Specialists Programs
Specialist Programs Term 4
Visual Arts
5/6
Students will begin by reflecting on themselves as artist. They will use reflective language to critique their own work and respond to whether they feel they were able to show their artistic vision through creating and presenting it. Students will further explore shape, line and value in drawing. They will use artist Tim Burton as their inspiration. They will take a closer look at the characters he draws and the environments he creates around them. The students will immerse themselves in his unique style, noticing his monochrome colour palette and exaggerated features on characters. They will bring these elements in to their own work, creating Tim Burton inspired artwork.
3/4
Students will begin by reflecting on themselves as artists and learners. They will ascertain which is their favourite piece they have created this year and analyse; What they like about the piece, how seeing the art as a viewer made them feel, the skills they used to create it and what they would change about the piece to improve it. Students will be encouraged to see themselves both as an artist and a viewer, reflecting on the thoughts and feelings they get from their own and others' art. Students will study the artist Tim Burton. They will be immersed in his spooky and whimsical style. They will view his monochrome colour palette and notice how colour helps portray mood and express feelings in artwork. They will implement what they learn about Tim Burton’s style to create their own unique art works.
1/2
Students will reflect on themselves as artists. They will look back at the art they have created this year and respond to which pieces they like best and why. They will connect with what it is they like about their piece and how seeing it as a viewer made them feel. Students will be introduced to the illustrations of artist/illustrator Chris Kennett. They will take a closer look at his creative process and how he draws his images. The students will immerse themselves in his ‘School of Monsters’ characters. They will learn to break down his illustrations into shapes and steps that they can replicate. They will work on adding details that make their work unique. The student will take inspiration from all they have learnt to create their own Chris Kennett inspired characters
Prep
Students will reflect and respond to themselves as artists. They will look back over all of the work they have completed this year and think of the work they are most proud of and why. Students will be introduced to the illustrations of artist/illustrator Chris Kennett. They will begin to recognise the shapes that he uses to create his artwork and characters. The students will learn how to break down the characters in to shapes so they can use them as inspiration to draw their own characters.
Deirdre Cosgrave dcosgrave@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Term 4 Performing Arts Overview
PREP
In Term 4, students in Prep will continue to develop their singing abilities and explore different instruments, using them to create music and play songs together. They will learn to compose simple pieces experimenting with soft and loud sounds and use pictures to record their compositions.Students will listen to and build connections with a variety of music from diverse genres, cultures and musicians, sharing what they enjoy about the music and how it makes them feel. As the term progresses, students will take on dramatic roles and use scripts to rehearse the story of the Nativity, which they will perform at our school ‘Carols on the Green’.
1/2
This term, 1/2 students will engage in an exploration of music and performance, building connections with songs and genres from different cultures and artists. They will share their feelings about music, explaining how it made them feel and what they enjoyed about it. The ability to match pitch and reproduce notes with their voices is a vital part of music and this skill will continue to be developed through a variety of Aural listening games and activities. Students will continue to explore rhythm, melody, and expression as they experiment using their voices and instruments to create music and express their ideas.They will learn to sing and rehearse simple dance sequences as part of their performances in our school ‘Carols on the Green’.
3/4
This term, students in Year 3/4 will continue to explore rhythm, melody, and expression, through listening, analysing and performing. Students will listen to a wide variety of genres and artists to discover how the elements of music are used to convey messages and meanings in a piece. Students will create their own music using body percussion and instruments and begin to use musical notation to record and share their ideas. They will be introduced to the fundamental skills of drumming, keeping in time and reading music notation. As the term progresses, students will work together to choreograph and rehearse dance sequences which will be performed in our school ‘Carols on the Green.’
5/6
Year 5/6 students will continue to explore rhythm, melody, and expression, fostering an appreciation for the global nature of music while building their confidence and creativity. Through listening to a wide variety of genres and artists, students will identify the purpose and meaning in music and explore how the elements of music are used to convey these. The songs chosen will allow students to connect, be challenged and given insights into styles and experiences that they may not have been exposed to before. Students will begin a unit on Drumming, where they will learn the fundamental skills and music patterns needed to perform simple pieces. In preparation for the school ‘Carols on the Green’, students will work together to choreograph and rehearse performances to their chosen songs.
Dates for your calendar:
While students will be taking part in lots of experiences in their Performing Arts lessons, there are other opportunities for them to shine this term too!
Our school choir will continue to meet every Friday at lunch time. This term we are hoping to go out and sing in our local community. Stay tuned for dates and locations.
St John’s community Fete will be on Saturday 16th November. The school choir will be performing and all of our students are also welcome to take part in the Talent Show, which will showcase singing, dancing and other entertaining acts.
As the year closes, we will come together to celebrate Christmas at our school ‘Carols on the Green’ on Thursday 12th December at 6pm. We would love to see all of our families and community together, as our students perform traditional and modern Christmas songs as well as the story of Jesus’ birth in the Nativity play. More information will be provided closer to the event.
Chinese - Term Four Overviews
Prep Overview:
In Term Four, students will focus on the learning topic of food, exploring the culture of Chinese cuisine as well as dining etiquette. Students will be discovering how and why people invented chopsticks and making attempts to use chopsticks. Students will also learn to use Pinyin to read and spell some popular food names. They will further learn to trace and write simple characters and match characters to the meanings and sounds of familiar words.
Year 1/2 Overview:
In Term Four, students will focus on the learning topic of food, exploring the culture of Chinese cuisine as well as dining etiquette. Students will be learning to say common Chinese and Australian food in Chinese. They will further compare and contrast different dietary habits, exploring how this may affect people’s health. Students will also be learning how to express their food preferences by using the sentence structures ‘wo xi huan chi…’ and ‘wo bu xi huan chi…’.
Year 3/4 Overview:
In Chinese this term, students will be focusing on foods, exploring the culture of Chinese cuisine as well as dining etiquette. Students will be discovering how and why people invented chopsticks and making attempts to use chopsticks. They will further compare and contrast different dietary habits, exploring how this may affect people’s health. Students will be learning food-based conversations in restaurants, including ordering food with sample dialogue. In terms of handwriting, students will continue to use sequences of strokes to write Chinese characters.
Year 5/6 Overview:
In Chinese this term, students will be exploring our school community in Chinese. Specifically, Students will learn how to introduce school subjects and the school environment in Chinese. They will further compare and contrast schools in China and Australia, reflecting advantages and disadvantages of different education systems. Students will then use the learnt knowledge to design their ideal school and daily routine that can best meet their learning as well as wellbeing needs.
Elina Li
Physical Education
Prep
Term four will begin with OZ Tag, as students will become more confident in their catching, running, and spatial awareness. A 4 week tennis program will be provided to the students with the assistance of Tennis Australia and the Mitcham Tennis Club. Following this, the term will end teaching the students new games, where they will continue to develop their catching and overarm throwing skills, developing their understanding of following rules in games and working cooperatively with others when participating in physical activities. Term four will also include the 2 week swimming program.
1/2
Our Grade 1/2 students will start the term learning OZ Tag, as students will become more confident in their catching, passing, and spatial awareness. A 4 week tennis program will be provided to the students with the assistance of Tennis Australia where the students will be learning from the expert coaches at Mitcham Tennis Club. Following this, the games will focus on students identifying the rules and how they make the activities fair, as well as working on their ability to work in groups to complete physical activities. Term four will also include the 2 week swimming program.
3/4
The grade 3/4 students will begin the term playing OZ Tag, where students will use their catching, passing, and evasive skills to plan strategies for team success in modified games. A number of incursions allows for a number of expert coaching opportunities; with Hockey Australia, Downball Australia, and Mitcham Tennis Club all coming to the school to deliver programs for the 3/4 classes. The remainder of the term will focus on fairplay and inclusive actions within the games. Term four will also include the 2 week swimming program. We wish all the athletes still competing at the division athletics the best of luck!
5/6
The grade 5/6 students begin the term playing OZ Tag, where students will use their catching, passing, and evasive skills to plan attacking and defensive strategies for team success in modified games. Hockey Australia, Downball Australia, and Mitcham Tennis Club are all coming to the school in term 4 to have their expert coaches deliver programs for the 5/6 classes. The remainder of the term will focus on fairplay and inclusive play. An opportunity arises for our cricketers with the district cricket tournament available for the students to showcase their talents. And the teachers will be defeating the grade 6 students in the annual “Teachers vs Students” netball match. We wish all the athletes still competing at the division athletics the best of luck!
Michael Van Rooy
mvanrooy@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au