Looking Ahead – Lights, Camera… Eisteddfod! 🎶🎭

Term 2 means one very exciting thing in our local Performing Arts world… Eisteddfod season! We are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to perform in a professional venue and showcase the wonderful talent, teamwork and dedication of our students.

The Eisteddfod experience offers so much more than a performance. It gives students the chance to:

✨ Receive valuable professional feedback

✨ Watch and learn from performers from other schools

✨ Perform with purpose and pride

✨ Celebrate their developing skills

✨ Reflect on how far they’ve come since last year

✨ Build confidence, courage and resilience by stepping onto the stage

Years 3–5 students have taken home a display book containing all Eisteddfod song lyrics, along with scripts for our Speech & Drama Ensemble. Please keep an eye on the school WhatsApp messenger for rehearsal recordings — perfect for a little singing practice at home (living room concerts encouraged!).

A huge thank you to Mrs MacGugan, who has generously joined us on the past two Wednesday mornings to lead choir warm-ups and support rehearsals on the keyboard. Your expertise and enthusiasm are so appreciated! We are also looking forward to welcoming our official Eisteddfod accompanist on Monday 1st June as we fine-tune our performance preparations.

And finally, a special shout-out to Toby, Will, Sienna, Ivy and Maddie, who have written, filmed and edited an original movie entry for the first-ever Film Festival at the Hamilton Eisteddfod! Their creativity, collaboration and commitment have been fantastic to hear about, and I cannot wait to see the final masterpiece on screen!

The countdown to Eisteddfod is officially on — watch this space! 🌟

Recorder News – Music Making at Home! 🎶🎵

By now, I’m sure many families have noticed an exciting new addition around the house… recorders! Years F–5 students have officially begun their recorder journey, and they are doing a fantastic job so far, with years 3-5 taking their recorders home!

Each student has been given a practice record sheet and some very important motivational tools… stickers! Students are encouraged to practise their recorder at home during the week and reward their efforts by adding a sticker to their chart each time they practise.

The excitement has been wonderful to see, with students eager to have the opportunity to learn and practise an instrument at home. The recorder is often called a gateway instrument — helping students develop important musical and life skills including finger dexterity, concentration, discipline and growing musical understanding. Who knows where this musical journey might lead? A flute, clarinet, saxophone… or even centre stage in a rock band one day!

Every musician starts somewhere, and for many of our students, this is the very beginning of an exciting musical adventure. So if you hear a few enthusiastic recorder notes drifting through the house… know that great things are in the making!

Choir - FYI

Choral championship order at the Eisteddfod, Thursday 4th June starting at 9:30am

Unison song - Gravity

Part song - Coconut, Banana

Carol/Sacred song - Hear The Songs

Folk song - To Stop The Train/That Train Is Coming

Drama, Poetry & A Touch of Opera! 🎵🎭

Our Performing Arts students have been wonderfully busy this term exploring the world of poetry, character development and scripted drama. From bringing characters to life on stage to experimenting with expression and storytelling, students have been building confidence and creativity in every lesson.

Alongside our drama work, students have also been diving into the exciting world of opera through Opera Australia’s Access All Areas program, exploring their recent production of The Magic Pudding. So far, students have discovered the different types of opera singers — including the powerful soprano and tenor voices — and even heard directly from the show’s director about the important role a director plays in bringing a production to life.

To top it all off, students have begun learning lines and songs from the production themselves, giving them a hands-on taste of the magic of musical storytelling.

We are very excited to see all this learning come together as students prepare to watch the full opera performance online. What a fantastic opportunity to experience professional theatre and opera from the classroom!

Community Involvement - Calling All Unused Instruments! 🎶🥁

Do you have any spare percussion instruments or musical treasures tucked away at home gathering dust? We would love to give them a new life in our Performing Arts classroom!

Whether it’s tambourines, shakers, drums, triangles, maracas, ukuleles, keyboards, or other instruments no longer being used, they could become a wonderful resource for our students’ musical learning and creativity.

If you have instruments looking for a new home, please drop them into the school office — your donation could help inspire our next generation of performers and musicians!

Thank you for helping us keep the music playing!

Warm regards,

Mrs Huf

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