Creative And Performing Arts (CAPA)

It’s been an extremely busy start to the year in CAPA. In two terms we have seen our Visual Arts classes produce some incredible works from Years 7 to Year 12. Students have engaged in a range of artmaking practices including drawing, mixed media and collage in Stages 4 and 5. Classes have been inspired by the works of Paul Boston and artists from the 1920s cubist school. Year 11 have been exploring the full gamut of the visual arts - investigating different approaches to 2D and 3D artmaking. A key focus for this class has been the work of Aboriginal artist Gordon Bennett and Pablo Picasso’s Guernica.

Our Year 12 students in Visual Arts, Visual Design and Photography are madly completing their Body of Works. Within these four classes are a range of material and conceptual practices. You will be able to see the work of these students at the Senior Showcase on Tuesday 30th of July in Week 2 of Term 3.

Music and Dance classes have been flat out preparing for and performing in the MADD Fest concert series. The students presented four shows in the space of two days including a special matinee for Blacktown West and Walters Road Primary Schools. A significant aspect of this year’s show was the integration of the first VET Entertainment class at Evans High School. The students completed part of their mandatory work placement while bumping in for the concert; operating the sound, lighting, vision and managing the performers backstage.

Most importantly CAPA students have engaged in a variety of real-world experiences. Photography students have been documenting school events, our Visual Arts classes have viewed exhibitions at the Art Gallery of NSW and senior Music and VET Entertainment classes had the opportunity to attend VIVID and a concert at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Regular Year 11 and 12 Performance Evenings have not only provided great learning experiences, but have given parents the chance to track their child’s progress.

When we all return next term, students will need to listen out for some exciting news about a new performance opportunity that will grow to rival MADD Fest in years to come!!!!

Evans High School Dance Ensemble performs at Synergy Dance Festival

On Thursday June 6 and Wednesday June 12 the Evans High School Dance Ensemble performed their lyrical/hip-hop piece House of Cards at Synergy Dance Festival in Penrith.

The sad and swift departure of Miss Baldwin meant that the ensemble were tasked with choreographing the remaining half of the dance and they did a brilliant job.

Drew Walker, Katie Hollis, Piper Fearne, Kaitlyn Findlay, Adam Pernjek, Emilie Roberts, Paige McKenzie, Madison McKenzie, Geraldine Jimenez Lobelo, Charlie Tindall-Mitchell and Deesha Singh worked hard, collaborated and experimented with new choreography, partner-work and different dance styles to create an expressive and exciting performance.

Both performances were fantastic and showcased the wonderful talent and enthusiasm for dance that Evans High School has.

The highlight of the evening event was a surprise visit from Miss Baldwin which spurred the ensemble to perform even better than the matinee show.

Well done everyone. They will be performing House of Cards at MADDfest.

Science

Term 2 Science has been jam packed with a variety of hands on activities including Year 7 and 8 STEM projects. Students had the opportunity to design, construct and test their models in a range of activities including mousetrap cars, paper roller coasters, bottle rockets and glow in the dark t-shirts modelling the structures of plant and animal cells.

Year 8

This term Year 8 have been investigating chemical and physical changes in their 'Chemical World' topic and had fun conducting some experiments to see these changes.

Year 11 Biolgy

In Week 7, Year 11 visited Penrith Lakes Earth and Environmental centre to investigate the inquiry question of “How healthy is the Penrith Lakes Ecosystem?”. Students completed a variety of first hand investigations including measuring abiotic factors in the ecosystem using a variety of equipment used by environmental scientists at the lake. Students also investigated biotic factors including abundance and distribution of different bird species, invertebrate indicator species and human influences on the Penrith Lakes ecosystem over a period of time.

Our Year 11 Biology class enjoyed conducting a heart dissection and microscopic investigations of a variety of plant and animal tissues throughout their second module in the Biology course.

Year 12 Biology

In Week 2, Year 12 students undertook the AMGEN Biotechnology Experience in a 3 day intensive program where they used state of the art equipment borrowed from Sydney University to genetically modify bacteria by inserting a red fluorescent gene into its genome to make it fluoresce red in colour. Some of the techniques Year 12 students were able to master included micropipetting, gel electrophoresis, PCR, aseptic technique, culturing bacteria on growth mediums and modelling DNA structure and the formation of transgenic organisms.

English

Year 7: Fiction and Non-Fiction

In Semester 1, Year 7 have covered the topics of Failure (Term 1) and Time (Term 2).

In Term 1, we looked at what failure means, and why it is a crucial stepping stone for the path to success, rather than something that we perceive to be an obstacle. We had a look at some inspirational quotes on failure and even came up with some of our own! Year 7 were then introduced to a range of well-known figures of past and present times who failed, but carried on to succeed and achieve great things in their lives. We then looked into a few specific case studies, analysing them in detail and learning to appreciate the importance of failure and the value of resilience. Year 7 were required to compose a Ted X Talk for their first assessment task, which turned out to be a success!

Some quotes on Failure created and shared by Year 7 on their Google Classroom:

Faith Nolly

Failure is your teacher it teaches you to do better next time

Aiden Forsyth

Failure isn't the opposite of success, it is merely a way of learning

Ethan Osbourne

Lots of success leads to delusions but lots of failure leads to success

Izaaz Ali

Failing is not failure but giving up is

Connor Petelo

The greatest teacher was your last mistake/failure

Ma Sayno

Failure is success if we learn from it

Nikola Zaric

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new

Madison McKenzie

Failure is not a bad thing, giving up is a bad thing

Katrina Sarah

First comes failure second comes success

Fatu Bangura

Failure isn't failing, it's giving up after failing

In Term 2, we looked at the notion of texts through time, specifically travelling back to the Elizabethan Era. Year 7 were introduced to the notion of context, and how texts remain relevant across large spans of time. We conducted a comparative study of Hamlet, the renowned Shakespearean play, along with its modern-day adaptation, Disney's The Lion King. Year 7 were surprised to discover that the two texts were interrelated, both in plot and particular characters. Year 7 further delved into life during the Elizabethan Era through learning about the Globe Theatre, The Bubonic Plague, and even learning to write sentences using 'Shakespearean' English! The assessment task required students to assume the role of a journalist of the Elizabethan Era and create a newspaper article on either the impact of the Bubonic Plague, or an event associated with the play Hamlet.

Year 7 students have really put their best efforts forward this semester and they are to be commended.

Year 8

Throughout this semester 8K have focused on novel study and film study. During Term 1 my class studied the novel Chinese Cinderella which was an auto-biography of a young Chinese girl Adeline Yen Mah. Her life begins tragically as her mother dies shortly after her birth. This book displays the daily struggles and hardships Adeline faces in her day to day life. Students were extremely enthusiastic and interested in the story and worked hard on understanding the novel through activities such as chapter summaries, analysing characters and comparisons of the original Cinderella we all knew of from our childhood and the Chinese Cinderella that was based on a true story full of anguish and sorrow. Throughout the study of Chinese Cinderella we have focused on higher vocabulary and language techniques that we have used for sustained writing which we have not only done in English but also in History. Ultimately we have learnt how to efficiently note-take, analyse characters and plots and complete sustained writing with higher modality language. I have figured that all the skills that we have learnt have been helpful in many other subjects and have made writing and responding a lot less challenging.

- Neha Prasad, Year 8 student

Year 9

At Evans High School, English classes give opportunities for students to participate in a variety of topics and challenges. This involves being able to share ideas and to communicate in each lesson. English classes assist students with developing the skills and abilities of each student. It involves the study of texts such as written, spoken, visual and multimodal texts. Students develop skills in identifying, analysing and interpreting meaning in texts and how it is represented through literary, language and visual techniques. In year 9, students enjoy the study of books as they find it interesting and engaging. The recent texts we are learning about are short stories and poetry relating to the topic of Adolescence. This topic can help students relate to challenges and problems we talk about. Personally, what I like about English classes is when we get the opportunity to communicate with each other about a certain topic and share ideas with each other.

- Ren Lou Garcia, Year 9 student

What I like most about our Year 9 English class is that we study different kinds of texts. These texts are from the songs to poems to current articles. They are fun to read and great at catching the attention of the readers which they definitely did to me.

- Jeremy Navarro, Year 9 student

Year 10

In Term 1, Year 10 completed a close study of The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do. Throughout the term, students explored the concept of what ‘home’ is and the universal qualities of ‘home’ that are sought by the human race across the globe. Through studying Anh Do’s experiences and his humorous, anecdotal style in communicating his life story, students gained an empathetic perspective of some of the common hardships and challenges faced by people who are compelled to leave their homes and countries. Students learnt to identify and explain the effect of the language techniques used by Anh throughout his memoir to tell his story and position the audience. They focused on using some of these language techniques to practise their own narrative writing empathising with experiences of refugees (see example by Evan below). Year 10 revised their essay writing skills and completed their speaking assessment task in front of their own class.

In Term 2, Year 10 have completed a unit on visual literacy techniques, focusing their study on picture books and visual advertisements. Students practised identifying a wide range of visual and language techniques, analysing their impact on the ideas and perspectives communicated through each text. Year 10 have enjoyed this unit, studying a variety of engaging texts and honing their critical thinking skills and their ability to explain their own opinions and perspectives. Their essay assessment task is due Monday Week 10.

Stage 6 English – Standard, Advanced and EAL/D

Students in Years 11 and 12 have had their heads down, studying the modules required for the new Stage 6 English Syllabus. 2019 is the first year of the new HSC Examinations in English. The main change is the focus on ‘Reading to Write’ in Year 11 and ‘The Craft of Writing’ in Year 12, in which students identify and analyse the effect of writing techniques and strategies used by composers of texts and then apply these strategies to their own writing. It is an exciting change, in which the focus of the subject is on how to communicate effectively through texts – and how to identify these strategies. Students have been working consistently on building their textual analysis skills and reflecting on their own writing and learning.<

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