Celebration of Learning

Year 7 French

Food featured in term 4 for the Year 7 class. In particular, ratatouille (French ‘vegetable stew’) was well-liked. Some even described it as délicieux.

Year 7 French once more enjoyed learning about French culture and society through the annual Song Competition. Students chose their favourite French song or musical item and class members of each class voted to select a winner. Winners were:  Allegra Nassar, 7AL, who chose the most popular song  Dernière Dance by Indila, Gemma Vidler 7CL, with Willy William’s Ego. Runner up was Afroza Kazi, 7ML  with Alain le Lait’s J’aime  les Fruits. Prizes were a $20 I-tunes voucher and chocolates.

8M PDHPE  

Initiative/Challenge activities as part of the Active Lifestyles Unit with a festive twist:

• Santa's sleigh (use the 2 mats to get your sleigh to the end of the court without falling in the snow - the court)
• Hoola Huts (breaking the 2 levels achieved by Yr 8 last year to successfully do 3 levels)
• Collect your presents (using 3 hoops, teams of 4 (without falling in the snow - the court) collect the presents (bean bags) to put under their tree (end of court).

CAPA News

Music

CAPA had a relatively quiet year in terms of performing but that did not stop the girls working towards some wonderful performances in class and many of our ensembles resumed regular rehearsals in Term 4. 

MADD 2020 took place on Thursday 3rd December. Even though we were unable to invite parents and friends to an evening performance we did hold 4 shows for years 7 - 10 in periods 1 - 4 respectively.

This enabled our performing artists to showcase the work they have been developing throughout the year in class and in cocurricular ensembles. This was a great success and highlighted how far CGHS has come in the performing arts. A video featuring Music, Dance and Drama items from MADD 2020 will be available to view via a link on the Home page of the school website in a timely manner.

I would like to remind you that we have Private Music Tutors with a depth of knowledge and expertise on a full range of instruments. Lessons do book up quickly so please get in touch with tutors in advance to guarantee a place.

Dance

For our very talented dance students, it has been a very trying year due to the unfortunate splitting of our company according to year group and then the disruption of ‘on again, off again’ rehearsals. Despite these challenges, both company groups were finally able to premiere their dance pieces at MADD Day.

Year 7 Company performed a lyrical dance ‘Moon and Moon’ for their year 7 peers in the first show of the day. The students had been learning this choreography on Tuesday mornings as part of their technique training. This was a challenging routine, but they rose to the occasion, performing with great focus and integrity. Their second performance piece was ‘Purple Hat’. This jazz dance was co-choreographed by the students themselves and they performed it with great pride and ‘swagger’.

Ms Hunter and the Year 9 company have worked all year towards developing a very sophisticated piece called ‘Selection’ which is based on the Jewish experience of the Holocaust. In addition to their superb performances at MADD day, a video of this work has been submitted for inclusion in the ‘In the Spotlight Virtual Dance Festival’. Canterbury Girls’ have been involved in the live version of this regional festival every year for the last 12 years and we were determined not to miss this one either. The Festival videos will be made available for schools to view from Monday the 7th December to December 18th. Congratulations to Ms Hunter on her wonderful choreography and to the Year 9 students who continue to demonstrate exemplary performance skills.

Dance Elective students were also able to showcase their Term 4 performance projects at MADD Day. Year 8 Dance presented group performances from a variety of genres from classical ballet to Musical Theatre. Year 9 students performed their assessment routine ‘In your Arms’ in groups and Year 10 performed their 9-minute work ‘Black Summer’, inspired by the 2019/20 bushfires.

Despite the circumstances, the dance students have maintained their amazing enthusiasm, work ethic and focus. We are certainly looking forward to a more jam-packed year of dance performance opportunities next year.

Drama

Like performing artists all over the world, budding thespians at CGHS have shown remarkable resilience this year. Their creativity and capacity for lateral thinking have been inspiring. In a world of increasing uncertainty, these skills will become crucial, and our students have been able to pivot remarkably well, adapting to seemingly impossible restrictions. 

Film has become a focus for many Drama students this year, and they have taken on these projects with great gusto, collaboratively producing horror films, detective stories, and comedic takes on their lockdown experiences. They have learned key skills in acting for screen, scriptwriting, structuring a story, filming, editing and sound editing. Keep your eyes peeled for links to these films, as many students are currently busily editing their footage. 

As restrictions have eased, we have been able to increase opportunities for students to perform in front of live audiences in a COVID-safe way; MADD has been a welcome chance for students to showcase the work that they previously have not been able to perform live. 

As well as this, we have started rehearsals for the 2021 CGHS musical, and already the commitment, professionalism and talent of the cast has been most impressive. It will be a welcome day indeed when we can finally welcome the wider school community back to our performing spaces to applaud our talented students! 

Year 9 Textiles

Year 9 have now completed their mini-kimono, (and two side bags). Last Newsletter a few photos were included explaining that the girls used three techniques, Tie Dye, Block Printing, and Hand Painting. Each student completed their task having learned new skills applying these decorative techniques to their kimono but also gained understanding about manufacturing a quality item using both a sewing machine and an overlocker in order to achieve a completed work. 

Year 7 Visual Arts

Beautiful Australian Flora Watercolour paintings.

Year 10 Visual Arts

This is work completed by Year 10 Art class on the Frames.

These are Yr 10 Visual Arts Appropriation paintings.

These are Yr 10 Visual Arts Etchings

CSI at Canterbury Girls

Human remains have been found in an unused Science Store Room. Year 9 students at Canterbury Girls came upon the body on Thursday afternoon.

Acting as forensic scientists and with access to the FBI’s Handbook of Forensic Services, the students believe the person's death was suspicious, however they think the cause of death would be difficult to determine.

A crime scene has been established, with a forensic examination underway.