Specialists Programs

Specialist Programs: Term 4

Italian

Prep

In Term Four the students will revise how to count to ten in Italian and they will begin to learn about the parts of the body. We will read the story, “Pinocchio” and learn to identify the main parts of the body with an emphasis on correct pronunciation. The students will play games, learn songs and movement activities about the parts of the body. The last part of the term will be spent celebrating Italian Christmas.

Year 1/2

In Term Four the students will listen to an Italian story, “IL Sole e il Vento”, providing students with language about different weather conditions. We will focus on asking and answering questions about the weather and identifying weather patterns in Italian. The students will engage in social interactions and will learn simple phrases. The end of term will be spent celebrating Italian Christmas traditions.

Year 3/4

In Term Four the students will read an Italian Story, “Mangia Mangia”. This story features different members of the family that we will learn about. Activities will include identifying the members of the family in Italian, describing them using simple adjectives and translating a simple text. The last part of the term will be spent celebrating Italian Christmas traditions.

Rosetta De Amicis

rdeamicis@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

Chinese

Year 5

At the end of this module, students will show their ability to understand and communicate using the following vocabulary and topics:

Students will:

use simple questions, for example, 请问… ? Excuse me, can I ask….? 你是哪国人？(Which country do you come from?) 你会说汉语吗？(Do you speak Chinese?)
seek clarification, for example, … 对吗? (Is that correct?)
describe and give information about themselves and their preferences, their environment, experiences and interests, for example, 我很喜欢唱歌 (I really like singing) 我的学校很漂亮 (My school is very beautiful) 我觉得澳大利亚是很好的国家 (I think Australia is a great country)
use intonation and stress to engage audiences and participants.

The culture component of this module will introduce:

Chinese traditional dessert
Common fruits in China
Featured traditions of three traditional Chinese festivals
Popular desserts restaurants in China
The Chinese style options in Western fast food chain restaurants in China
Popular snacks in China.

Year 6

At the end of this module, students will show their ability to understand and communicate using the following vocabulary and topics:

Students will:

use information from a range of print and digital resources, for example, 菜单, 地图, 日历, 天气预报 (menu, map, calendar, weather report)
summarise key points in order to inform others and organise activities, for example, 我们这个星期六去打球, 好吗？ (On Saturday, shall we play basketball?);
read and show their understanding of information in a range of texts printed in pinyin with prompting, for example, 菜单, 地图, 日历, 天气预报 (menu, map, calendar, weather report);
use simple connectives such as 和 (and) and conjunctions to connect ideas; Students negate with 不 or 没.

The culture component of this module will introduce:

Chinese style vegetarian food
The equivalent of entree in Chinese food: cold dishes
Hotpot as a popular way of cooking food in China
Common street food in various parts of China
Chinese style vegetarian delicacies
Online food ordering and delivering service in China
Chinese dining etiquette.

Ange Crowe

acrowe@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

Visual Arts

St John’s Art Show - Save the Date

Opening Night (for Parents only) - Friday 4 November

Family Viewing - Sunday 6 November - as part of the 150 Year Celebrations

Foundation

Foundation students will continue to experiment and explore the elements of art. As we prepare for our Art Show, students will complete pieces displaying their understanding of line, shape and colour. Through experimentation they will discover that lines can be straight or curved, thick, thin, zigzag, scribbly, short wandering or scrambled, and lines can be repeated to create patterns. We will be looking at what inspires us as creative people. Many of our projects will be inspired by other artists and music. Focussing on “What Artists Do “ we will be looking at sculptors. Students will be creating 3D paper sculptures demonstrating their knowledge of space and shape.

Year 1 / 2

Students in Year 1 and Year 2 will continue to build on art skills previously learnt focussing on line, shape and colour. Our focus artist will be Henri Matisse, famous teacher and artist. Students will learn about the influential French artist and how his artististic skills evolved from painter to 3D artist and how he loved to ‘paint with scissors’ in his later life. Students will be encouraged to look up and around them, to identify shapes and colours they see, that inspire their creations. In preparation for the Art Show, students will investigate the work of Indigenous artist Jimmy Pike and create a painting telling a story using authentic Indigenous symbols.

Year 3 /4

During the term students will continue to create masterpieces for the Art Show. We will be looking at Sculptures and how they are all very different. Students will express their design skills to create a 3D exotic bird sculpture, using collage and imagination. Students will be challenged to use paper mache to create shapes and use decorative additives such as feathers, sequins and cardboard sculptures. Students will work with complimentary colours and demonstrated that when complementary colours are placed next to each other, they create high contrast and make each other look brighter. Students continue to identify and discuss how artists organise the elements and processes in artworks.

Year 5/ 6

Preparation for our art show is paramount this term. During the term students will consolidate their knowledge of the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design. Printing techniques will be refined as we use printing foam to design, create and make a print based on radial symmetry. Students will learn to create the illusion of visual mass/form through tonal rendering, using oil and dry pastels. Whilst creating their pieces, students will respond to the artworks of peers and work collaboratively when designing, creating, analysing and interpreting artworks.

Mrs Deirdre Cosgrave

dcosgrave@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

Performing Arts

Prep

This term, students will continue learning the basic elements of music, such as beat, rhythm patterns, pitch, tempo and dynamics. They will learn a number of different rhymes and work out some actions and dance steps to suit each one. Students will continue to explore music using non melodic percussion instruments and will begin composing their own rhythm patterns to perform to the class.

We have been lucky enough to secure St. John’s students in an Ausdance pilot program - Activate, which aims to teach dance to primary school students. “Activate is a set of flashcards and video resources that aim to encourage primary students to do more physical activity in the school day. Students will gain confidence as movers and develop dance knowledge, language and skills aligned to the Victorian curriculum. These flashcards and videos describe fun, short dance activities that help promote fitness, as well as teach dance skills across a variety of genres.” I look forward to presenting this new program throughout the Term.

Year 1/2

This term, students will continue working on developing their music skills through listening to different styles of music, learning new rhymes and songs and then composing their own pieces of music using the chime bars and glockenspiels. They will become Music Detectives and need to solve problems as to what notes are required to play common songs as well as having a go at creating their own version of popular songs and rhymes.

We have been lucky enough to secure St. John’s students in an Ausdance pilot program - Activate, which aims to teach dance to primary school students. “Activate! Is a set of flashcards and video resources that aim to encourage primary students to do more physical activity in the school day. Students will gain confidence as movers and develop dance knowledge, language and skills aligned to the Victorian curriculum. These flashcards and videos describe fun, short dance activities that help promote fitness as well as teach dance skills across a variety of genres.” I look forward to presenting this new program throughout the Term.

Year 3/4

This term students will continue learning the recorder and in particular recognising notes on the Treble Clef, being able to identify the value of notes and recognition and use of correct fingering patterns and using the tongue to separate each note while playing the recorder.They will expand their repertoire and develop their improvisation and composition skills Students will also explore the four different families of the orchestra and listen to each instrument's sounds and then choose one instrument to research further.

Year 5/6

This term, students will continue to work on their composing skills and play a variety of instruments. They are presently working on developing their Graphic Notation pieces from last term and will eventually bring this to a class performance. We will also be listening to different styles of music and identifying what key musical elements are used in each piece.

We have been lucky enough to secure St. John’s students in an Ausdance pilot program - Activate, which aims to teach dance to primary school students. “Activate is a set of flashcards and video resources that aim to encourage primary students to do more physical activity in the school day. Students will gain confidence as movers and develop dance knowledge, language and skills aligned to the Victorian curriculum. These flashcards and videos describe fun, short dance activities that help promote fitness as well as teach dance skills across a variety of genres.” I look forward to presenting this new program throughout the Term.

Ms Lou Devoy

ldevoy@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au