News from Music and Performing Arts

Music

Grades 1 and 3

This term in Performing Arts – Music the students from Grades 1 and 3 focused on learning to play selected songs using a range of instruments. Students also consolidated their knowledge of how music notation is written, where they are located on the musical staff and the different value or beats for each of the notes they learned. As students improved their knowledge of what note each line or space in the staff represented, they were also able to start understanding if each note was played at a higher or lower pitch. 

The songs that students played formed part of their portfolio task and overall assessment, and they did a great job. Students also had the opportunity to perform in a mini concert with our Grade 2 students. They enjoyed learning to be a part of a class ensemble and work together playing a song that was complimented by the Grade 2 students performing their dance for the same song. They all did a fantastic job!

Incursion with Preston High School

During our Planning Week, some of our grade levels had the opportunity to see some ensembles from Preston HS perform. There were two performances. Students from Grades Prep and 1 were able to see and hear instruments from the four families of musical instruments (Brass, Percussion, Strings and Woodwind). For the Grade 5 and 6 students, the incursion was a great way for them to see the music program at Preston HS and perhaps entice them to learn an instrument. 

It was great to hear that so many students enjoyed the performance and see how the conductor directs the ensembles to help work together. Many of the students that performed were former students of Preston PS so hopefully we may see some of our current students join these ensembles and return here to perform in future years.

Grade 6 Band

Our Grade 6 band has been a pleasure to work with. It has been slow progress this term but the song they have been rehearsing is starting to come along and sounds great. They will continue to learn this and other songs next term in preparation for some performances later in the year.

Performing Arts

Prep

This term, Prep students performed their Little Red Riding Hood scenes, showcasing their growing confidence in performing to an audience. They used expressive skills such as voice, facial expression and movement to bring the characters to life and reflected on their performances after watching them back in class. Students then completed a Dance unit, where they learnt and rehearsed a short dance sequence, exploring different ways to move their bodies creatively. They performed their dance for their Prep and Grade 1 peers at our recent Mini Concert and did a fantastic job. Great work, Preps!

Grade 2

This term, Grade 2 students performed their scripts Coco Chanel and David Attenborough based on the Little People, Big Dreams series. They showed their ability to use voice, movement, and expression to bring their characters to life. After their performances, students reflected on their work and gave thoughtful feedback, discussing what they enjoyed in their own performances as well as those of their peers. Students completed their Dance unit this term, learning a range of basic dance moves and exploring how to arrange movement to create short dance sequences. They rehearsed and performed a class dance routine, building confidence, coordination and teamwork skills. Well done, Grade 2!

Concert P-3

Last week students in Prep to Grade 3 took part in our Mini Concert and had a great time performing for their peers. 

Prep and Grade 1 classes performed together, with Prep students learning the dance and Grade 1 students learning the music to their song. Grade 2 and Grade 3 classes also performed together, with Grade 2 students learning the dance and Grade 3 students learning the music to their song. It was wonderful to see students working together to rehearse and perform, building confidence and performance skills along the way. 

Well done to all students for their enthusiasm, encouragement of one another and effort!

Grade 4

What a busy term the Grade 4 children have had in Performing Arts! Our focus this term has been Drama. We began by learning about mime and the different types of mime performances. We also explored the expressive skills that are important when performing mime. A highlight of the term was watching famous performances by artists such as Marcel Marceau, Rowan Atkinson and Charlie Chaplin. We then had the opportunity to experiment with our own mime performances, using only our bodies, gestures and movements to tell a story.

The next unit we explored was Object Personification and Body Puppetry. This is similar to mime, but it requires performers to focus on bringing an object to life. This was a lot of fun, as we were able to practise our acting skills by performing short scripts based on objects such as a chair or a book coming to life. Finally, we developed our teamwork and puppetry skills by creating a giant body puppet.

This brings us to the end of our Drama unit in Performing Arts. In Semester 2, we will move on to exploring the wonderful world of Music! 🎵

Grade 5

This term, Grade 5 students have continued to build on their dramatic skills through the art form of puppetry. This unit of work began at the start of the year when students designed and created their own sock puppets in Visual Arts, based on the theme of Australian animals. This term, students were excited to welcome their puppets into our wonderful performance space and begin the task of writing a short puppet play inspired by a Dreamtime story. 

Throughout the entire process, the Grade 5 students worked exceptionally well as they learned and practised how to bring a puppet to life through movement, voice and expressive characterisation. This was no easy task, as puppeteers often had to perform while lying on the floor with their arms extended! Despite the challenge, students showed great perseverance and creativity. The term concluded with a fantastic performance day, where all students presented their puppet shows to another Grade 5 class.

Another exciting part of our Grade 5 Puppetry unit was the opportunity for some students to volunteer to perform at the whole-school NAIDOC Celebration Day. This involved additional rehearsals and, most importantly, performing their puppet shows in front of all the school houses. A big congratulations to all the students who participated and performed so confidently!

We now farewell the exciting world of Drama and, in Semester 2, begin our journey into the realm of Music. 🎵

Grade 6

All Grade 6 students concluded their Performing Arts music unit with a fabulous performance of the song Inside Out by the Bee Gees. Students spent many weeks rehearsing their instruments and refining their skills in playing a disco beat. They also spent much of the term listening to and analysing different styles of popular music and artists from a variety of eras. Some artists were favourites among the students, such as Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley and Pharrell Williams, while others proved to be less popular!

Analysing different musical styles and developing opinions about what they enjoy or dislike in music are important skills. Students explored the instruments they could hear, the elements of music emphasised by the artist, and the structure of each piece. This helped develop their understanding of music, its components, and the reasons why people enjoy listening to different types of music.

In the final weeks of Term 2, the Grade 6 students shifted their focus from Music to Drama, where they began exploring and revising expressive skills through the use of open scripts. This learning serves as preparation for an exciting second half of the year, during which students will work in small groups to rehearse and perform a scripted play for their peers and teachers in Term 4.

This unit requires all students to take an active role in putting on a performance. They will need to review and adapt scripts where necessary, rehearse blocking and stage positioning, create costumes and props, and incorporate music and sound effects into their productions. There have already been plenty of questions and enthusiastic discussions about what the scripts might be... all will be revealed next term! 🎭✨