Specialists Programs
Specialist Programs Term 4
Visual Arts
Prep
In Term 4, students will participate in activities exploring both 2D and 3D art forms focusing on printing, painting, constructing, decorating and collage. They will be encouraged to select, arrange and make choices about expressive ways of using the art elements, e.g. line, shape, texture and colour, in their work.
Year 1 & 2
During Term 4, there will be particular emphasis on the students being both artists and thinkers. Students will be encouraged to give thought to their artwork before they take action. Students will be using paint in a variety of ways including mixing colours, sponge painting, printing and collage. They will experiment with ways of expressing and communicating ideas and feelings to convey meaning to the audience.
Year 3 & 4
During Term 4, students will experiment with the many different ways paint can be used to create various effects. Students will use salt and watered down ink to create a sea or sky like effect for the background for their art pieces. After investigating creatures from nature, students will use various mediums such as pastel and charcoal to create tone and texture in their drawings.
Yr 5 & 6
This semester, students will continue to investigate line, shape and colour in their work. During Term 4, students will be provided with opportunities to assume greater responsibility for their learning and assessment in the art room. As they make and respond to visual artworks, students will explore a diversity of ideas, concepts and viewpoints. They will have the opportunity to draw ideas from other artists, artworks, symbolic systems, beliefs and visual arts practices in other cultures, societies and times.
Deirdre Cosgrave dcosgrave@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Performing Arts
Prep
This term, students in Prep will be developing their sense of rhythm through listening, playing and composing. They will be introduced to simple notation using symbols and graphics to represent the notes/sounds that are being played. Students will also continue to develop their understanding of pitch, using different pitched instruments to support their learning. They will work together to rehearse and perform songs, experimenting with dynamics and tempo and discuss how these can be changed to communicate an intended mood or feeling. Students will continue to explore ideas for characters and situations through dramatic play, using voice, facial expression and movement to imagine and improvise performances.
Year 1/2
The Years 1 and 2 students will use imagination and experimentation to explore musical ideas using their voices, movement, instruments and body percussion. They will improvise short pitch and rhythm patterns using voice and instrument and continue experimenting with the elements of music to create contrasting musical ideas, for example ‘noise and silence’, ‘faster and slower’, ‘higher and lower’, ‘happy and sad’. Students will begin to record their musical ideas using technologies and graphic notation so that it can be shared with others. Students will have the opportunity to create, rehearse and perform musical and dramatic pieces in front of their peers and use criteria to provide feedback to each.
Year 3/4
This term, the students in Years 3 and 4 will further develop their knowledge around the elements of music, focusing particularly on rhythm and pitch. They will be introduced to simple musical notation, learning how to read it when playing music and use it to record their own compositions. Students will work both independently and in groups to create, rehearse and perform in front of an audience, focusing on using their voice, body, movement and language to sustain roles and create dramatic action, time and place. They will contribute to the development of a criteria used to evaluate their own performances and provide feedback to others.
Year 5/6
Students in Years 5 and 6 will be exploring combining the elements of music using their listening skills, voice, instruments and electronically generated sounds this term. They will become familiar with Chrome Music Lab and experiment with the different extensions available to create music, altering rhythm, tempo, pitch, timbre and melody. Students will identify ways in which music can be used to create an emotion or thematic experience for its audience and create their own compositions with an intended purpose. They will also continue to develop their skills in using the elements of drama to create, rehearse and perform in front of their peers, reviewing their own drama and providing feedback to others.
Amanda Hill
ahill@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Chinese
Prep Overview:
In Term Four, Foundation students are focusing on colours in Chinese. We are learning to say rainbow colours and our favourite colours with pinyin. We are exploring what colours come out when we mix different colours and sharing our findings in simple Chinese sentences. We are learning to recognise the importance of tone in Chinese speech and observe that the sounds of Chinese can be encoded in Pinyin using familiar letters.
Year 1/2 Overview:
In Term Four, Year 1/2 students are discovering colours in Chinese. We are learning to use pinyin to sound out new words and use strokes to write Chinese characters. We are also exploring cultural meanings behind various colours and how colours can influence our emotions. We are learning to use subject–verb–object sentence structure to express likes and dislikes with some details. We are learning to recognise characters that represent familiar objects and ideas and convey significant cultural meanings.
Year 3/4 Overview:
In Chinese this term, Year 3/4 students are discovering countries in the world. We are learning to say and write various country names in Chinese. We are also exploring cultural diversity in our school and how it affects communication. We are learning to use simple sentence structures to introduce our national identity. We will be engaged with the Chinese language primarily through speaking and listening. Students will be provided with various opportunities to practise using Chinese through action-related talk, and completing tasks while relying on teacher modelling, prompts and repetition.
Year 5/6 Overview:
In Chinese this term, Year 5/6 students are discovering countries in the world. We are learning to say and write various countries and their capitals in Chinese, exploring the rules of translation. We are learning to create short informative and imaginative texts to introduce our national identity, including national symbols, languages, and culture. We will be engaged in exploration of patterns and features of the language, talking about and making connections between known languages and cultures and comparing different ways of communicating in familiar contexts.
Elina Li
LOTE Teacher
Email: eli@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Physical Education
How quickly has this year gone? It is hard to believe that it is Term 4 already. We are going to hit the ground running with the PE program this term with lots of action, skill development and lots of fun in the sun. I will continue to teach the students about sportsmanship, teamwork and working together to develop their skills while enjoying being physically active.
Prep
Term 4 begins with Preps learning about the sport of hockey and controlling a ball with a hockey stick. Students will then learn about the skills used in cricket such as hitting, throwing, fielding and bowling, as well as the rules in the game and tactical aspects to improve their performance. Continuing with the theme of hitting, students will participate in hot shots tennis and work on their hand eye coordination. To wrap up the term, students will play some Christmas sporting games, embracing the wonderful spirit of Christmas.
Year 1/2
The Year 1/2 students will be learning about the sport of hockey and controlling a ball with a hockey stick. Students will then learn about the skills used in cricket such as, hitting, throwing and bowling, as well as the rules of the game. Continuing with the theme of hitting, students will participate in hot shots tennis and work on their hand eye coordination. To finish the term, students will play some Christmas sporting games, embracing the wonderful spirit of Christmas.
Year 3/4
Students in Year 3/4 will continue to learn about the skills involved in cricket including fielding, throwing, bowling and field positions. Students will then move on to learning about the different ways they can improve their physical health and the importance of stretching before and after physical activities. They will practice the skills of hitting and dribbling the ball through obstacle courses. They will then participate in games of Hot Shot Tennis and focus on their serving, forehand and backhand techniques. The term will conclude with the students playing Christmas games and completing various fun sporting challenges.
Year 5/6
Students in 3/4 will continue to learn about the skills involved in cricket being fielding, throwing, bowling and field positions. Students will then move on to learning about the different ways that they can improve their physical health and the importance of stretching before and after physical activities. They will practice the skills of hitting and dribbling a ball through obstacle courses. There will also be various dodgeball games for students to participate in, challenging their throwing and catching skills, as well as their game awareness. They will then participate in games of Hot Shot Tennis and focus on their serving, forehand and backhand techniques, as well as learning the structure of the game. The term will conclude with the students playing Christmas games and completing various fun sporting challenges.
We look forward to having a great finish to the year. It has been a pleasure working with your children, seeing them continue to progress.
Rhett Masters