CAPA Faculty 

AMP’d Community Showcase:

The CAPA department is excited to invite you to AMP'D, an evening dedicated to showcasing the incredible talents of our senior students across Art, Music, Photography and Digital Media, and Drama. This event is a celebration of all the hard work and creative achievements our students have accomplished during their senior years.

Join us for an inspiring evening where you can experience a wide range of artistic performances and exhibitions. Entry is free, and light refreshments will be provided for your enjoyment.

We look forward to seeing you there to support our talented students!

Bandwidth

We are thrilled to announce that Francis Greenway students Emily McLaren, Thomas Meale, Daniel Hooper and Lukas Johnson have been selected to perform at Bandwidth, a prestigious professional band competition hosted by Hunter School of the Performing Arts. This exciting event will take place in Week 5 of Term 4, offering a platform for talented musicians to showcase their skills in a professional setting.

Come and support our students as they compete alongside other talented groups in this special event. It's a fantastic opportunity for them to gain performance experience and connect with the broader music community.

Event Details

• Date: Friday, 15 November 2024
• Time: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Location: HSPA Hunter Theatre

We wish our students the best of luck as they prepare for this competition!

Musical Auditions

CAPA is excited to announce that we will be hosting the Musical, Rock of Ages in 2025. 

Rock of Ages tells the story of two young rock musicians chasing their dreams in the big city.

If your child is interested in being involved in this musical please have them collect an audition pack from the CAPA staffroom.

Drama

Our Year 9 Drama students are leaping into the exciting world of Physical Theatre! They'll be exploring Laban's 8 Efforts and bringing their own movement pieces to life. Last term ended on a high note as they premiered their own films—completely self-devised, acted, filmed, and edited. Here’s to another term of creativity and bold expression!

This term marks an exciting new chapter for Year 11 as they embark on their first HSC term! They’re already diving into the creative depths of Contemporary Australian Theatre and sparking fresh ideas for their Individual Projects. Last term, they tackled their Preliminary Examinations with group performances, and their dedication shone through in their results—each student truly brought their best to the stage!

Music

Our Year 8 music students are exploring the world of the orchestra, taking a closer look at the instruments found in an orchestra. Students will be training their senses to aurally recognise them and accurately describe instruments of orchestra using tone colour words.

Our Year 9 are undertaking the world of Jazz music this term, exploring the various styles and icons of the genre, instrumentation used and cultural/historical background of the music. With a research based assessment this term, students will be presenting their findings on a particular Jazz musician/band and will aurally comment on the use of pitch in a jazz standard piece. 

Our Year 10 is exploring music from cultures this term. The topic has them identifying specific characteristics like instrumentation, rhythms and use of cultural practices in the music as well as the cultural/historical background. The research will take form as a presentation on music from a culture of their own choice.

Congratulations to Year 11 Music students on completing the Preliminary course. They are now officially in Year 12. They commence their first term of Year 12 with a composition and viva voce. We look forward to seeing the amazing music that they will undoubtedly produce. 

Photography

Our Year 9 Photography and Digital Media students created their animation skills to create a short top motion animation. Students developed their concept, storyboarding, props and characters to use within their animation inspired by the works of famous Animation Studios like Laika and Aardman who brought us the worlds of Coraline, Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep. 

In Term 4, students are developing their skills in taking photos and editing them into GIFs and Memes. Students have created a range of GIFs using compact cameras and digital software. 

Our Year 10 Photography students recently explored portraiture through Gary Heery’s X Collaboration series. By studying Heery’s distinctive approach, which blends traditional photography with creative post-production and physical alterations, students learned how to transform portraits into unique expressions of personality and emotion. They experimented not only with lighting and expression but also with techniques like overlaying textures and hand-altering images, adding depth and character to their own portrait series.

YEAR 11

Our Year 11 Photography students recently completed a Contemporary Controversies unit, where they explored how modern techniques can transform traditional photographic genres and gained valuable insights into the power of visual storytelling in today’s world.

This term, they’re beginning their Year 12 studies by examining David Hockney’s joiner photography, a technique that captures multiple perspectives in a single image. We’re excited to see how they’ll use Hockney’s approach to create their own unique projects!

Visual Art

Our Year 7 Visual Arts students have been learning about Self Portraits. Students explored the history of the portrait and began to design their own silhouette portrait. Students used a range of mixed media to create their designs from pencil, ink, marker, watercolour and acrylic paint. Students investigated a range of artists such as Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh and Michael Basquiat. 

In Term 4, student have begun to learn about Pop Art to create their very own Pop Art Lino Prints inspired by famous artist Andy Warhol. Students are exploring the use of positive and negative space within their designs to create a mirrored design to print their image multiple times. 

Year 8 Learning and Wellbeing (LAW) - Year advisor Miss Parker (Visual Arts Teacher):

Congratulations, Year 8 students, on coming together to create a wellbeing mural! Your teamwork and creativity have resulted in a bright and colourful artwork that will have a lasting, positive impact on your school community. Displayed in the FGHS entry hallway to greet our school’s community, you’ve shown what true collaboration looks like.

This mural is not only a celebration of your individual talents but also a symbol of unity and respect among peers. Well done on achieving something meaningful together that uplifts the wider community.

- Miss Parker

Our Year 8 Drawing and Design students have been learning about Still Life drawing and painting in Term 3. Students explored traditional drawing techniques to create a still life fruit, the blending techniques to create a multicoloured skull and the value techniques to create an acrylic disco ball painting. Students studied a range of artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh and how their techniques influenced the art of the time period. 

In Term 4, students have begun to learn about Surrealism and the works of Salvador Dali and Alice in Wonderland. Students are exploring the use of surreal and imaginary elements within their sculptures, creating a creature or character from their imagination. 

Our Year 9 Visual Art students have been learning about Environmental issues and the medium of Lino Printing in Term 3. Students explored a range of social, political and environmental issues that impact the world around us, specifically the animals of the earth. Students learned a range of carving techniques to create texture and forms within their artworks. Students studied a range of artists such as Margaret Preston, Rachel Newling and Rew Hanks and how artworks reflect the artist's social commentary. 

In Term 4, students have begun to develop Photographic Cyanotypes to record images of Australian Landscape, using the natural elements around the school and stencilling techniques to create artworks. 

Our Year 10 Art students have immersed themselves in the diverse world of printmaking, participating in hands-on workshops in frottage, monoprinting, lino cutting, etching, and screen printing. To deepen their understanding, they also studied the work of German printmaker Käthe Kollwitz, examining her powerful use of printmaking to convey emotion and social commentary. Students experimented with combining two techniques to create their own expressive final prints. The results were excellent, with each piece showing unique textures and layering that reflect the skills they developed throughout the unit. We’re proud of their dedication and growth in this challenging and expressive art form.

Welcome, Year 11 Art students, to your final and most exciting stage in high school as you begin your journey into HSC Visual Art! This year, beginning now in Term 4 2024, is all about exploring your creativity, pushing your boundaries, and discovering your unique artistic voice. You’ll have the opportunity to experiment with new techniques, mediums, and ideas as you work on building a body of work that reflects your passion and individuality. As you prepare for the HSC, remember that this year is as much about the process as it is about the final product, so embrace every opportunity to learn, grow, and express yourself. Your teachers and peers are here to support you, and we can’t wait to see the amazing work you’ll create. Let’s make this a memorable and inspiring year together as we embark on HSC Visual Arts 2025!

HT Morag Ayres