Specialist Team News

Performing Arts

The Curriculum Focus in Performing Arts 

Prep Students are learning to listen to the four strings on the ukulele and identify if they are not in tune. They are continuing to play the Am and C chord in a number of different songs.

Grade 1/2 Students have been trying out some popular songs using body percussion to start the lesson. They have been playing songs with 3 chords: Am, C and F and learning to switch fingers smoothly from one chord to the next. Students are also beginning to try playing 2 note chords on the marimbas as well.

Grade 3 & 4 Students have been trying out some popular songs using body percussion to start the lesson. They have worked on remembering the correct finger positions for 3 chords, how to change quickly and play a range of strumming patterns. They are also playing 2 or 3 note chords on the marimbas.

Grade 5 & 6 Students have been trying out some popular songs using body percussion. They have played along to a number of popular songs using the chords: Am, C, F and Dm on both the ukulele and marimba. 

Music Clubs - Dates to Note

Sunday Nov 12 – Choir at Williamstown Botanical Gardens 

Arrive by no later than 10.40am.  Performance at 11.00 - 11.30am 

-Entry for performers is at the Osborne Street Gate next to Bateman House (not at the Main Gates on the corner). 

-A member of the Friends will be at that gate from 10.30am to meet and greet choir members and direct them to the assembly area on the Flagstaff Lawn which is near the works area. 

-A marshal will be at the Flagstaff Lawn to ensure all the group has arrived by 10.45am and help with assembling them. 

-The marshal will lead the choir to the performing area on the Blue Gum lawn in time for them to set up and start singing at 11.00am. 

-After performing students will go to the labelled Child Collection Point. They will be supervised by Faye until collected. 

Sunday 26th Nov – Seaside Fair 

Choir – Arrive by 10.15.                      Performance at 10.30 – 10.50am

Marimba – Arrive by 1.45pm.           Performance at 2.00 – 2.20pm

Rock Band – Arrive by 2.15pm.        Performance at 2.30 – 2.50pm

Friday 8th Dec – Choir to perform at Williamstown Community Christmas event at the Commonwealth Reserve Rotunda at 4pm

Wednesday 13th Dec – Afternoon Bands Performance at 3.30pm.

Warm Regards,

Faye Ferry (Performing Arts)

Visual Arts

Wominjenka, and greetings from the Art Room. 

Things are really moving along in the Art Room. Lots of busy kids making lots of busy art. 

The Preps have three projects on the go. There are two sea themed pieces underway. We have been experimenting with different ways to our hand to create fish like images. Then we have added ‘special’ effects to make them even more interesting. This week in Art we read the book, A Poppy for Pa written by Rebecca Laing Zammit in preparation for Remembrance Day. With Public holidays and curriculum days coming up, I wanted to make sure these were ready for November 11. After reading the book, we used potatoes and broccolini to print beautiful red poppies. The kids thought it was a treat to print this way. We will go back to our fish next Art session.

As all these projects involved using paint, it has been really good to see that most of them have art smocks, something I am sure the parents will appreciate as there should have been very little paint coming home on their clothes.

The Grade Ones and Twos continue to work on their sewing projects. In addition to this I have set them an extra project of drawing patterned pumpkins o that I can get on with threading needles, untangling bits and bobs and other time-consuming things. It has been difficult for me but the kids have been great. It is not always easy trying something new but these kids have been great with some real sewing stand outs! I laugh when they say, ’Oh are we knitting today?’

You may have seen the clothes dryers outside the Art Room lately. These are there to hang the kids’ painted bunting. It is coming along really nicely and the kids have been enjoying painting these with a Willy Seaside theme. I love the different ways they interpret the idea. We have lots of Timeball Towers, sunsets, marine animals, birdlife and the ever-famous WSLSC kiosk. The kiosk is obviously a favourite part of Williamstown for these kids.

With the foil embossing complete, the Grade Five and Sixes have begun collaging backgrounds for their work to go on. There has been lots of cellophane, tissue paper, pva and anything else they can incorporate into their designs being used to create these marvels. Can’t wait to see the critters attached.

I have to say I am one very happy Art Teacher at the moment. The Haszard Family donated some Peel & Stick tiles that have been put up in the Art Room, giving me a big area to display the kids’ work. I can’t wait to see the kids’ art up on the wall. To get things started I am using the pumpkins the kids have been working on. 

While Halloween is not my thing, the kids love it, with some even coming in at lunchtime and making ghosts and 3-D pumpkins to add to the display.

Stay happy and keep creating art!

Jo Jo (Visual Art)

LOTE (French)

Pétanque Et Football

‘Merci’ at least for some on and off relatively good weather! That means we’ve been able to take some of the French culture outdoors with Year 5/6 lunch time soccer games gathering quite a crowd and seeing many boys and girls joining the teams. It is so much fun to be a part of and watching the kids come together so excitedly: ‘Allez PSG!!’ or ‘Allez Toulouse!!’, mmmm…which team to choose from? Also, this week saw 5/6C’s great work in the classroom rewarded with an impromptu game of Pétanque (French Bocci): Who wants to throw ‘le cochonet’??

Preps: Students wrapped up their learnings around the concepts of hemispheres and opposites in relation to our two countries locations on the globe and are now about to embark on some French singing with ‘Salut, bonjour’ and ‘Un, deux, trois allons dans les bois’. In the process, they’ll be revisiting numbers up to 20 in fun and engaging activities.

Year 3s and 4s: They are diving deep into the cognitive aspect of number building by beginning to use their simple yet elaborate number building charts. As they will use these using counters as reference points, they will be able to create and recognise any number up to 59 without any guess work. This will enable the cohort to complete additions and subtractions by using the target language only while actively engaging their brains in the background in multi-tasking and cross referencing.

Year 5/6s: Students are now in the presentation phase of their ‘Francophonie’ project, presenting the work completed on the inquiry into the French speaking part of the world of their choice. While doing this, students are moving forward with ‘Les Maths En Francais’, turning numerical equations into French mathematical sentences to combine their Maths prior knowledge with linguistics. This is also supported by some fun French Maths time with classes engaging in French Snakes & Ladders challenges to develop cognitive and automatic numeracy responses in the target language.

Madame CRICRI