The Arts

Contact:       Ms Rachel Mordy, Head of The Arts

Drama: ATAR 

Drama: General

Media Production and Analysis: ATAR 

Media Production and Analysis: General

Music: ATAR

Music: General

Visual Arts: ATAR 

Visual Arts: General

Art is a fundamental dimension of human life.  Throughout history the visual arts have given form and meaning to ideas and feelings and provided ways for people to express and communicate experience.  The Visual Arts course encompasses the practice and theory of the broad areas of art, craft and design.  Students have opportunities to express their imagination and develop personal imagery, develop skills, and engage in the making and presentation of artworks. They develop aesthetic understandings and a critical awareness that assists them to appreciate and make informed evaluations of art.

Description of The Arts courses offered at GSG

Drama: ATAR

Contact:       Dr Giles Watson, Drama Teacher 

Prerequisites: C Grade or better in Year Ten English 

The Drama ATAR course focuses evenly on both understanding the ways in which drama can be shaped to speak to audiences and the ways in which we can develop our skills for performance.  In the practical aspects of the course, students engage in activities that are actor training or drama processes.  Actor training includes vocal, movement, expression and psychological training for character and non-character roles in performance.  Acting processes may include improvisation, play building, text interpretation, research and play building.  In the theoretical aspects of the course, students will come to understand the purpose of activities, how they are used by actors, directors and designers in the development of theatre works.  Students will become familiar with a range of drama practitioners and approaches to theatre.  All of their theoretical understandings will consider how drama communicates or speaks to audiences using all of the elements of drama.

PLEASE NOTE: Drama will require some out of school time for performance rehearsals.  Students will need to negotiate an agreed rehearsal schedule with the teacher and the other students so that the cast may function as a team to create public performances.  Students may also need to attend individual coaching sessions for the purposes of developing their Practical Examination pieces.

Year Eleven Course Outline 

Unit 1:

The focus for this unit is Representational, Realist Drama. They use the work of Stanislavski, Grotowski and Brook to practice character development. Expansions on these practitioners will include the work of Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg; two of the most influential actor trainers in the development of Hollywood films.  In this unit, students have the opportunity to research and collaboratively workshop.  They will interpret, perform and produce texts related to representational, realistic acting techniques.

Unit 2: 

The focus of this unit is Presentational, Non-realist drama. Students explore techniques of role and/or character through non-realist approaches.  They use the work of Brecht, Commedia Del Arte, Meyerhold and Theatre of the Absurd to use in their interpretations of texts.  Using their understanding of non-realism, students will consider how theatre responds to a changing society so that it can make meaning and impact. Students will be able to shape performance works for a specific purpose and audience. 

Assessment for the Drama: ATAR course in Year Eleven

Year Twelve Course Outline 

Prerequisites: C grade or better in Year Eleven Drama ATAR

Unit 3:

The focus for this unit is to reinterpret dramatic text, context, forms and styles for contemporary audiences through applying theoretical and practitioner approaches. This includes physical theatre approaches, such as Jacques Lecoq, Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki and text-based approaches, such as Theatre of the Absurd, Asian theatre and Poor Theatre. Drama is constantly shifting and adapting for the society and theatrical context it is reflecting, responding to and making and impact upon.  In this unit, students explore and examine the current trends in theatre making and specific recognised theatre approaches.  These include physical theatre approaches and text-based approaches. Students engage in both the theoretical and practical means for reinterpretation of dramatic texts for the contemporary audience.

Unit 4:

The focus for this unit is the approach and interpretation of drama texts, contexts, forms and styles. This unit seeks to build on the student’s knowledge from Unit 3. Having built a foundation of understanding exploring contemporary approaches, students will now interpret, manipulate and devise drama that synthesises the contemporary practices of theatre.  Students will investigate the ways in which contemporary practitioners such as Robert Lepage or Robert Wilson manipulate the elements of drama to devise and to perform original works.  Using their understandings, student demonstrate their learning through their own drama and through their theoretical responses.

Assessment for the Drama: ATAR course in Year Twelve

Drama: General

Contact:       Dr Giles Watson, Drama Teacher 

Prerequisites: C Grade or better in Year Ten English

Drama is a vibrant and varied art form found in play, storytelling, street theatre, festivals, film, television, interactive games, performance art and theatres.  It is one of the oldest art forms and part of our everyday life. Through taking on roles and enacting real and imagined events, performers engage audiences who suspend their disbelief to enter the world of the drama.  Through drama, human experience is shared.  Drama entertains, informs, communicates and challenges.

PLEASE NOTE: Drama will require some out of school time for performance rehearsals. Students will need to negotiate an agreed rehearsal schedule with the teacher and the other students so that the cast may function as a team to create public performances.

Year Eleven Course Outline 

Unit 1:

The focus of this unit is dramatic storytelling.  Students engage with the skills, techniques, processes and conventions of dramatic storytelling. Drama continues to appeal because it provides us with ways of telling our stories.  It gives form, structure, skills and techniques that we use to make narratives about ourselves and others. In this unit, students are able to explore relevant drama works and texts that demonstrate how we can shape our experiences to communicate meaningful stories.

Unit 2:

The focus for this unit is drama performance events for an audience other than their class members.  The audience is an important part of the relevance and impact that drama can make in the broader community.  In participating in a drama performance event, students work independently and in teams.  They apply the creative process of devising and of interpreting Australian and/or world sources to produce drama that is collaborative and makes meaning.  They will work collaboratively and/or independently to produce work that speaks to an audience with clarity and that reflects the skills and techniques expected for public productions.

Assessment for the Drama: General course in Year Eleven

Year Twelve Course Outline 

Unit 3:

The focus for this unit is realist drama. Students explore techniques of characterisation.  They use the work of Stanislavski, Grotowski and Brook to practice character development. In this unit, students have the opportunity to research and collaboratively workshop.  They will interpret, perform and produce texts related to representational, realistic acting techniques.

Unit 4:

The focus of this unit is non-realist drama. Students explore techniques of role and/or character through non-realist approaches.  They use the work of Brecht, Commedia Del Arte and Meyerhold to use in their interpretations of texts.  Students will be able to shape performance works for a specific purpose and audience. They will have the opportunity to develop an original work that they script and direct with the support of the classroom teacher and the school’s facilities.

Assessment for the Drama: General course in Year Twelve

Media Production and Analysis: ATAR

Contact:            Miss Katie Gunning, Media Teacher

Prerequisites: C grade or better in Year Ten English, a genuine interest in making films, ability to work well independently and in a team, as production constitutes half of the course work.

The Media Production and Analysis: ATAR course aims to prepare students for a future in a digital and interconnected world by providing the skills, knowledge and understandings to tell their own stories and interpret the stories of others. Students are encouraged to explore, experiment and interpret their world, reflecting and analysing contemporary life, while understanding that this is done under social, cultural and institutional constraints.  Students, as users and creators of media products, consider the important role of audiences and their context. This course focuses on the application of media theory in the practical process.

There is an expectation in the Year Twelve Media ATAR course that students attend weekly after-school academic support.  Students will need to commit time for viewing films that are required for the course syllabus; this may be offered as a ‘Movie Evening’.  We also run a screening evening of student’s own production work later in the year, to give Year Twelve students the opportunity to show their short films to a selected audience.  This allows students to gain feedback from audience (via discussion and short surveys), which will help them on their final run to submitting their productions for the practical component of their WACE examination. 

Year Eleven Course Outline 

Unit 1:

Popular culture:  This focus involves identifying what is meant by ‘popular’ culture and considering the types of media, ideas and audiences from which popular culture evolves. Students analyse, view, listen to and interact with a range of popular media, develop their own ideas, learn production skills and apply their understandings and skills in creating their own productions.

Unit 2:

Influence:  In contexts related to journalism students analyse, view, listen to and interact with a range of journalistic genres and they undertake more extensive research into the representation and reporting of groups and issues within media work. They draw on knowledge when developing ideas for their own productions.

Students extend their understanding of production practices and responsibilities. They become increasingly independent as they manipulate technologies and techniques to express their ideas in their productions. 

Assessment for the Media Production and Analysis: ATAR course in Year Eleven

Year Twelve Course Outline 

Unit 3:

Media art:  In this unit students will analyse, view, listen to and interact with contemporary and traditional examples of media art, identifying techniques and themes, meanings that are created and audiences’ interpretations. They consider the representation of values and technological developments that influence perceptions of art within media work.

Unit 4:

Power and persuasion:  The focus for this unit is power and persuasion. Through this broad focus, students extend their understanding of persuasive media, examining the way the media is able to reflect, challenge and shape values and attitudes. They critically analyse, view, listen to, and interact with a range of media work, considering the purposes and values of producers and audiences.

Assessment for the Media Production and Analysis: ATAR course in Year Twelve

Media Production and Analysis: General

Contact:       Miss Katie Gunning, Media Teacher

Year Eleven Course Outline

Unit 1:

Mass Media:  The focus for this unit is on the mass media. Within this broad focus, students reflect on their own use of the media, common representations, including the examination of characters, stars and stereotypes and the way media is constructed and produced.

Unit 2:

Point of View:  The focus for this unit is on point of view, a concept that underpins the construction of all media work. In this unit, students will be introduced to the concept and learn how a point of view can be constructed. They will analyse media work and construct a point of view in their own productions.

Within this broad focus, students have the opportunity to choose from a range of media genres and styles and examine ways in which information and specific codes, conventions and techniques are selected and used to present a particular point of view. 

Assessment for the Media Production and Analysis: General course in Year Eleven

Year Twelve Course Outline 

Unit 3:

Entertainment:  The focus for this unit is on entertainment. Within this broad focus, teachers select learning contexts interesting to students and build upon the informal understandings they have already acquired. Students expand their understanding of media languages, learning how codes and conventions are used to construct entertainment media. They examine the process of representation and the way values are constructed in media work. Students consider how the experiences of audiences influence their responses to media and how media work is shaped by the production context and through the production process.

Unit 4:

Representation and reality: The focus for this unit is on representation and reality. Representation is the act of re-presenting or constructing identities, places or ideas based on shared values and understandings. Students will consider different types of representations and how they relate to the construction of reality within media work.  Within this broad focus, students have the opportunity to choose from a range of media genres and styles and examine ways in which codes, conventions and techniques are used to dramatise and re-present reality while at the same time engaging and informing audiences.

Assessment for the Media Production and Analysis: General course in Year Twelve

MUSIC

Music: ATAR and General pathway courses are available.

The General course is not the same as the VET music course.

Music: ATAR

Contact:       Ms Emma Luxton, Director of Music 

Prerequisites: Minimum of Grade 3 AMEB Theory and Grade 5 Performance (or its equivalent), successful completion of Year Eight to Ten Specialist Music.  Please contact Ms Luxton if you have any queries regarding prerequisites.

Music is a universal expression of human experience. It reflects the development of culture and identity in all societies throughout history. Music has an incredible capacity to inspire and elicit an emotional response through listening and performing and provides opportunities for creative and personal expression. Through the practical study of Music, both individually and with others, students grow in confidence as musicians by engaging in opportunities to perform, compose, analyse and develop music literacy.

Written component 50%

Students engage with a variety of activities to develop skills in aural and visual identification and analysis of the elements and characteristics of music, including playing, singing, listening, reading and writing various forms of notation. Students creatively manipulate the elements of music as they compose their own music works and refine them through critical listening, singing, playing and gathering feedback from others.  

Practical component 50 %

Students can choose to perform on an instrument or voice and/or submit a composition portfolio to fulfil the requirements of the practical component. The majority of student study relating to the practical component occurs in instrumental/vocal lessons, practice and related activities. 

There are four defined styles in the Music course for the performance option, chosen by the individual student in consultation with their classroom teacher and/or instrumental/vocal teacher: Contemporary, Jazz, Music Theatre, and Western Art Music. The focus of performance study and assessments is on repertoire from the chosen style. Students may perform repertoire from other style/s, providing the majority of the performance/recital time is in the chosen style. 

Please note:  All Year 11 and 12 ATAR Music students are required to enroll for 45 minute instrumental lessons with their instrumental teacher and pay the associated costs for this longer lesson. This is to ensure a long enough lesson to cover material to the required standards of the course.  

All Music ATAR students are required to maintain their own practice out of school hours.  It is critical that every ATAR student commit to an appropriate practice schedule throughout the year.  For string and piano players this is a minimum of one hour/ six days a week and for woodwind and brass players a minimum of 45 minutes/6 days a week. 

All practical assessment tasks will take place out of class time to maximize class time for the written component.   

Year Eleven Course Outline

Unit 1

The music analysis theme for this unit is Elements. What are the building blocks that make music work? Students respond to music as they explore the creative application of music elements across time, place and culture. They gain greater familiarity with how and why music is created, by engaging with a range of designated works, developing their understanding and use of music elements. 

Unit 2

The music analysis theme for this unit is Narratives. How can music tell a story? Students understand that music elements can be manipulated to expressively communicate narrative. Through the combination of music and narrative, composers can provoke strong emotional responses from audiences. This unit aims to develop a more sophisticated understanding of how music elements have been manipulated for specific storytelling purposes. 

Assessment for Music: ATAR course in Year Eleven

Year Twelve Course Outline

Unit 3

The music analysis theme for this unit is Identities. What can music tell us about people? Through the journey of critically considering how music can be used as a powerful form of expression, students explore the potential for music to communicate identity.

Students analyse and understand ways in which the elements and characteristics of music can be applied to express:

• personal identity – developing and expressing the artist’s own personal and/or musical identity
• socio-political identity – a vehicle to express societal and political views and values
• cultural identity – reflecting the shared characteristics of a group of people in a given place and time.

Unit 4

The music analysis theme for this unit is Innovations. What drives a composer to create something truly different? Innovation within music is a result of ideas driven by personal experience, socio-political and cultural influences. Students analyse and understand music that demonstrates innovative use of music elements and concepts, responding to how this challenged, further developed or reimagined music traditions to create new ideas, and communicate new meanings. 

Assessment for Music: ATAR course in Year Twelve

Music: General

Contact:        Ms Emma Luxton, Director of Music

This course is recommended for students who may be interested in studying Music at WAAPA and would like to improve or develop Musical theory, aural and analysis skills in preparation for this pathway. 

Prerequisites: As a guide we recommend a minimum of Grade 2 AMEB Theory and Grade 3 Performance (or its equivalent) and /or completion of Year Eight to Ten Specialist Music.  Please be aware that these are a guideline only, contact Ms Luxton if you have any questions.

The Music General course encourages students to explore a range of musical experiences, developing their musical skills and understanding, and creative and expressive potential. The course consists of a written component incorporating Aural and Theory, Composing and arranging, Investigation and analysis, in addition to a practical component. The Music General course provides opportunities for creative expression, the development of aesthetic appreciation, and understanding and respect for music and music practices across different times, places, cultures and contexts. Students listen, compose, perform and analyse music, developing skills to confidently engage with a diverse array of musical experiences both independently and collaboratively. 

The practical component consists of three different options and can be delivered in a different context, independent of the written component. Students select only one option, and can choose to perform on an instrument or voice, submit a composition portfolio, or complete a production/practical project. Students can complete their practical component in performance in either Western Art Music, Contemporary, Music Theatre or Jazz. 

For the Written component, students will four different contexts, Elements, Narratives, Identities and Innovations.  The practical component can be delivered in a different context, independent of the written component.  Students can complete their practical component in performance in either Western Art Music, Contemporary, Music Theatre or Jazz. 

All Music General students are required to maintain their own practice out of school hours. It is critical that every General student commit to an appropriate practice schedule throughout the year. For most students this would be a minimum of 30 minutes/5 days a week.

All practical assessment tasks will take place out of class time to maximize class time for the written component. 

Year Eleven Course Outline

Students will study two units and two different contexts in Year 11; one designated work will be drawn from each of the Contemporary, Jazz and Western Art Music styles for each unit/context.

Assessment for the Music: General course in Year Eleven

The written component is worth 60% of the mark and the practical component is worth 40%.

Year Twelve Course Outline

Students will study two units and two different contexts in Year 11;  one designated work will be drawn from each of the Contemporary, Jazz and Western Art Music styles for each unit/context.

The written component is worth 60% of the mark and the practical component is worth 40%. 

Visual Arts: ATAR

Contact:       Ms Rachel Mordy, Head of The Arts

Art is a fundamental dimension of human life.  Throughout history the visual arts have given form and meaning to ideas and feelings and provided ways for people to express and communicate experience.  The Visual Arts course encompasses the practice and theory of the broad areas of art, craft and design.  Students have opportunities to express their imagination and develop personal imagery, develop skills, and engage in the making and presentation of artworks. They develop aesthetic understandings and a critical awareness that assists them to appreciate and make informed evaluations of art.

Prerequisites: C grade or better in Year Ten English, successful completion of Year Ten Visual Arts is recommended.

In the Visual Arts: ATAR course, students engage in traditional, modern and contemporary media and techniques within the broad areas of art forms. The course promotes innovative practice. Students are encouraged to explore and represent their ideas and gain an awareness of the role that artists and designers play in reflecting, challenging and shaping societal values. The Visual Arts: ATAR course allows students to develop aesthetic understandings and a critical awareness to appreciate and make informed evaluations of art through their engagement of their own art practice and the work of others.

PLEASE NOTE: There is an expectation that all Visual Arts students attend the Art Camp trip to Perth in Term One. (There are associated costs for this trip.) 

Year Eleven Course Outline

In Year Eleven ATAR Visual Arts students will need to spend at least 1 hour/week throughout the year out of school hours working on their major production piece.

Unit 1:

The focus of Visual Arts: ATAR Unit 1 is Differences. The unit covers different forms of visual art from past and present contexts and provides students with a range of sources of inspiration and stimulus for developing ideas and producing original artworks.  They explore different materials, media and techniques when exploring and expressing their ideas.

Unit 2:

In Visual Arts: ATAR Unit 2 students focus on Identities - exploring concepts or issues related to personal, social, cultural or gender identity.  They investigate themes of personal interest and a range of observational, conceptual and/or imaginative starting points for visual exploration.  They become aware that art conveys ideas and issues that concern the wider community, and develop understandings of how the visual arts may be both socially affirming and challenging. 

Assessment for the Visual Arts: ATAR course in Year Eleven

Year Twelve Course Outline

Prerequisites: C grade or better in Year Eleven Visual Arts ATAR and C grade in Year Eleven ATAR English

In Year Twelve students should plan to spend approximately two hours/week throughout the year, out of school hours working on their major production piece. A resolved Artwork requires a minimum of 20 hours/semester. 

Unit 3:

In Visual Arts: ATAR Unit 3 the focus is Commentaries. Students research artworks providing critical comment on the meaning, purpose and values communicated. They examine their own beliefs and consider how the visual arts have reflected and shaped society in different times and places. Consideration is given to the roles of artists in different societies, such as hero, outsider, commentator and social critic. Students investigate the social functions of art, and address the relationship between form, function and meaning, developing understanding of how artists are influenced by pervasive ideas, events and circumstances.

Unit 4:

In Visual Arts: ATAR Unit 4 the focus is Points of view. Students identify and explore issues of personal significance. They research and analyse factors affecting points of view such as time, place, culture, religion and politics. Students critically analyse their own work and the work of others, they also reflect on the relationships between artworks, audiences and contextual factors, considering how these contribute to the development of different perspectives.

Assessment for the Visual Arts: ATAR course in Year Twelve

Visual Arts: General

Contact:       Ms Rachel Mordy, Head of The Arts

Prerequisites: A background and genuine interest in Visual Arts

In the Visual Arts: General course, students engage in traditional, modern and contemporary media and techniques within the broad areas of art forms.  The course promotes innovative practice.  Students are encouraged to explore and represent their ideas and gain an awareness of the role that artists and designers play in reflecting, challenging and shaping societal values.  Students are encouraged to appreciate the work of other artists and engage in their own art practice.

PLEASE NOTE: There is an expectation that all Visual Arts students attend the Art Camp trip to Perth in Term One. (There are associated costs for this trip.) 

All Visual Arts students will be required to spend additional hours out of school hours working on their artworks.  Please see the time requirements for each course. 

Year Eleven Course Outline 

General Visual Arts students will need to spend at least 1 hour/week throughout the year out of school hours working on their major production piece in Year Eleven. 

Unit 1:

The focus of Visual Arts: General Unit 1 is Experiences. Students develop artworks primarily concerned with experiences of the self and observations of the immediate environment.  They discover ways to compile and record their experiences through a range of art activities and projects that promote a fundamental understanding of art language and appreciation of the visual arts in their everyday life. 

Unit 2:

In Visual Arts General: Unit 2 the focus is on Explorations and, in particular, ways to express personal beliefs, opinions and feelings.  A variety of media and materials in a range of art forms are explored when generating and extending ideas.

Assessment for the Visual Arts: General course in Year Eleven

Year Twelve Course Outline 

Prerequisites: C grade in Visual Arts: General in Year Eleven

General Visual Arts students will need to spend at least 1 hour/week throughout the year out of school hours working on their major production piece in Year Twelve. 

Unit 3:

The focus of Unit 3 Visual Arts: General is Inspirations. Students learn that artists gain inspiration and generate ideas from a range of sources. Through discussion, exploration, investigation and experimentation, they develop skills in recording observations, develop ideas through visual inquiry and create artworks using a range of techniques and processes.

Unit 4:

In Visual Arts General: Unit 4 the focus is Investigations. Students investigate a variety of selected artists’ work to further develop their understanding of the creative process. They investigate styles of representation and explore the expressive potential of media, techniques and processes in the creation of their artworks, while refining their reflection and decision-making skills.

Assessment for the Visual Arts: General course in Year Twelve