IB Campus Updates

Principal's Notes: A School Lane education leads students in many directions. Our strong arts program offers many opportunities for our students to express themselves creatively. Next year, students in 9th and 10th grade may choose to specialize in either visual or performing arts in yearlong classes. This will allow them to develop even more sophisticated portfolios and skills which will help them into a wide range of careers. The IB Diploma Program Visual Arts course culminates in students curating their work as they would for a museum display to present at the Arts Exhibition. DP Visual Arts requires students think critically about the art of others and their own work. They study the work of artists from several different cultural contexts. An increased focus on Engineering in Design classes will help students next year learn about the many ways engineering influences our lives. IB DP Physics is an excellent preparation for students choosing to pursue engineering in college.

Drew Thompson is excited to begin an undergraduate degree in illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Drew is drawn to the University of the Arts partly by the very open-minded and passionate people he has met there. The diverse community feels like a very different environment. Drew hopes for a career in character design for film and games. The University of the Arts offers opportunities for students to work in a wide range of mediums in digital and physical form. Drew wants to provide entertainment especially for those who are typically underrepresented. There are a wide range of fields which need people able to create digital and artistic content for marketing purposes.

At School Lane, Drew took IB Diploma Program Visual Arts for the last two years. This experience allows students to focus on what they really enjoy as well as learning new skills. For the Art Exhibition, 4 of Drew's illustrations rotated through on 4 Smart Boards. It had a very dramatic effect. His exhibition was a collective representation of unique characters and concepts that you don't see often in illustrations. Drew hopes to continue to become his own person in college doing more self-reflecting. He will be living in the dormitory for the first year enjoying life in the city.

Nylah Hill is passionate about planes. She cannot walk across the parking lot without staring into the sky to admire the air traffic! We are very excited to see Nylah take a place at Penn College of Technology to study Aviation Technology. Nylah was attracted to this program because it was a way of earning a Bachelor's Degree in a very hands on program which leads to a particular career in Aviation. Nylah has always loved Stem. By fulfilling her dream of learning how to build and repair planes, she hopes she will be able to inspire more women to pursue Stem careers. Nylah will enjoy the college experience while completely focused on her craft. When asked why she chose this path, Nylah said, "I want to do something that is honestly good for the world." She is aware of the need to invest in sustainable fuel to support the future of flying; in fact, her IB Physics Group 4 project was on sustainable fuel for flying. Nylah really enjoyed her IB Physics class commenting on how much she learned and came to see Physics is in everything. Nylah also shared that people don't realize all the ways planes are used in the world. Companies like Fed Ex and Amazon all have planes. Nylah is determined to prove she can take on this new challenge. She has been awarded a scholarship to help her on her way. Nylah also wants to get her Pilot license.

Fans of the show Project Runway will have heard of Parsons School of Design in New York. Ayanna Zavala has accepted a place at Parsons to study Strategic Design and Management. Ayanna has always wanted to work in fashion. She is very excited to live in New York where she can network and learn about the industry. Her course will introduce all aspects of the field from manufacturing to design to marketing. Although fashion is her first love, the knowledge and skills Ayanna gains will allow her to work in many different fields. Ayanna hopes one day to have her own business and her own brand. She sees herself doing many different things over the years, liking challenges and change.

While at School Lane, Ayanna has taken art every year. For the last two years, Ayanna has taken IB Diploma Program Visual Arts. She curated her work for the Art Exhibition featuring a piece inspired by the album cover for Blond by Frank Ocean. For her Personal Project in 10th grade, Ayanna designed and made a dress, researching the field of fashion design. Ayanna is currently getting experience in the fashion world working for Nordstrom. In addition to Parsons, Ayanna applied to the Fashion Institute of Technology and SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design.