CAPA Faculty 

Drama

Year 9 Drama students have started this term with Songalogues. They have had to choose a song and will need to perform a one minute dramatic reading of the song. This is to help build their confidence and focus on stage.

Year 11 Drama students have started their Theatrical Traditions and Performance Styles unit. They have begun looking at the practitioner Brecht and his use of Verfremdungseffekt (Don't know what this is? - ask one of the Year 11 Drama students). They have read and workshopped the play ‘Stolen’ and have started to read the play ‘Aftershock’. 

This term in Year 12 Drama is all about Individual Projects and Group Performances. Students are working hard to refine their Individual Projects ready for the HSC and have started to devise their HSC Group Performances. 

Grease The Musical

On Wednesday April 3, 49 Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) students from FGHS were treated to a sensational excursion at the iconic Capitol Theatre in Sydney where they immersed themselves in the electrifying energy of "Grease: The Musical". 

State Drama Camp

Congratulations to Lochlan Chapman, Rohan McLaren, Phoenix Morley and Jaiden Cooper for being chosen to attend the State Drama Camp. 

Starstruck

Starstruck rehearsals are well underway for our Drama group. They will be performing on June 14 and 15. 

Featured Starstruck Artists

Students need to audition for a featured role in Starstruck. They are then selected based on their audition and are invited to participate in all four Starstruck performances. This year at FGHS we have had four students successfully audition for featured roles in Star Struck. This is a huge accomplishment and a testimony to the extraordinary talent we have at FGHS. This year there will be Michael Jenkins playing the Trombone, Curtis Bellette as a vocalist, Phoenix Morley in two featured Drama roles and Lochlan Chapman in a featured Drama role. Well done to all four students!

Music

Year 8 Music students are learning about rock music. They are all working hard on their assessment task to research and present their findings on an Australian musician of their choice.

Year 9 Music students are studying forms of Theatre music. Students are studying pieces from Opera, Ballet and Musicals and will be performing a song from the repertoire for their assessment this term.

Year 10 Music students are studying technology in Music, looking at technological developments as well as electronic based music with synthesizers and samplers. Students will be composing a song for their assessment tasks using Garageband this term.

Year 11 Music students are learning about large ensembles this term. All students have started their assessment task, which requires them to research and present their findings on a large ensemble. 

Year 12 Music students are working hard to refine their HSC performance pieces. 

Students from Year 11 and Year 12 Music classes attended the HSC Music Day at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music on Friday May 3. This day was invaluable for students heading into their HSC with workshops on viva voces, composition and live performances from other stage 6 students. 

We have four groups of students already rehearsing in preparation for band competitions in the coming terms. We are excited to see the end results of their hard work. If your child plays an instrument or is interested in being involved in the coming band competitions, please have them see Mrs Ayres or Mr Howard in the CAPA staffroom.

State Music Camp

Congratulations to Michael Jenkins for being chosen to attend the State Music Camp. 

Photography

Year 9 Photography and Digital Media: Year 9 have started this term learning about Photoshop and the Adobe products. They have begun learning how to use different tools and apply them in a variety of ways to manipulate existing photography. Students are working towards creating their own mutated animals in Photoshop. 

Lighting and shadows and composition… Oh my! In Photography years 10-12 students have had a great term learning how to photograph a number of traditional and contemporary genres, styles and movements, from still life to imaginary landscapes. They have also used aperture and shutter speed to create artistic effects in their photos, turning the mundane into the marvelous. Black and white or colour? Why not both?  

Visual Arts

Year 7 Visual Artshave started this term learning about artist Keith Haring and his street art style. Students are exploring the use of acrylic paint this term to create a range of artworks. 

Year 8 Drawing and Designhave started this term learning about the difference between Graffiti and Street Art. They have begun by looking into the anonymous artist Banksy and his stencil art style. Students then created their own stencil of an emoji to practise their stencil and spray painting skills.

Year 9 Visual Arts have started this term learning about the different drawing mediums and practising their drawing skills. They have explored the use of pencil, charcoal, ink, graphic marker, soft pastel and oil pastel in classroom workshops to therefore create a range of still life drawings. 

A Recap on the Exciting Artmaking Opportunities and Excursions for Art Students During Term 1

Art Matters with Australian Artist Kate Rhode at Maitland Regional Art Gallery. 

In Term 1, Year 10 students Riley Hanks, Kayla Gardiner and Erin Bower had the amazing opportunity to work with Australian artist Kate Rhode, in creating three-dimensional plaster sculptures.

Art Matters workshops provide opportunities for students to develop visual art making skills through participating in intensive workshops, encompassing:

• Validation of the importance of visual arts, including as an intra and interpersonal expression.
• Understanding of subject matters explored in artmaking, especially art as a tool to communicate contemporary issues.
• Experimentation with a variety of artmaking substances.

Two-day workshops were delivered in collaboration with artists and local/regional art galleries, utilising art education experts. 

Year 12 Visual Arts visit to Maitland Regional Art Gallery

Year 12 Visual Arts students have had the pleasure of connecting with the local regional gallery of Maitland. Students were taken on a guided tour of the current exhibitions with the gallery’s educational officer. Opportunities such as this provide students with real world experiences and connection with artists and artworks across diverse backgrounds, deepening their knowledge of the artworld and reflection on their own practice. 

Excursion to Art Gallery of NSW - ARTEXPRESS

Years 10, 11 and 12 Visual Arts students traveled to Sydney with their art teachers to explore the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) and be inspired by the ARTEXPRESS 2024 exhibition. 

Featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the art-making component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts in 2023, ARTEXPRESS 2024 provides insight into students’ creativity and the issues important to them.

Students also had the pleasure of experiencing legendary artist Louise Bourgeois’ exhibition, Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day?  Students entered a world of emotional extremes in this exhibition of art which ranged from sculpture installation to works on paper and were displayed in the ‘new wing’ of the recently opened North Building of the AGNSW.

CAPA Faculty