Balboa High School
Academics


CAST


CAST is a Small Learning Community for the Visual and Performing Arts


The world we live in is filled with vibrant media, blaring images, and buzzing sounds all competing for our attention. Everyday, we come across messages on the street and in our living rooms, all with different goals – to pass along important information, persuade us to take on an opinion on an issue, get us to know about the latest brands, convince us to buy a hot new product. CAST is a Small Learning Community (SLC) that integrates the Visual and Performing Arts with Social Studies, English, and Sciences to equip students with the tools needed to understand these messages and empower them to create their own. Students entering this pathway recognize that the Visual and Performing Arts are the heart and soul of what ties this SLC together. Through the framework of the Visual and Performing Arts, students will be able to gain insight into other subjects and the world they live in.


CAST members can choose among the four main Visual and Performing Arts disciplines:


Drama                                                                        Art

●writing                                                          ●elements of design

●acting                                                           ●principles of design

●performance                                                ●drawing

●stagecraft                                                    ●painting

●public presentation                                     ●sculpture

●self-awareness                                           ●graphic design

●set design

 

 

Music                                                                   Media

●band                                                             ●video production

●choir                                                             ●digital media

●music appreciation                                     ●media literacy

●music history                                               ●scripting stage

 

CAST members will also study the following…..

 

Social Studies

●Social context of visual and performing arts

●Political/social history

●Connect art, theatre, and music history

●U.S. history       ●American democracy/Economics

 

English

●Strategies for success

●AVID strategies

●American literature

●English/European literature

 

Sciences

●Biology         ●Chemistry         ●Physics

                       

Requirements

 

CAST is a pathway structure based on UC and Cal State entrance requirements, California Education Standards, and Balboa Graduation Requirements.

 

All CAST members will be expected to utilize skills gained from Strategies for Success courses including note taking and organizational techniques.

 

At the end of every six-week grading period, CAST members will be required to participate in a public performance and/or portfolio-based assessment. The entire CAST – all students from each discipline including Drama, Art, Media Arts, and Music – will stage a public performance or showcase to demonstrate learning and share their accomplishments with the entire Balboa community.



Last Updated: 31-Oct-2005