Visual Arts

Visual Arts Foundation - Grade 4

Foundation

Our Foundation artists have been celebrating Science Week by exploring how push and pull forces can bring artworks to life! Students discovered how and why people create and use puppets, looking closely at how puppets can be used to entertain, tell stories and share ideas with an audience. They then became artists and designers, using their imagination to create colourful push and pull frog/monkey/pig puppets from cups, straws and art materials. Through playful experimentation, students discovered how pushing and pulling the straws creates movement and makes their puppets wave and dance. To complete the experience, students proudly shared their moving artworks with their classmates, combining Science, Visual Arts, creativity and lots of playful learning!

What You Can Do At Home

Ask your child to show you how their puppet moves and explain what happens when they push and pull the straws. Talk together about puppets you have seen in books, on television or at performances, and ask, “Why do people make and use puppets?” Encourage your child to use their puppet to tell a short story, sing a song or put on a little performance for the family.

Grades 1 and 2

Our Grade 1 and 2 artists have been combining Visual Arts and Science as part of Science Week! Students explored how artists create artworks that engage, surprise and tell stories, including interactive pop-up books and artworks from different cultures. They then created their own Magic Reveal artworks, discovering how push and pull forces can make an artwork move and reveal a hidden image. Students experimented with drawing, colouring and construction techniques before testing their moving creations and proudly presenting and sharing their finished artworks with their classmates. It was wonderful to see our young artists thinking like both artists and scientists as they discovered that art can move, change and communicate ideas in exciting ways!

What You Can Do At Home

Ask your child to show you how their Magic Reveal artwork works and explain the push and pull forces that make it move. Look around your home for other objects that use pushing and pulling, such as doors, drawers, toys or pop-up books. You could also explore a favourite picture book or artwork together and talk about where you experience art, why it was created and what ideas or stories the artist might be sharing.

Grades 3 and 4

As part of National Science Week, our Grade 3 and 4 students have been combining science and art by exploring how heat can change materials. Students designed their own colourful artworks on special shrink plastic film, carefully using coloured pencils, fineliner and sharpies before watching the exciting transformation that occurred when heat was applied. They observed the plastic curl, shrink, flatten, become thicker and intensify in colour, turning their original designs into small artworks that could be made into keyrings. This hands on experience encouraged students to think like both scientists and artists as they predicted, observed and discussed how heat caused a physical change to the material, while using their creativity to produce a unique finished artwork.

What You Can Do At Home

Ask your child to show you their shrink plastic keyring and explain what happened when heat was applied. Encourage them to use their artist and scientist thinking by asking: "What did the plastic look like before and after heating? What changed about its size, thickness and colours? What surprised you most?". You could also look around your home together for other examples of materials that change when heated, such as chocolate melting, bread toasting or an egg cooking.

Visual Arts Awards

*Ashley D, Foundation D , Respect = showing kindness and generosity when sharing her paint stick colours with another student.

*Mia G, 4D, Safety = responsibly identifying cracks in a paint tub and safely transferring the paint into a new container to prevent waste and support sustainability.

*Kylo H, 1D, Learning = thinking like both a scientist and an artist and clearly explaining how the Magic Reveal Frame works.

🎄 DOSCEL & STAPS Annual Christmas Card Competition

Next week, students will begin one of our biggest annual Visual Arts events: The DOSCEL and STAPS Christmas Card Competition! Students will explore this year’s Scripture passage, Matthew 2:11, before creating an original drawing, painting or Canva digital artwork to bring the passage to life. Students are also warmly invited to create an additional entry at home, due to the office Fri 11th September, see the flyer for competition details. 🎨✨

We look forward to sharing these creative learning experiences and celebrating our students' artistic growth throughout the semester.

Kind Regards,

Helina Walker

Contact Us

specialist@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au (all teachers) or