Curriculum Handbook 2012-2013 Grades 11-12 - International ...

ISD Diploma
In grades nine and ten the MYP overlaps with the requirements for the ISD diploma and
leads into the IB diploma in grades eleven and twelve.
Normally, a 9th grader is scheduled for ten courses, a tenth grader for nine or ten.
To be awarded the ISD diploma a student must have
• completed four years of education in grades 9-12 or their equivalents.
• successfully completed ninth and tenth grades (at ISD this normally means having
followed years 4 and 5 of the IBMYP, including at least three electives) with no more
than two final academic achievement grades below 3 in either year.
• earned a minimum total of 40 points over grades 11 and 12, with no more than four
final academic achievement grades below 3, of which no more than two may be earned
in 12 th grade.
• successfully completed the C&S/CAS programme during each year of attendance (G9-
12) at ISD. 1
In addition each student should have:
• taken at least one year of mainstream English
• taken three consecutive years of the same foreign language
• studied German to a minimum competency level equivalent to ISD's "Advanced
German" (normally three years).
There may, under exceptional circumstances, be students for whom these requirements
might not be appropriate. In these cases the principal will determine whether or not the
student has met the conditions under which an ISD diploma can still be awarded.
VISUAL ARTS
The Visual Arts at ISD offers all students a wide range of study and the opportunity
to explore and express ideas and feelings in the studio. Value is given to the
development of technical skill, including drawing and composition. The study helps
develop visual literacy, visual communication skills and creativity, so vital in the
visual world of today. In an international environment, the study of the visual arts
helps students develop a richer understanding of their own culture and fosters
sensitivity towards cultural diversity, partly through critical studies and the study of
the history of art. Learning through the Visual Arts is both challenging and
enjoyable. It enhances learning in other subjects and is learning for life.
IB DP Visual Arts SL/HL 1 and 2, Grades 11 & 12
The International Baccalaureate Visual Arts is offered as a Group 6 subject. It is a
two- year course and consisting of two components: studio work (A 60% or B 40%)
and investigation workbook (A 40% or B 60%) i.e. the students can choose whether
the emphasis lies with studio work (A) or the investigation workbook (B).
From a common starting point students have the opportunity to develop individual
and personal work in different media. Students also choose personally relevant
themes for research both in the studio and in their investigation workbooks. Visits to
local art museums and exhibitions will be arranged. In addition, there is an extended
field trip to a major art city.
The course concludes with an examination of the studio work by a visiting examiner
and the investigation workbooks are examined by the teacher (A) the reverse for (B).
All examination materials are subject to moderation by senior examiners.
IB DIPLOMA
The International Baccalaureate Diploma is offered as a supplement to the ISD diploma.
The IB diploma curriculum consists of a comprehensive and rigorous two-year programme,
normally undertaken in the 11th & 12th grades (in exceptional cases in grades 12 and 13).
Based on the educational pattern of no single country, it is a deliberate compromise
between the specialization required in some countries and the breadth and depth preferred
in others. Since its inception in the late 1960's, the IB diploma has become a symbol of
academic integrity and intellectual promise, and is accepted widely throughout the world as
a university entrance qualification.
IB diploma candidates must pass examinations in six areas, including Language A (best or
native language); an additional language; individuals and societies; experimental sciences;
mathematics; and a sixth subject, an elective. Of the six examinations, three must be taken
at the higher level and three at the standard level.
Other requirements are
• The completion of the "Theory of Knowledge" course (the role of language and thought;
logic; ways of knowing and areas of knowledge, e.g. mathematics, natural sciences,
human sciences, history, and value judgments, e.g. moral, political and aesthetic
judgments);
1 This requirement only becomes operative when a C&S/CAS programme has been set up in grades 6-12.
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