The Arts, P.E. & stem

PERFORMING ARTS

The Performing Arts program continues to lift-the-roof and shake the walls at St. Joe’s!  Throughout the term, our Prep and Junior children have been learning the skills of Dance and Body Movement.

Each week the children have been developing their ability to move their bodies to the beat and rhythm of hand-picked music pieces.  This type of dance movement requires observation, fluent transition from one step to another, hand-eye coordination, timing, pace adjustments from fast to slow and reverse as well as memory recall.  The selection of music ranges from classical, mid-century genres such as rock n roll, right through to contemporary tunes. 

The children have grown to understand that being a good audience member is crucial to the whole picture of the Performing Arts.  When part of the audience, the children are developing skills such as sitting still and quietly, facing the performers, clapping at appropriate times and generally showing respect to those ‘on the stage’.  At different times, the class splits into two, with half performing and half practicing the skills associated with being a respectful member of the audience.

VISUAL ARTS

The Visual Arts program continues to engage and excite at St. Joe’s!  Throughout the term, the children have been experimenting with a variety of art materials and mixed media techniques.

Using line, shape, texture, contrast and colour, the children have created Self-Portraits using oil pastels, brown and colour craft paper and watercolour paints.  Our Middles and Seniors practised a higher level of technique by creating a mixed media self-portrait collage inspired by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Our Shadow Drawings were created by the children  embracing experimentation and mark-making and of course taking advantage of a sunny day!  Using basic skills in observation and tracing, our artists used a continuous line to follow a found shadow to complete a unique and interesting image.  To extend their shadow drawings, the children introduced watercolour paint to the design to bring the image to life.

Inspired by the children’s storybook “If You’re A Monster And You Know It”, the children from Prep-2 created their very own Monster Madness Collage.  This activity is designed to enhance paper skills and consider shape, colour, tearing, cutting, layering and symmetry.  Assorted decorative papers including coloured, patterned, decorative and recycled paper, were used to create each art piece.

Our stairwell is showcasing some very Cranky Bears so please tread carefully when you’re next in!!!!  Our P-2 artists used the design process and explored mark-making, pattern and design.  This activity was inspired by the classic fairytale ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’.  Our cranky bears were based on the elements and principles of shape, colour, pattern and line and created using the media of watercolour pencils and crayon.

Animal Finger-Printing was next on our list…  the children explored colour-mixing and created  images using their imaginations.  Provided with a simple starting point such as an eye, artists were then let to build their own animal image.  Working in a sensory manner, the children used their fingertips as a printing tool – exploring both paint and touch.

Needless to say, our Artspace has been filled with much joy and a general sense of fun and creativity! 

P.E. NEWS...

This term the children in Years 3 to 6 were fortunate enough to be coached by a wonderful netball coach (Rikki) as part of the Federal Government’s Sport in Schools Program. The children spent a lot of time coming to a better understanding of the sport’s rules and the positions on the court as well as developing better ball skills and applying certain strategies to match situations. But most importantly, as Rikki kept emphasizing, netball requires great collaboration and the capacity to work as a team.