Music
At Sentinel Kalumbila School, music forms a vibrant and essential part of school life and encompasses a wide range of activities, both formal and informal. Pupils of all ages and abilities are encouraged to foster an appreciation of music, to take examinations, or simply play for pleasure.
Our aim is that all pupils in the school will build upon their natural responses to music and will find enjoyment in creating music. We aim for our pupils to see themselves as musicians, singers or song writers and find a lasting sense of purpose, achievement and fulfillment in musical expression. They should be able to develop skills to use a wide range of instruments (including the voice) and techniques competently and feel able to express their ideas and feelings through musical creation. They should learn to listen analytically and develop an appropriate vocabulary to help them discuss their own work and that of others while understanding the relationship between sound and symbol. They should develop a working knowledge of systems of notation for use in composing and performing and appreciate and evaluate the work of a range of composers and musicians from their own and other cultures. We believe music will help pupil’s memory perform better and also improve their general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, visuospatial processing, mathematics and IQ.
Art
At Sentinel Kalumbila School, art is taught to provide all pupils with the opportunity to express themselves visually in an enjoyable manner. We aim to develop pupil’s creative and technical skills so that ideas can be realised and artifacts produced. We believe it is important to stimulate capacity for imaginative and original thought and experimentation which has a positive impact on other areas of the curriculum. As our pupils are exposed to art their problem solving and critical thinking skills are strengthen and they learn how to make choices and decisions which will certainly carry over into their education and other parts of life as this is a valuable skill in adulthood. Pupils are taught using a variety of different techniques through creative projects often linked to artists both historical and contemporary. Cross-curricular links are made wherever possible across most subject areas.
DRAMA
Drama is the act of using imagination to become someone or something other than yourself. It brings about change, challenge and excitement according students the opportunity to take part in something new. Drama provides a fun means of learning and brings back the affective into the classroom. Most importantly of all, using drama to teach gets students involved and gives them the power to have a key role in their education. It’s through drama that students become a part of the learning process rather than mere observers or inactive receptacles of the rich experience of learning and in this way, their learning gets deeper and more sustained. Drama aids the development of imagination and artistic awareness, while instilling self-discipline and cooperation with others. Here at Kalumbila Sentinel School, the students are encouraged to participate in several theatrical performances ranging from weekly class assemblies to some whole termly school performances in the evenings. As educators, if we are not providing a fun and meaningful learning environment for our students to learn, then we are not doing our jobs. As one saying goes and I quote, “Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may not remember…involve me, and I will understand.” This quote forms the basis of our philosophy concerning drama. It is an integral part of our school life.
News and Events
At Sentinel Kalumbila, pupils of any age need the freedom to express themselves in a manner that is respectful, thoughtful, and accepted such as writing articles, news scripts, newsletters etc. We believe our newspaper club gives those outspoken individuals a voice that is done in a way that brings credibility to the writer as well as to the school. It also allows teachers and administration to monitor the content to ensure appropriateness and relevance.
Writing is a skill. Editing is a skill. Design and layout are skills. Photography is a skill. Our newspaper club provides the basis to learn these skills, enhance these skills, or refine these skills. Pupils get involved in this activity in order to put into practical application the skills being taught to them in the classroom. One significant difference is that the newspaper isn’t a homework assignment and won’t be seen as such. It is a club. They do it because they want to.
Cultural studies
Cultural studies are a field of theoretically, politically, and empirically engaged cultural analysis that concentrates upon the political dynamics of contemporary culture, its historical foundations, defining traits, conflicts, and contingencies. Cultural studies view cultures not as fixed, bounded, stable, and discrete entities, but rather as constantly interacting and changing sets of practices and processes.
Every year we have a cultural week where students are given an opportunity to participate in various activities depicting different cultures round the world. This event takes place around the time Zambia celebrates its independence therefore linking the political and cultural aspect of life helping the children to have a better understanding of what could have learnt in their cultural studies.