Quarter 1 Newsletter 2021

9 button to be printed. The Grade Three's learnt about art with an environmental consciousness. They created a digital illustration of a fish that was used to form part of a design on a shopping bag encouraging users to stop ocean pollution. They put their construction skills to the test by designing a house that the big bad wolf can't blow down using coloured toothpicks and clay balls. The Senior Design Society members learnt about design principles and how they are used. They then ventured onto designing their own notebooks by means of illustration in Sketches Pro, drawing inspiration from illustrations and graphic designs seen in the textile industry, wall paper art, device cover art and notebooks. This enabled them to learn and explore new digital design techniques. Learners pressed their own flowers and leaves to incorporate onto wooden coasters after painting them in acrylic paint, creating fabulous functional art inspired by abstract art. They also created mixed-media paintings of flowers in vases where experimentation of colour was the main focus as well as including one-point perspective in their drawings. Senior Preparatory Art and Drama lessons combined once again to create an exciting Project Based Learning activity using 3D modelling to build clay sculptures and script their own dialogue, story and media to visually represent what they were talking about. The Grade Four learners created fish relief sculptures, developing their use of textures, form and observational skills. They used dialogue inspired by ‘Finding Nemo’ to create a conversation between two fish. The Grade Five learners designed clay pots with quirky facial expressions, using sculpture-in-the-round techniques, thereby developing their spatial awareness skills. These pots became ‘listening devices’ in the house of ‘The Spoffems’. The learners used their knowledge of ‘speaking with the use of modulation’ to capture the overheard conversation. And theGradeSix learners createdhouse relief sculptures, developing their use of textures, form and geometric shapes, learning about different styles of architecture in the process. They were tasked with using persuasive language to create an advertisement to sell their house - no matter its location! We even had one set in space. These sculptures were painted, decorated and used as the main focus in their animation project. The learners used iMovie, Greenscreen by Doink, Keynote, Garageband and Sketches Pro to create a spectacular 2D backdrop for their clay sculpture centerpieces. The creativity of student voice and student choice were evident in every child's work, as well as exploration and experimentation - not only did they learn many new skills when it comes to animating and editing their videos, they also learned how to express themselves without being set specific structures and steps to follow. Using ‘Pandora’s Box’ as the overall theme for the quarter, the members of our Junior and Senior Drama Societies have experimented with characterisation, role-play, movement to music and storytelling activities to create their scenes and improvisation each week. Musicals, images, songs and poetry were used as stimulus to build ideas and stories. We even had groups marching around the quad to the tune of ‘Food, Glorious Food’ from ‘Oliver’ when they explored ‘Hunger’ as a sub theme. Some members of our senior group are busy preparing solo poetry for the Allegro Eisteddfod, and are looking forward to recording their work. The challenges posed to the learners through their Arts and Culture interactions are helping them to grow and develop their chosen genre and become problem-solving critical thinkers who communicate effectively. We bid a sad farewell to Ms Rubin who leaves us at the end of this quarter. We will miss her enthusiastic approach to conducting the orchestra and going the extra mile to ensure that the passion for music grows within each learner. So long, farewell, Ms Rubin and may your world continue to be filled with the Sound of Music. In the words of Kelly Pollock, “The true purpose of arts education is not necessarily to create more professional dancers or artists. It’s to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, who have curious minds and who can lead productive lives.” A SPORTING ADVENTURE… This Quarter we laid the foundations for the year ahead. With the prospect of having our full sporting programme operating at close to full steam from the Second Quarter, we needed to lay the groundwork. With COVID-19 protocols limiting much of our learners’ movement over the past year, our objective was to get our learners’ bodies moving again. The sports department launched the Inter House Fitness Challenge, which ran for the majority of the First Quarter. This gave all learners the opportunity to earn House Points for completing various fitness activities. Learners were gradually reintroduced to the natural movements on the sportsfield and pushing their limits with some tough fitness drills. The learners enjoyed the opportunity to compete against their peers and to support fellow learners in the same House as they are. Towards the end of the Quarter the Grade 4-6 learners were able to dive back into the Water Polo pool! Starting with ball skills and fitness drills, there was great enthusiasm to sign up for the Water Polo sessions. We all look forward to being back in the pool later in the year. The Quarter ended with two very successful and well supported Inter House on the Run events. Both the Junior and Senior Preparatory had a course marked out, and all the learners were encouraged to complete as many laps as possible in their allocated hour. We look forward to many more memorable moments on the sports fields as the year continues.