The Arts

Visual Arts

Whole School Collaborative Art Piece

To begin the new year, students and staff have been working on a collaborative art piece inspired by the text Yakeen: Dreaming by Merindah Gunya. Students have contributed in various ways to create this piece, with all students painting leaves.

Year 5 and 6 students researched storytelling symbols used in the text, while Year 1 and 2 students collected bark and leaves from the grounds of Karoo.

The Visual Arts Captains, Zara and Ella, along with the Performing Arts Captains, Cidalia and Evelyn, and other Year 6 leaders, are continuing to work on bringing everyone’s contributions together in its final form in the Visual Arts room.

Watch this space!

Foundation

Work in progress

Patterned Pants inspired by Giles Andreae and Nick Sharratt’s Animal Pants

In these lessons, Foundation students explored the use of pattern, line and colour through illustration and mixed media techniques. Inspired by the humorous story Animal Pants, students designed and decorated patterned pants for an animal character, integrating drawing, painting, stamping and collage.

Year 1 and Year 2

Pablo Picasso’s Weeping Woman – Cubist-Inspired Portraits

In these lessons, students in Years 1 and 2 explored drawing faces in proportion before experimenting with Cubist-inspired portraits. Inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Weeping Woman, students learned about Cubism, a creative art style where artists represent people or objects by breaking them into geometric shapes such as cubes, triangles and squares, often showing multiple viewpoints at once. Instead of looking realistic, the artwork can appear like a broken, mixed-up, abstract puzzle.

Year 3 and Year 4

Art from Around the World – Chinese Ming Vases

In these lessons, Year 3 and 4 students experimented with the application of watercolour paints to recreate the fine blue-and-white patterns found on Ming vases. Chinese Ming Dynasty vases (1368–1644) are globally renowned for their sophisticated design, technical innovation and historical significance. They represent a “golden age” of Chinese ceramics, particularly the iconic blue-and-white porcelain produced in the “porcelain capital”, Jingdezhen.

Performing Arts

Foundation

Foundation students have been learning different ways of moving and using their bodies to keep the beat, following rhythm patterns using their hands, knees and feet.

Year 1 and Year 2

Year 1 and 2 students have been developing their ability to read and perform rhythm patterns. Here, the Year 2 students use the Bean Bag Boogie song to keep the rhythm without missing a beat.

Year 5 and Year 6

Year 5 and 6 students have been working in groups, exploring how stories can be told using elements of music, dance and drama. They are currently working collaboratively in small groups to create a performance for their buddies based on a chosen picture storybook.