Art
Celebrating the work of our Dance Department!
Congratulations to our amazing Dance Department and Chloe Davison – HOD Dance for writing and launching New Zealand’s very first study guide to support Level 1 Dance learners and their teachers. The very new ESA Level 1 Dance Study Guide – as well as being written Chloe is also put together in combination with former dance teacher Melanie Turner, and Patrice O’Brien from Auckland University. A special feature of this publication is the colour photographs throughout of our students.
Congratulations also to the Y13 Drama cast of Remote presented by director and teacher Beth Kayes. It is always a highlight to see students collaborate in so many ways with so many roles for the class productions so to this year’s Remote crew thank you for your outstanding efforts in theatre.
Looking ahead…
-A highlight of every year are our class productions and we have more to come with Y12 and 11 soon!
-We also have an Arts Roadshow planned to visit local Intermediates and each year student’s love visiting past teachers and schools.
-We wish our Sheilah Winn team (Amy Morrin, Hatty Salmon, Niamh Maher, Sienna Davidson, Sian Azariah and Grace Thevenard well with their Nationals performance of Titus Andronicus Compilation at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington over Queen’s Birthday Weekend. Their performance is scheduled for Saturday 1st May and we’ll all be thinking of them cheering them on.
Finally, it has been fantastic meeting our creative arts parent community at recent Junior Interviews to highlight achievements of students in our classes. Thank you all for coming.
Thanks to Jayna – 13Art Design – for her illustration and ArtsNews Heading in this issue.
arts@wsc.school.nz Kirsty Britton – Arts Coordinator
Remote!
In weeks one and two of the term, the very talented year 13 Drama students presented “Remote” by Stef Smith. Over ten performances the various casts of the two classes brought us a beautiful piece of ensemble theatre. The sparse set allowed us to truly focus on the work of the actors and their storytelling. It enhanced their ensemble work as they created a range of environments and emotional states with only their bodies telling the story. The dialogue was interwoven with shared narration which flowed seamlessly and kept us engaged at all times. We were able to schedule two performances in school time and packed the theatre with the performers’ peers. These were special shows and the actors rose to the occasion. Feedback from student audiences afterwards was overwhelmingly positive. Beth Kayes’ direction was simple, clear and direct and she and her casts created a magical piece of theatre. This play was written specifically for a cast of teenagers and our students absolutely owned it on stage. Congratulations Year 13 Drama and Beth Kayes.
Thank you Amy Morrin for photography. HOD Drama – Robert Pollock
Music in the News!
There has been lots going on in and around the department.
RockQuest heats were last weekend – congratulations to bands Caught Inside and Park Rd who are through to the regional finals to be held June 8th, 7pm, at the Dorothy Winstone Theatre Auckland Girls. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Early in the term a busload of musicians headed into the Town Hall to watch and hear the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Discovery concert. We had the best view in the venue from up in the balcony, we could see the whole orchestra at work.
This week saw the start of a special mentoring project with the NZ Music Commission. Tommy Nee will be with us for five weekly sessions working with a group of yr 11 and 12 musicians on composition and performance. Here they are obviously enjoying working with their mentor for the first time.
Our wonderful vocal tutor Leza Corban runs an occasional open mike night for her students. The recent event at Garnet Station featured our very own Edie Voon-Clarke. If students are interested in taking part in this event they should come and talk to Margaret in the music department.
Our next event is a performance by an ensemble named Aucktet. This group consists of….8 trombones!! We are intrigued and excited…!
HOD Music – Margaret Robertson
Greetings from the Visual Art Department
At the time of writing it is week three and the department and students have definitely hit the ground running. The Y10 students are working towards completing work for NCEA Level 1 credits with their Lichtenstein inspired self-portraits using house paint on wood and the Y11s will be finishing their seven works for the first internal of the year through the comprehensive drawing standard. Similarly, for the third year in a row, the Y12 Painters are also using house paint on their ‘Anei ahau’ intersecting identities unit, however their work is larger scale and more complex to meet the Level 2 assessment criteria.
We have been fortunate to have had TIC Art Design and Arts Coordinator Kirsty Britton organise three tertiary speakers this term for the year 13 students. First up was Dr Deb Polson and Catherine Cutler from the new Bachelor of Design undergraduate program at the University of Auckland. Following, John Piper from AUT talked about moving image design with the very popular Digital Design degree course, then lastly senior lecturer Lisa Crowley from ELAM outlining vocational options and the degree/conjoint degree possibilities. All sessions were well attended with a number of opportunities for students to participate in workshops and portfolio days later in the term. Senior students were even treated to an impromptu ‘drawing exercise’ lead by two current ELAM students (one of which was ex-Springer Romily Marbrook).
2019 Elam Workshop with Lisa Crowley and Catherine Cutler
To mark the end of our two and a half year tenure in the temporary school – the Y13 Painting students have taken over the former vestibule/utility space in Y7 to create a one-off personalised ‘Story time’ work created entirely of tape. The professional practise associated with tape art as an international art form is well documented and inclusive of cultures, gender, ages and context. The student works will count toward Level 3 internal credits and feature as an exhibition opening/closing celebration open to the public (later in the term).
Y13 painters prepping for ‘Tape-Art’
Lastly, thank you to the families and guardians who have paid the Art fees – this supports our courses and enables us to purchase specialist materials and resources for all year levels.
Ia Manuia HOD Art – Lily Laita
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