AP Art History, Art and Architecture offers the opportunity to explore in depth and experience the visual history of the world and the diverse cultures and mindsets that have shaped it through the study of architecture, sculpture, painting and other media. The central questions in this course include the following: What is art and how is it made? Why and how does art change? How do we describe our thinking about art? Through these essential questions, students explore AP Art History, Art and Architecture effectively and precisely articulating an artwork’s meaning and function, its maker’s methodology, and the ways it reflects and affects its historical and cultural context. Students practice techniques of the making of art used through history and cultures. The foundation of all art is drawing; therefore, it is employed frequently in class, during discussions, and on museums trips as the classical preference to instruction of art. Artwork by students include but are not limited to: drawing with linear perspective, Chinese calligraphy, illuminated manuscripts, making paint from crushed pigment, and painting with original historical materials. Power sketches are frequenting accomplished in class and museum trips. Drawing from observation helps the students slow down, observe, and remember what they see. The creation of a renaissance nature notebook inspired by Leonardo Da’ Vinci’s work introduces students to a cross-disciplinary look at art and science. Classical Bargue drawings are introduced to observe more deeply as the art academy standard from the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Band classes are offered at the Flower Mound and Collin County Campuses. Rhetoric students will audition and be placed in either the Intermediate Band or Symphonic Band. Intermediate Band participates in Fall and Spring concerts, performs as an outreach to the community and participates in one music festival. Symphonic Band is a performance group that plays at all home football games and pep rallies, performs at concerts and participates in competitions such as solo ensemble contest, honor band auditions, and concert and sight-reading contest. In addition, this group is ministry-minded as they serve the community by playing at a local nursing home. With many opportunities to perform, this organization provides an ideal environment to foster discipline and to learn time management while having fun and doing it with a school organization.