Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) is committed to arts education having a central position in the educational experience of elementary and secondary school students. We aim to ensure opportunities are created for every student to participate in quality arts programming, regardless of geographic area, income level or special need. Our aim is to develop an appreciation of all of the arts in every student.
Curriculum
All arts programs for Grades K to 12 will be based on the expectations outlined in the Ontario Arts Curriculum Documents as required from The Ministry of Education.
- Elementary Arts Curriculum
- Prerequisite Charts for the Arts, Grades 9-12
- Secondary Arts Curriculum, Grades 9 – 10
- Secondary Arts Curriculum, Grades 11-12
Programming
Education in the arts is essential to students’ intellectual, social, physical, and emotional growth and well-being. Experiences in the arts – in dance, drama, music, visual arts and media arts – play a valuable role in helping students to achieve their potential as learners and to participate fully in their community and in society as a whole. The arts provide a natural vehicle through which students can explore and express themselves and through which they can discover and interpret the world around them. Participation in the arts contributes in important ways to students’ lives and learning – it involves intense engagement, development of motivation and confidence, and the use of creative and dynamic ways of thinking and knowing.
Through excellence in arts education, we offer all students comprehensive arts programming in:
- Dance
- Drama
- Media Arts
- Music
- Visual Arts
Through some of our Specialized and Personalized Learning Programs and our Specialist High Skills Major Programs, students are provided the opportunity to focus in on specific arts programming.
Updated on Wednesday, September 30, 2015.