Performing Arts

Foundation 

Foundation students are learning to sing the Advance Australia Fair, focusing on correct lyrics, melody and singing respectfully with prepared voices and posture. Students are also developing their sense of beat by keeping in time with the music and participating in engaging music play activities, including passing instruments to the steady beat. In addition, students are exploring a variety of classroom instruments, learning correct playing techniques and experimenting with different ways to produce sound such as tapping, shaking, scraping and strumming.

Year 1

This term in Music, students are exploring cultural singing through learning the Ugandan greeting song “Dipidu.” Students are developing their ability to sing the lyrics accurately while keeping a steady rhythm using untuned percussion instruments. They are also adding coordinated movement to enhance their performance and deepen their understanding of how music and movement connect in different cultures. 

Year 2 

Over the past fortnight in Music, students have been exploring how instruments can represent characters and emotions through listening activities inspired by Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. Students learned to recognise which instrument represents each character and described the music using terms such as fast/slow, high/low and smooth/jumpy, explaining how these musical qualities create mood and suit particular characters. They also explored the four instrument families of the orchestra — strings, woodwind, brass and percussion — identifying how each family produces sound. Through discussion, movement and hands-on activities, students used visual clues to classify instruments and demonstrated how they are played.

Year 3

This term, Year 3 students have been developing their drama skills through improvisation and fairytale performance. Students created short group performances using expressive facial expressions, movement and voice to bring scenarios to life, while building confidence and teamwork. They also adapted a fairytale into an integrated performance featuring narration, mime and sound effects, focusing on clear, expressive mime and strong collaboration to match actions with storytelling. 

Year 4

Year 4 students have been exploring Musical Theatre through energetic singing and movement. They learned and performed We’re All in This Together from High School Musical, focusing on correct lyrics, confident expression and safe, synchronised dance movements. Students also explored rhythm and tempo through Food, Glorious Food from Oliver!, using voice, movement and simple props to maintain a steady beat and respond to tempo changes.

Year 5

Year 5 students have been combining literacy and music by transforming excerpts from Dr. Seuss into original rap performances. They identified key phrases, experimented with rhythm and rhyme, and practised delivering their rap with strong timing and expression. Students then composed and refined their own digital beats to complement the mood and tempo of their lyrics, developing creativity and confidence in digital music production.

Year 6

Year 6 students have been exploring improvisation and characterisation through engaging courtroom drama performances. Working collaboratively, they created and performed improvised courtroom scenes, staying fully in character while using voice, movement and facial expression to portray clear roles. Their performances demonstrated tension, humour and strong ensemble cooperation, showcasing growing confidence and dramatic skill.