Celebration of the Arts 2026

The countdown is almost over! Tomorrow evening (Thursday 22 October), we will come together for our 2026 Celebration of the Arts, Tell Me a Story..., and we can't wait to share the wonderful creativity and talent of our students with our school community.

A few important reminders, including a call for some much-needed help from our families! 

🎨 Our Art Show is NOW OPEN!

Our fantastic Art Show is now open in the Performing Arts room (and spilling out into the surrounding spaces), showcasing the hard work, imagination and creativity of every student at SKiPPS.

All families are warmly invited to visit the exhibition before or after school, anytime between now and Friday lunchtime. The Art Show will also be open throughout tomorrow evening's celebrations.

There is artwork from every child on display, so please make some time to come along, explore and enjoy what our students have created. We think you'll be very impressed! 

🎭 Tomorrow Night: Performance Times and Meeting Points

A reminder that all students will be involved in performances tomorrow evening, with each year level performing at different times throughout the night.

Please see the below schedule for your child's performance time and designated meeting point. 

We ask all families to ensure their children arrive at the correct meeting point, in costume and ready to perform, at the allocated time. This will help us keep the evening running smoothly and ensure every child gets their moment to shine. 

Remember, COTA is more than just a performance night! There will be food available, plenty of opportunities to catch up with friends and, of course, our wonderful Art Show to explore. We encourage families to make an evening of it. 

🙋 We Really Need Your Help!

Events like COTA are a huge undertaking, and while our staff and students have been working incredibly hard to prepare, we really need a few extra pairs of hands to help make everything happen.

We are looking for parent volunteers to assist with the following:

• Thursday morning, 9am–11am: A small group to help us set up the stage and prepare the performance area.
• Thursday night, immediately after the show: Some helpers to begin dismantling and packing away the stage and equipment.
• Friday afternoon: More volunteers to help finish packing down the stage and Art Show, returning our school to normal ready for next week.
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You don't need any special skills, just a willingness to lend a hand! Even a short amount of time would make a real difference. 

If you can help with any of these jobs, please sign up to the volunteer roster

We would be enormously grateful for your support. A relatively small number of volunteers can make a huge difference to the workload involved in putting on an event of this scale.

We Can't Wait to See You!

Celebration of the Arts is always one of the highlights of our school calendar. It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the importance of the arts in education and the creativity, confidence and talent of our students. 

Thank you to our incredible staff, particularly our specialist arts teachers, for the enormous amount of work that has gone into preparing this year's event.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening for what promises to be a fantastic celebration of the arts at SKiPPS!

Make an Evening of It!

One of the things I love most about COTA is that it is much more than a series of performances. It is a genuine community celebration, with families spending time together, enjoying the school grounds and sharing in the achievements of our students.

This year, we will have some excellent food options available at school, including:

• The Taco Truck, serving delicious Mexican food.
• Nem N Nem Vietnamese, with a range of Vietnamese favourites.

• Sushi rolls, also available for purchase on the night.

   

Families are, of course, also very welcome to bring their own picnic.

I encourage everyone to make an evening of it. Come along, explore the Mini Art Show, enjoy the performances, grab something to eat and spend some time with other SKiPPS families. Grandparents, extended family and friends are very welcome too.

Events like COTA take an enormous amount of preparation, and I want to acknowledge the work of our staff, particularly our arts teachers, in bringing everything together. I also want to thank families in advance for helping with costumes, rehearsal arrangements and getting students to the right places at the right times.

Most importantly, I hope every child has a wonderful experience and feels proud of what they have learned and achieved.

I look forward to seeing you all next Thursday evening for what I am sure will be another fantastic Celebration of the Arts at SKiPPS!