^{L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, Christo Javacheff, 2019.}

Whether you are wrapping up the end of the school year or preparing for a mid-winter holiday, we know that this time of year is full of school events, last-minute meetings, marking, comment-writing, and a buzzing, frenetic energy from antsy, holiday-ready students and teachers, alike! Where your nerves may be shattered from long to-do lists that feel beyond comprehension, we invite you to take a moment [this one] to reflect upon, celebrate, and share what you've achieved this past semester and school year. We have a few resources to remind you as we look ahead to a new semester and, for many, a new school year ahead. And we invite you to take a deep breath as you let go for some time off in the coming weeks.

As we look ahead to a new semester, we are offering a short, 4-question, time-limited survey (click here), aiming to develop content with your needs in mind. This survey opens today and closes on 15 July 2024. We thank you in advance for your willing participation!

REFLECT & CELEBRATE:

As much as our students need to be prompted to reflect, as teachers, sometimes we also need the nudge to make sense of our work and our students and to pay attention to nagging thoughts that we're ordinarily too busy to face. We have a few questions to pose here, supported by resources to help your students reflect.

• What was challenging, interesting, or inspiring about your students' visual arts exhibition(s) this year?
• Which aspects from this school year or semester will prompt adjustments or overhauls to how you'll approach teaching IB next semester?
• What highlights from this year will you carry forward into the next semester/year?
• In a self-reflection activity, you can ask your students, "How have you developed as an artist?" Alternatively, what developments can you celebrate in your work as a teacher (so far) this year?
• Journal Reflections allow students to dump their thoughts and sift through them. With guidance, they will become more profound critical thinkers

SHARE:

1. We would like to build our Guest Teacher Pages. We'd love to spotlight your work if you have a particularly successful example unit or lesson plans to share. 
2. Our Student Gallery showcases the generous contributions of students and teachers over the years. If your students have produced quality exhibition work, comparative studies, or process portfolios this year, and you'd like their work featured after examination and scoring, please share these with us.

Materials can be shared with [email protected] for consideration. (Google or cloud-based folders preferred)

LOOKING AHEAD:

Northern Hemisphere

• Summer CS Research: Depending on how you structure your curriculum, the summer can be an incredible time for students to encounter artwork first-hand, which is a potent stimulus for student research for the Comparative Study!
• Following the above point, Exhibition Visits can become even more powerful when a structure supports one’s thinking. Check out our Museum & Gallery Visit download for tips on making the most of the experience.
• Mid-IB Summer Assignments: this resource shares tips for helping your students transition into the 2nd year of IB. A list of summer reading ideas is included to supplement student learning during downtime.

Southern Hemisphere

• Aimed at teachers who are new to IB, we have created a new resource to share with you called Quick Tips: Wrapping Up the Exhibition. 
• Scaffolding the Rationale is another recent resource aimed at helping students develop their artistic voice in writing through an articulate artist statement before commencing the Curatorial Rationale, as teachers should only give feedback once upon the Rationale, an artist’s statement offers an opportunity for providing additional feedback and support in advance of this formal requirement.
• Curating an Imaginary Exhibition: Whether your students are in mid-first year or mid-second year, this is an excellent time of year to take stock of what has been achieved so far. Students can collaboratively explore building an exhibition in their first year; as second-year students, they might start to envision how to curate their exhibition.

BREATHE:

“The eye, the mind, the heart, and the hand interact when we make art.” (T. Anderson & M. Milbrandt, 2005).

• One of our newest resources invites you to document first-hand observations and express yourselves through a travel journal. Whether you're traveling near or far, remember that drawing, painting, and making are ways that we, art teachers, can take a breath, stay in the moment, and restore while we’re soaking up some time away from the classroom. Read more in Travel Journals.

References

Anderson, T., & Milbrandt, M. (2005). Art for Life: Authentic Instruction in Art. McGraw-Hill.

 
Javacheff, C. (2019). L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped. 2019. Estate of Christo Javacheff. Paris. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jun/13/larc-de-triomphe-wrapped-christo-dream-bulgarian-artist