Specialist Classes

MUSIC - Mrs Lisa Scott

What a fantastic start we have had to 2023! It has been wonderful to see so many smiling and enthusiastic students over the past few weeks and in particular to meet the new Prep students and welcome them to the Music room. In Music this term we will be covering the following topics:

Prep students will explore familiar songs and nursery rhymes. They will develop their skills in keeping a steady beat through singing, dancing and playing a variety of percussion instruments.

Year 1 and Year 2, students will be developing their knowledge of beat and rhythm through a variety of ‘hands on’ practical music making activities and games. They will continue to develop their singing skills.

Year 3 students will be focussing on how to play a variety of xylophones, glockenspiels, metallophones and marimbas and also about the instruments in the orchestra. They will develop techniques to play music in unison and in parts.

Year 4 students will be learning techniques to play the ukulele and will use these to play and sing along to a variety of music. They will also learn about the elements of music and how these are used in a variety of different pieces of music.

Year 5 will experience playing the keyboard. They will be learning to play melodies and chords to accompany a variety of songs in whole class music making.

Year 6 students will further develop their individual skills in instrumental playing by choosing an instrument that they wish to study (Guitar/Keyboard/Ukulele/Marimba). They will unite as a whole class to perform songs to an audience.

All students in Years 4-6 will be rehearsing for the school production during their music lesson.

PERFORMING ARTS - Mrs Carmen Collins

I am so excited to be continuing my journey as the Performing Arts – Drama teacher at Hillsmeade Primary School. Our first 5 weeks of sessions have been full of fun and smiles and learning it is a safe place to test our comfort zones!

This term the learning plan per year level is…

PREP – students will focus on role plays with animals and fairy tales, whilst learning to use the learning space safely.

YEAR 1 – students will be developing their knowledge of acting and performing focussing on everyday situations and emotions from books, and using puppets and masks to display these skills.

YEAR 2 – students will be developing their knowledge of acting and performing focussing on characters traits and emotions, using masks and puppets they make to becoming new characters.

YEAR 3 – student will use their acting skills to participate in drama games and skill development activities including improvisation and characterisation.

YEAR 4 – students will be challenged to refine their acting skills to include effective use of their voice, the space and how character might move and act. Students will also be learning and practising a class song and dance for production and the finale song.

YEAR 5 – students will explore the elements of drama through improvised and planned performances, learning that Performing Arts is a safe place to express your individuality and expand their comfort zone. Students will also be learning and practising a class song and dance for production and the finale song.

YEAR 6 – students will further develop their acting and performance skills using the elements of drama to perform improvised and planned performances, pushing the boundaries of their comfort zone to perform to the class in character. Students will also be learning and practising a class song and dance for production and the finale song

PHYSICAL EDUCATION – Mr Ahmad Chazbek/Mr Jeff McGann

Semester 1 is a busy term with a range of sporting and athletic events for our students to experience. We have already held the Hillsmeade swimming trials at Kingswim where students competed for positions in the Hillsmeade swimming squad. The students that made it into the swimming squad competed in the District swimming competition at Doveton swimming pool on Wednesday 1st March. 

The students did an amazing job with seven students winning their events and moving on to the Divisional level competition.

Our Year 5 and Year 6 sports teams have also been working hard in preparation for the interschool and Lightning Premiership competition. This semester we have teams in cricket, T-Ball, netball, badminton and soccer. 

Students in Years 4 to 6 will be competing in the Hillsmeade cross country on Friday the 10th of March for the opportunity to represent the school at the District and Division cross country events later in the semester. Students in these year levels will also be participating in the Hillsmeade Athletics Carnival on the last day of term 2. 

This is a fun day where students will get to try each of the athletic events as well as the opportunity to represent the school in the District and Divisional athletic carnivals.

Digitech/Media Arts – Mr Hardev Singh/Mrs Janelle Struth

Prep, 1 and 2: Students having been learning how to use QR codes to scan different activities and are learning how to use a keyboard and the different functions as well as learning how to type. They will be learning how to research using a kid- friendly search engine called ‘ Kiddle’ and will understand how to take a photo and use the photo for different purposes.

Grade 3: Students have been learning about the different aspects of photography and how to use them to take a photo. They used creative techniques to capture unique photos and then use the photos to create collage to display their learning. They will be learning how to sign into office 365 and exploring the different areas that office 365 has to offer.

Years 4-6 have used Microsoft Teams to access tasks for Media Arts.  The goals are shared along with rubrics so students know what the teacher focuses on for their task.  Students can then upload their work to the teacher, who can assess and give feedback. Microsoft Teams also shares work with other students to demonstrate exemplary work.  Students are exposed to tasks involving Canva, Microsoft’s suite of tools for creating posters, portfolios, movies, and animation.  Some of these projects include:

• Creating Digital Portfolios
• E-books from student writing
• Posters for Hillsmeade events
• Producing short videos to raise awareness of causes.

Art –Mrs Lainie Owen/Mrs Andrea Garwood

Welcome to term 1! We are excited to have Art back on the specialist program. We have set up our new room with lots of new equipment and Art supplies.

Prep - students have been focussing on their cutting and pasting skills while completing collage pictures. They have been introduced to warm and cool watercolours and completed an underwater scene with oil pastles and food dye. We are looking forward to them creating portraits using mix media and looking at primary and secondary colours.

Year 1 and 2 - students have used watercolour to compliment their line and pattern ice cream drawings. They used food dye and oil pastels for an underwater scene. They have been introduced to the artist Matisse and completed collage pictures. We are looking forward to producing some whole body portraits using mix media and looking at primary and secondary colours.

Year 3 & 4 - students have used watercolour paint for their line and pattern drawings of tea cups. They have also experimented with collage and water coloured Monet inspired water lilies. At the start of the term they used their graffiti art skills to design their names. Students will look at Picasso split face portrait drawings and use secondary colour palettes to produce silhouettes.

Year 5 & 6 have been looking at the artists Matisse and Monet to produce watercolour Japanese bridges and waterlilies and paper collage. They also designed their names in graffiti art and used lines and patterns for their cactus drawings which they then coloured using a variety of tools. Students will look at Picasso portrait drawings and use secondary colour palettes to produce silhouettes.