Specialists Programs
Specialist Programs Term 1
Performing Arts
I am very excited to be joining the school community here at St John’s and to support our students’ ‘minds to bloom’ through their participation and engagement in the Arts! As the term begins, we will create expectations together so that the Performing Arts space is one where we all feel safe, respected and valued. We have lots of exciting things happening this year, including the school production and the return of choir. It has been wonderful to see the students’ eagerness to participate and contribute their ideas, and there will be more information on these as the term progresses.
Prep
This term, students will be learning to work together and grow in confidence to participate and have a go. We will explore using our imaginations, bodies and movement to roleplay different living and non-living things. Students will learn what it is to be part of an audience and begin to create simple performances independently and collaboratively. They will be exposed to the basic elements of drama: movement, mime and facial expression as they practise identifying and portraying various emotions. Students will become familiar with a range of songs and begin to add actions and movement as they perform them.
Year 1/2
Students will work together to create a supportive environment where they feel comfortable and willing to take part in activities and experiences. By participating in games, listening to stories and singing songs, students will recognise that emotions can be shown through movement, facial expressions and body language. They will practise using their own bodies and facial expressions to portray different feelings in real life scenarios and imaginary characters. Students will listen to different types of music and discuss how music can be used to make us feel and move in a particular way.
Year 3/4
Students will develop their ability to work collaboratively and individually, exploring their creativity through drama, movement and music. There will be a particular focus on learning to change our voices by altering the pitch, volume and expression to make them sound interesting and different. Students will have the opportunity to experiment with different instruments to create sounds or tunes that support their dramatic performances and storytelling. They will also begin to explore how drama has been used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through time.
Year 5/6
This term, students will explore the importance of working collaboratively and identify key skills needed for members to successfully participate in group situations. They will explore and compare drama from different cultures, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Students will have the opportunity to choose aspects from these diverse dramatic styles to create, rehearse and present their own performance for an audience. They will provide feedback on the main elements of Drama such as voice, movement, tension, mood and sounds, describing how they are used to successfully engage the audience.
Chinese
Prep:
In Term One, students will be exploring the basic concepts of Chinese by learning greetings and instructions in Chinese. They will learn frequently used words and phrases to use in everyday conversations, such as classroom instructions and greetings. The practice of structured and repeated sentences will enable the students to practice basic communication with their peers and adults. Moreover, students will be provided with opportunities to use Chinese knowledge and skills in real-life contexts such as greeting and responding in Chinese when marking class rolls, singing and dancing along to Chinese songs, and taking part in various games by using Chinese. This will greatly increase the students’ interests towards learning the language.
Year 1/2:
In Term One, students will be exploring the basic concepts of Chinese by learning greetings and instructions as well as numbers in Chinese. They will learn frequently used words and phrases to use in everyday conversations, such as classroom instructions and greetings. Students will discover how to read and write numbers in Chinese, how to count and use one-hand gestures to represent numbers from one to ten, and cultural meanings behind numbers. Students will be provided with opportunities to practise the number words and structured sentences via playing games, singing songs, listening to stories, writing, and drawing.
Year 3/4:
In Chinese, this term, students will be engaged in a self-exploration program by exploring name, age, personality, hobby and interest. They will learn how to introduce themselves including details, in Chinese. Students will be primarily communicating their ideas through speaking and listening. They will recognise that pinyin is a phonetic system and characters represent the real form of writing in Chinese. They can use the sound it out strategy to read new words and write characters by tracing and copying.
Year 5/6:
In Chinese this term, students will be engaged in a self-exploration program by exploring personality, cultural background, food preference, hobby and interest. Students are learning that Chinese sentences may have different word orders and focusing on forming sentences to express details to sequence ideas. They will be able to identify personal strengths and understand that cultural differences may affect people’s choice. The inquiry-based learning will support students to develop their inquiry skills including raising questions, designing investigations, collecting and analysing information, and reporting their findings.
Elina Li
Visual Arts
Foundation
We are so excited to welcome the Preps into the Art room! Students will experiment with different materials and techniques while creating their masterpieces. They will create a self-portrait using natural materials and will be introduced to some of the elements of Art. Students will look at geometrical shapes while creating a collage and will bring their experiences and use their imagination to create their work of art. Foundation students will explore what it means to be an artist. The students will share their understanding of line and colour. Through experimentation they will discover that lines can be straight or curved, thick, thin, zigzag, scribbly, short wandering or scrambled and lines can be repeated to create patterns.
Year 1/2
In Art this term, students in Grade 1 and 2 will experiment with different materials and techniques to make drawings and paintings. They will learn about colour mixing while creating their self portraits. They will experiment with painting techniques and discover colour theories such as warm and cool colours. Students will explore the elements of art, in particular, Line and Shape and practise various skills associated with each element. Students will create their own chart of different marks for reference and discuss how marks can show how a texture feels. Inspiration will come from various artists to create many pieces demonstrating the progression of the students' understanding of line and colour.
Year 3/4
In Art this term, students in Grade 3 and 4 will continue to consolidate their knowledge of the elements of Art and experiment with colour theory. Year 3/ 4 students will investigate the history behind portrait making. Using their knowledge of complementary colours, they will create a self portrait using mixed media “Pop Art ‘ style inspired by the artist Andy Warhol. Students will explore mixing primary colours to make secondary colours as well as blending white and black to change their value. Students will investigate different artists such as Frida Kahlo and Cezane and create work using similar art styles.
Year 5 /6
In Year 5 /6 Art we will be starting the year by creating a Wanted poster incorporating a detailed self portrait. This will be a multimedia project using markers, collage and pastel. The focus will be on students exploring how artists select and manipulate materials and techniques and use these in their own art making. We will then spend time further learning about the elements of art, examining how artists employ them in their work, and practising various skills associated with each element. The focus here will be on students making informed choices about using elements to express a concept or theme, and having access to a variety of materials including pastels, pencils, paint and collage.
Deirdre Cosgrave
dcosgrave@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Physical Education
Welcome back to all families for the new school year. I am looking forward to working with your children to develop their skills in PE and prepare them for the Twilight School Athletics Evening, on Monday, March 6. I be teaching them the fundamental skills required to support their overall health and fitness.
During term one, all year levels will begin with setting out of expectations for our Physical Education sessions with the clear understandings of how they will behave in games, showing respect to others and ensuring enjoyment for all participants.
Prep
The first few weeks we will introduce the students to a number of games that focus on how to cooperate with others and how to work as a team player. We will then focus on practicing some of the skills that we will be using on the twilight sports evening. Students will then focus on locomotor skills, particularly running, skipping, hopping, jumping, sliding, walking backwards and leaping.
Year 1/2
Students will begin the year participating in co-operative games. The aim of these games is to reduce emphasis on competition and increase emphasis on the social aspects of play and being a team player. We will then focus on practicing some of the skills that we will be using on the twilight sports evening. Students will then participate in sessions that will focus on their throwing and catching skills, with specific coaching on using an effective technique.
Year 3/4
Students in year 3/4 will be learning about the fundamental skills of jumping, throwing, running, baton relays and improving their overall fitness in the lead up to the twilight sports. Students will then participate in the sport of Volleyball, learning about the rules, skills and techniques involved in being an effective volleyball player. To finish the term students will play European handball, to demonstrate the skills that they have learnt throughout the term.
Year 5/6
The year 5/6 students will begin by participating in skill sessions such as specific running coaching, jumping and relays in preparation for the twilight sports. Students will then participate and learn about the sport of volleyball and the specific skills that this sport involves. Students will then focus on their throwing and catching skills, incorporating teamwork skills and playing games that they will be involved in leading up to their sporting gala day on 23 March.
Rhett Masters