s film has a unique vison, with a range of genres including
comedy, drama, and horror. The students have been pouring their heartsinto their films and are looking forward to the results.
We are looking forward to creating an inspiring and unforgettable experience for both the students and their audience, showing the final cuts at theSpring Arts Festival. Throughout this process, the students have gained
valuable skills in filmmaking, as well as teamwork, communication, andcreative problem-solving. This project has surely ignited a passion for filmmaking in many of these young minds, and I am excited to see where theircreativity will take them next.

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Please join us for ourupcoming Spring Arts
Festival!

T H A N K
Y O U !