Foundation

In Week 6, Foundation students revised their learning about sounds in music, focusing on dynamics (loud and soft) and tempo (fast and slow). Working in small groups, they participated in a “Roll-a-Tune” activity where dice were used to create unique musical patterns. Students performed their creations for their peers and explored how different instrument techniques could change the sound by varying dynamics and tempo.

In Week 7, students began a mini-dance unit titled A Day in the Bush. They explored movements inspired by Australian animals, including kangaroos, emus and goannas. Students focused on both locomotor and non-locomotor movements, experimenting with different levels (high, medium and low), pathways (straight and curved) and body parts. They also learned how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples use dance to tell stories about the land and its creatures.

Yakeen (FB): “We played a game to make different sounds and roll the dice.”

Minha (FB): “We played with the rhythm stick to make soft and loud sounds.”

Royan (FB): “We played the hand drum.”

Savannah (FB): “I played the drum.”

Aiza (FB): “We were playing music with the hand drums.”

Brooklyn (FA): “I was doing it very softly and I’m doing it very good!”

Archie (FA): “I was hitting the drum quietly.”

Annabelle (FA): “I was playing the drum fast and I was really good at it.”

Royan (FB): “My favourite was the crocodile and I moved my hands for the mouth.”

Musa (FB): “I moved my legs and hands for the kangaroo.”

Yakeen (FB): “The frog was my favourite and I was jumping.”

Zade (FB): “I moved like a frog.”

Images: Week 6- Students combining tempo and dynamics using percussion instruments

Images: Week 7- Students exploring movements of Australian Animals

Year 1-2

In Week 6, Year 1–2 students explored the drama technique of mime through the Dreamtime story The Rainbow Serpent. They practised using facial expressions and body movements to tell the story without words. In groups, they created silent performances of key moments, such as the serpent slithering and animals moving through the newly formed land. This lesson supported the development of non-verbal communication skills and connected students to Aboriginal culture by retelling an important Dreamtime story through action.

In Week 7, students explored rhythm and beat in music through fun body percussion patterns. They practised keeping a steady pulse while clapping, clicking and tapping along to different rhythms. Students also enjoyed playing Pass the Beat Around the Room, which helped them listen carefully and stay in time with each other.

Mokshitha (1A): “My group did the storm.”

Pita (1A): “My group did the snake slithering.”

Burak (1A): “We did the snake, the bird and the frog.”

Himmat (1A): “All of my groups were frogs with water in their bellies.”

Armaan (1A): “We were doing mime with our group was acting like kangaroos.”

Ayla (2C): “I was miming that I went to gymnastics and I was doing cartwheels.”

Ivaan (2C): “I was miming the Rainbow Serpent slithering around the Performing Arts room.”

“I was learning how a metronome worked!”

Guntas (2C): “I was miming swimming in the lake.”

“We were learning how to follow the beat.”

Ava (2C): “We were learning to do body percussion.”

Helena (1A): “We did clicking, stomping, clapping and rhythm sticks to the beat.”

Aman (1A): “Today, we learnt movements with our body and used the rhythm sticks and we clapped.”

Hudson (1C): “Today we used the rhythm sticks for beat and rhythm.”

Hassan (1C): “Beat and rhythm are not the same and they are different.”

Darcie (1A): “We learned about rhythm and beat and we used the rhythm sticks and we stopped our feet to make body movements.”

Images: Week 6- Students miming key moments from the Dreamtime story, ‘The Rainbow Serpent'

Images: Week 7- Students exploring beat and rhythm through body percussion and instruments

Year 3-4

In Week 6, Year 3–4 students began their mini-unit integrating drama and dance into Aboriginal Dreamtime plays. In this lesson, they focused on script work, using tension (suspense) and empathy (showing a character’s feelings) to develop their roles and enhance key situations in stories, such as Tiddalick the Frog and The Rainbow Serpent. Year 3 rehearsed selected scenes while Year 4 worked on fuller plays, applying drama elements such as body language, facial expressions and voice projection to share the stories.

In Week 7, building on their script work from the previous lesson, Year 3–4 students explored Aboriginal dance as part of their Dreamtime plays. They experimented with how movement can tell a story, creating short dance sequences to represent characters from Dreamtime stories. Students identified key moments where dance could enhance the storytelling, such as the Rainbow Serpent’s transformation or Tiddalick the Frog releasing the water. Through improvisation and teamwork, they used levels, energy and rhythm to create animal-inspired movements within their scenes.

Lyric (3C): “We are doing The Rainbow Serpent and I am the baby long necked turtle.”

Sadie (3C): “My character is the baby joey.”

Deepti (3C): “We got scripts and it was interesting. I am the little bird.”

Leo (3C): “It is really fun acting and performing.”

Taveesh (3C): “It was fun and interesting doing Tiddalick the Frog.”

NIna (3B): “I had so much fun practising the play.”

Amelia (3B): “My character is the little bird.”

Elora (3B): “My character is the bird and the other birds are trying to help.”

Sia (3B): “I’m bird 2 and the crow. I like doing scenes.”

Guntaj (3B): “I’m the parrot and bird 1 and I like doing acting.”

Aida (4B): “I liked how we practised our scripts and I tried my best reading.”

Hafsa (4B): “I liked how we got to choose movements for our scripts and I liked how we practised our play.”

Agam (4B): “I really liked how we rehearsed our characters and movements for the play.”

Jobe (4B): “We were using tension in drama to act as our characters.”

Hayley (3B): “What I liked about this lesson is that we practised our roles.”

Zoeya (3B): “What I liked is that we got to act out our characters and do different voices.”

Rohaan (3B): “What I liked about Performing Arts is learning our new character lines.”

Ekam (3B): “It was fun and we did role-play.”

Images: Week 6- Students exploring scripts and developing their characters

Images: Week 7- Students continuing with script work and developing ideas for incorporating dance

Year 5-6

In Week 6, Year 5–6 students began their ukulele unit in music. They explored the instrument’s history and Hawaiian origins, identified its main parts and learnt correct handling expectations. Students discussed the timbre of the ukulele, describing its bright, light and cheerful sound and compared it to other instruments. Working in groups, they labelled the parts and experimented with its distinctive sound, preparing to learn the strings and chords in upcoming lessons.

In Week 7, students focused on holding the ukulele correctly, identifying the names of each string, and playing basic chords, such as C and F (the shapes used to create harmony). They practised simple strumming patterns and learned how to use the frets, pressing down on the strings to change the pitch of a note, while focusing on correct finger positioning on the fretboard. With enthusiasm and focus, students built confidence in handling the ukulele and followed the expectations for instrument care. They explored My Island Home by famous Torres Strait Islander artist Christine Anu, including a ukulele cover of the song.

Taylor (6C): “We are learning to play the ukulele. We learnt the C and F chords and then we tried to transition between them.”

Georgia (6C): “It was difficult but we got through learning the chords.”

Divjot (6C): “It was interesting learning the chords and sharing the ukulele with my partner.”

Lucy (6C): “We had fun strumming the chords C and F.”

Anish (6C): “I learned how to position my fingers on the ukulele.”

Stephen (6D): “We were introduced to the ukulele today and I did very good.”

Hammad (6D): “I learned how to play the ukulele. I learned the string and the parts.”

Carter (6D): “I learned how to do the chords C and F.”

Havana (6B): “It was fun but challenging using the correct fingers for the chords.”

Kawthar (6B): “It was so fun because I learned ukulele with my friend.”

Perseus (6B): “The longer you try the closer you get to success.”

Images: Week 6- Students exploring the sound and parts of the ukulele

Images: Week 7- Students learning chords on the ukulele

Craigieburn Primary School Newsletter

Friday 12 September · 12 Sep 2025

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