The Visual Arts department wishes to inspire our students and offer opportunities to broaden horizons, build focus as well as prepare for the future. Arts is essential! 

Benefits of learning Visual Arts

We strive to show the students how to express their personal thoughts and visions through rich and varied Visual Arts lessons. However, Visual Arts is not only drawing, painting or sculpting. The assignments enable the students to learn how Visual Arts and design not only reflect our past but also shape our future. As the world is rapidly changing and the students are bombarded with visual messages, it is important to develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of the media’s effects on our daily life. Design and Visual Arts, along with technology, make essential contributions to students’ creativity and well-being - as well as giving them tools to shape their own path in a modern, global society.

Where do students learn Visual Arts

Our home base in the beautiful, spacious Art room on the 3rd floor of VFIS. We learn about the elements and principles of art through, for example, pencil drawing, oil pastels, water color, charcoal, clay and photography. For graphic design, marketing and media studies we use iPads, Apple Mac computers and a printer. For joint DT (Design Technology) lessons we have full access to the Craft room with a CNC router, 3D printer, sewing machines etc. Advanced Visual Art students will create designs with programs such as TinkerCad and take advantage of all design technology possibilities through ECAs, including “Entrepreneurship”.

How do students learn Visual Arts at VFIS

Visual Arts is taught at VFIS as a single, compulsory subject through grades 6, 7 and 10, and as a selective subject through grades 8 and 9. As a compulsory subject, it is designed to occupy two 45 minutes teaching periods per week at grades 1-7 and one 45 minutes teaching period per week at grade 10. As a selective subject, it is designed to occupy three 45 minutes teaching periods for grades 8-10. 

All secondary Visual Arts students use Padlet as an online portfolio. Every student posts their art work, projects, progress and inspirations on their personal Padlet account (hidden from the public). Teachers can comment and give meaningful feedback to students, and the portfolio functions as an assessment tool, too.