INTENSIVE PROGRAMS
When students are curious, research facts, design and innovate, the mind becomes engaged and energized to understand what we can’t see, build what we haven’t seen, and conceive of what we will one day see.
At IDEAL School, we believe innovation is creativity with a purpose. When students are curious, research facts, design and innovate, the mind becomes engaged and energized to understand what we can’t see, build what we haven’t seen, and conceive of what we will one day see. At IDEAL, students use a relevant toolkit of 21st century skills as they engage in academically rigorous, relevant, complex, real world problem solving.
In addition to project-based learning in core curriculum classes, IDEAL Middle School students have the opportunity to experience Intensive Programs as a cross-curricular class in the afternoon. Through the Project Based Learning activities, the teachers collaborate and create environments wherein they and their students work with complex, intriguing situations that foster inquiry, research, and the drawing of reasonable conclusions.
The diversity of mind skills involved in Intensive Programs means that every IDEAL student gets challenged in unexpected ways and every student finds a way to leverage their personal unique set of skills against novel challenges. Student experience a sense of play, problems that intrigue and engage environments and activities that inspire novelty. These are all qualities of Intensive Programs and are what brain research tells us help students genuinely learn.
QUICK FACTS
- Students participating in Intensive Studies will receive 4 class sessions each week devoted to developing their knowledge base and skill set in the choice program.
- This program involves intense, advanced level of learning in the subject area of the student’s choice.
- Students will receive at least One Assessment grade per month, in addition to participation, conduct and effort grades.
- Students will receive an attendance grade.
- Students will receive Report Card grades for the Intensive Studies Program.
INTENSIVE PROGRAMS
Theater & Performing Arts
The skills that students will gain by taking part in the Theater Intensive can be applied to all aspects of their lives. Performing Arts helps to foster both self-discipline and personal confidence. The performers will strengthen their interpersonal skills and awareness, including their aesthetic sensitivity and understanding as they work through the term. Active listening skills are a large part of theater. Students will be using these skills to review and discuss different monologues, scenes and characters from various plays. During their play preparations, the performers begin to develop and use theatrical vocabulary and begin to truly show an understanding of theatrical study. They have opportunities to work independently as well as in small collaborative groups to create theater, rehearse, develop and perform scenes as we begin to work on our final play production. By the end of the term, the performers have the ability and self-awareness to evaluate their individual performances using the relevant and appropriate vocabulary.
Citizen Science
In this intensive students will learn about the science behind modern day problems and current events. Students learn about problems, which their generation might be able to solve. We will explore many environmental issues and complete engineering problem solving tasks and labs. Our focus is hands on learning, a problem is introduced, we will look at what approaches have been tried and then use labs and engineering scenarios to test different materials to create new solutions. Students will go to the park once a week to do nature journaling tasks and team building. Students will each be provided a sketchbook for their nature work. This class prepares students to be critical thinkers and ask higher order questions. Rather than a focus on memorized content, student focus is on teamwork and learning how to have a voice and take action to make the world a better place.
Fine Arts
Throughout the term, the budding artists will explore all aspects of the fine arts, from Art History to painting techniques, theory and sculpture. Each artist will experience an in-depth study of the Arts to develop conceptual and technical skills of artistic expression and bring to fruition the student’s individual interpretations of the world. During the terms, the artists will gain a higher understanding of the fine arts while practicing various techniques. Each week, they will create an original sketchbook assignment in conjunction with their larger works. At the conclusion of the term, each artist will have created a professional portfolio that showcases their work.
