Middle School students have shown a real flair for the arts this semester. In Visual Art, our students have demonstrated their capacity for creating authentic work across a range of subject matter. Utilising a variety of technical disciplines, there is a wide selection of work including portraiture, grid drawings, and sculpture. In Performance, students explored the power of audio as a storytelling medium, with a relevant and timely emphasis on art as a digital construct. The real-world skill sets required saw our students taking on the various roles of script writer, sound engineer, voice actor, and producer. Music has adopted a similar real-world mode of learning, with students considering the current needs of musicians regarding alternatives to live events and concerts. The learning resulted in the online “Band Slam” concert, where pre-recorded video content was presented digitally in real time to the whole Middle School. Be it Art, Performance, or Music, the breadth and quality of the work exhibited here is truly impressive!

Robert Kilvington-Shaw
Visual & Performing Arts Head of Department

Middle School Art

We’ve had a very busy semester in Middle School Art, starting off on zoom but then finishing off the year with a bang being back on campus full time! 

Middle School Music

The senior middle school cohort have been hard at work in music this semester, demonstrating their creativity, talent, and resilience in both individual and collaborative settings. Through online learning and the integration of music technology, students established themselves as composers, producers, and sound engineers.

Grade 7 expanded upon their understanding of compositional techniques by creating original music that focused on the construction of chords and harmonic devices.

Grade 8 delved into the world of Found Sound recording, collecting everyday sounds from around the home, which were then transformed into music. The work shows a high level of musical craftsmanship and technological acumen.

With a return to on-campus lessons, the event “Band Slam” was re-established as a mainstay in the senior cohort’s curriculum. Students formed bands with their peers and independently learned to play a song of their choice. Each class voted for their favourite band to go through to the final, which will be held on June 16. Considering the reduced time and access to music-making this year, Mr. Kilvington-Shaw could not be prouder of all the senior cohort’s musical outcomes. They have done remarkably well, as the work exhibited here shows.

The musical year wrapped up in a spectacular way with the senior cohort Samba Band’s performance at the annual TEDx event. The performance was powerful and invigorating, helping to bring a contrasting energy to the wonderful talks delivered by our insightful students.

Middle School Performance

It has been another unique year for MS Performance. We have developed new ways of performing both remotely and on-site with these original audio dramas. Students learned about scriptwriting, sound proofing, sound treatment, and vocal technique to prepare for this project. The creativity that students use in not only creating the content, but also finding solutions to production problems and collaboration is a great example of how our students use their knowledge and apply it. These are just some of the audio dramas out of the many excellent projects, we hope you enjoy them!