Creative Arts Report

Mary Ellen Bailey

Creative Arts Coordinator

The Creative Arts Department celebrates self-expression, creativity, collaboration, and communicating with an audience through the act of creating, making, playing, exploring and reflecting. Being on campus and having an audience was a joy seen all over campus, from the Black Box, the Art Center and even on the rooftops! Our amazing students and teachers continue to share their hearts for the arts, celebrating creativity and expression along the way.

Elementary Art

Our teachers are Mrs. Liza Goold and myself, with assistant Mr. Josphat Magut. K-2nd Grade explored our beautiful world with focus on the Art Elements. Artists Yayoi Kusama and P. Reynolds “The Dot” inspired us to celebrate community and the marks we make. We learned about collage, painting, oil pastels, drawing, bookmaking, and even 3D art forms. Kindergarteners learned about flower mandalas, balance and collaboration. Kindergarteners also collected and studied seeds for our bookmaking project. First and Second Grade used our ISK gardens to learn about photography and skills needed for our giant flower paintings. For International Week, each student learned how flags are designed and then created their own based on what symbolizes their own identity. We worked with clay, recycled materials, and found objects from nature to make art objects to use in our Mobile Designs. Finally, on Day 8, we worked with visiting Artist Chris Kinyanjui on murals in the Lobby of the Art Centre.

Grade 3-5 Art students spent a lot of time getting to know themselves and each other through exercising personal choices by choosing and reflecting on their Favorite Artworks. They showed creativity, ownership and resilience by recreating these artworks in any shape or form they wanted. Grade 3 learned about the visual elements of line, shape, color, and pattern. For International Week, students completed a tessellation design inspired by their home countries’ flags. Grade 4 Art students also studied the visual elements of line: investigating it from all angles. We did continuous observational line drawings, abstract line composition, group work by scaling up sections of an artwork and exploring linear perspective. For International Week, we identified our favorite foods from our home countries and incorporated them into our Shop Designs. Grade 5 Art collaborated with Homeroom Teachers in conjunction with the celebration of International Week. Students studied the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and then created an artwork that has contributed to a “Wall Quilt” of Human Rights. These beautiful artworks were also displayed on Freedom Day. During Day 8, we decorated the CAD foyer with a mural celebrating the arts initiated alongside Kenyan mural artist Chris Kinyanjui.

Elementary Music

Our teachers are Rachel Aondo and Laois Rogers, with assistant Margaret Oganda. Students came to lessons with excitement, ready to create and make music even with masks and social distancing. PK students learned to use their voices in creative ways: singing, whispering, speaking and shouting. They also learned about types of songs and their uses: lullabies, action songs, adding songs, silly songs and story songs. Students spent some time in creative movement using scarves and rhythm sticks. Kindergarten students learned the difference between steady beat and rhythm. They learned about texture and harmony, studying callresponse and rounds in the music classroom. They played nursery rhymes on the hand bells and boomwhackers as an ensemble.

1st Graders made music using individual briefcase bells as a class ensemble and learned how to follow directions from a conductor. They studied note values with emphasis on quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests. 2nd Grade students explored instruments and the family groups to which they belong. They studied their first classical piece: Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint Saens. Students also had an opportunity to play chopping board drum sets as a class ensemble. They learned how to follow rhythm notation and accompany some popular tunes as well as to improvise. 3rd Graders made music on recorders, xylophones, boomwhackers and drums. A highlight for 3rd and 4th Grade was with guest artist Barissa Dhida who shared his knowledge of drum rhythms from the African continent. Grade 4 also explored the ukulele and are now brilliant bucket drummers who can play a range of repertoire and rhythms on their drums. In the 2nd semester, 5th Graders were lucky enough to start their introduction to the band. We enjoyed making music together as a class.

The ES Musical Production “Olivia” was an exciting event for our community. This involved 35 performers from the 3rd - 5th Grade and was an afterschool activity involving singing, dancing, and acting.

Middle School

In Middle School Grade 6-8, Eleanor Miller teaches Visual Arts with assistant Elizabeth Maritim, Robin Willis teaches Drama, and Mark Anding teaches Music with assistant Noah Ochomo. 6th Grade drumming teacher is Barissa Dhidha.

Middle School Art had many exciting projects! Visiting Mosaic artist Maryann Muthoni worked with Grades 7 and 8 to create a mosaic for the new Middle School building. Each student created a bird in the mosaic mural to celebrate diversity here at ISK.

Middle School Art celebrated Proud To Be Me Day as part of International Day. Art 8 students created work around the subject of Identity Maps, combining the idea of geography and individual identity. When CNN came for #MyFreedomDay Art 8 students worked alone or collaboratively on work inspired by the idea of Modern Day Slavery. Ideas ranged from Cocoa farming to fast fashion. 7 and 8th Grade New Designers made aprons, personalised with a range of techniques from tie-dye, to screen printing, applique and adding pockets and embroidery.

Middle School Drama

We had an exciting and busy year in Middle School Drama. Here is a snapshot of what we accomplished: Over 140 students participated in our fall MS/HS Production of Chasing Our Tales. This production was shared with our ISK community during 32 performances over two days! Our Middle School mainstage production of The Yellow Boat raised money for the Mater HIV/ AIDS Clinic. Grade 7 Drama collaborated with Grades 2-5 and turned their creative stories into plays! Grade 6 students performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream for audiences of their peers, teachers, and parents. The Theatre Production classes performed All I Need to Know I Learned by Being in a Really Bad Murder Mystery and an original interactive play based on Murderville. In Middle School Music, band students learned in a tented area, while choir students used the new Middle School rooftop. Their first concert for all ensembles was attended by other students in the school and also recorded. Our next concert was the Java Jazz. In late December, ensembles performed during regular class time and for videos were sent home. During the second semester, all ensembles were performed during International Week, with the choir in the HS Amphitheater and the bands marching 100+ students in the parade to the lower field for a whole school celebration. Four students in the choir wrote original songs that the choir performed for Freedom Day and potential broadcast by CNN. The May end of the year concert was the last joint performance, summing up the work from the year. 8th Graders worked on their version of Dancing Queen for their promotion ceremony and the beginning bands performed Pomp and Circumstance for both 5th and 8th Grade. The choir sang the Kenyan National Anthem for many events in the year. There were many performances by many talented musicians! Our High School teachers are Jill Hire HS/IB Theatre, Gwendolyn Anding teaching HS/IB Music along with assistant Millicent Obiero, Andrew Kay teaching HS/IB Visual Art classes along with Kaigwa Gakunju and assistant Antony Ngaruiya.

ISSEA Drama was a hit with 10 participants who joined our AISJ hosts virtually in the ISK Arts Center. The theme was “Metamorphosis” and the 2-day festival culminated in a livestreamed performance from the 7 schools who participated. IB Theatre students brought back the Fringe Festival this year, performing solo theater pieces inspired by unique theorists and practitioners. High school theater was even more back to normal as they rehearsed and produced Stephen Gregg’s psychological thriller, Trap, a high school play about a high school play. There were 38 students in the cast and crew. It was wonderful to be able to invite community members in addition to family and friends into the audience. At the very end of last school year, our HS and IB Visual Arts classes relocated to the new Design and Art Centre in the T-Block. This creative and collaborative learning environment is having a very positive impact on the daily experience of both our HS Visual Arts and Design students. The introduction of the new HS Visual Arts Pathways Course also further extends the collaboration of creative thinking skills between Art & Design at ISK. Lastly, the Creative Arts was also supported by our supervisor, Sammy Mwangi, and assistant, Kennedy Wando. Together with help from our operational staff, they helped support our programs for on-campus learning, exhibitions and performances.

Mary Ellen Bailey

Creative Arts Coordinator