2015 Year 6/7

It has been a long time between posts and I have truly missed blogging. I am enjoying working with the Year6/7 class and I have just started working in there four days a week. I am hoping to do regular post for the rest of the term.

Currently we are concentrating on Canberra, the history and many other aspects that will tie in with camp next term. The students are very keen. Tomorrow I will show the class my Dad’s Army medals so they can see some close up. We have also started looking at Civics and Citizenship as this ties in very closely to Canberra. The students will start their Political Research tomorrow. They will need to research political terms, previous prime ministers and what the different parties mean.

We are in the middle of looking at Liveable Spaces and what constitutes a liveable or unliveable space. It has definitely opened the students eyes to living conditions around the world.

Finally, have a focus on the Real Game which is a unit looking at jobs and having a job. It allows the students to learn terms such as wages, tax, profile and other terms related to having a job, mortgage and responsibilities.

Busy busy

Regards Natarsha 

 

Performing Arts Update

Wow!!! I am very proud of the year 6/7 class today. After three terms of hard work they finally performed their Hansel and Gretel play in front of a big audience of peers and family. The audience had many laughs and seemed to have really enjoyed it.

They all looked confident and their hard work shined through. Thank you very much to Kathy and Kerry for the support they gave us over the duration of the play.

The props and costumes were all organised by the class and they looked fantastic. A big WELL DONE to all the understudies who had to jump in at the last minute! You guys never missed a beat.

So Very Proud:)

The Footsteps concert is next Tuesday 23rd September. All classes look fantastic. I am really pleased with how hard everyone is working and they look great on the stage.

Many students have said they didn’t really like Footsteps at the beginning but now they are really enjoying it and can’t wait until the concert- this is great feedback and a positive step.

What a great term we have had 🙂

Making hats out of newspaper and sticky tape to tell a story

The boys working on their kangaroo picture

Mixture of Performing Arts and Classroom

It has been a long time between posts. School life has been very busy. We finished the term off with most classes walking around singing Frozen or top 40 songs. All students enjoyed learning the various songs chosen and they could sing them with ease and confidence by the end of the term it was nice having the students ask if they could sing certain songs as the worked through the door.
The younger students enjoyed learning a couple of my favourites, such as Juicy Juicy Green Grass and On Top Of Spaghetti.
The 6/7 will hopefully get back into the play next week after their camp.

My shared 2/3 class continue to work hard and are especially enjoying our plotting the mystery picture unit. They will often work through recess or finish their pictures in free time if they don’t get to finish during the lesson. Yesterday we did a very powerful sharing circle. The students had the opportunity to share their feelings about certain issues threatening environment. The rule is what is said during the circle stays in the classroom. The confidence and honesty the students used made me very proud.

Til next time 🙂

Performing Arts Update

Wow, can’t believe it is the end of week 5 already!!! We have had a busy and productive term- lots of fun, laughter and singing.

The R-6 classes have been busy singing modern songs from Frozen and top 40 charts. The feedback from parents has been very positive- there is lots of singing in homes and cars. Many R-1 parents are enjoying hearing their children singing On Top of Spaghetti and Juicy Juicy Green Grass, with comments being ‘ I remember learning that song’. I enjoy seeing the happiness and enjoyment in each lesson.

Mr Blacker’s class have just finished making character hats out of newspaper and performing in small groups. There were some very funny and entertaining performances. This class is about to start some singing and we will be looking at some cartooning.

Mrs Turley’s class are very busy with their play production. Many of the students know their lines without scripts now. We also had a very busy lesson this week making props and finding costumes for them all to wear.

All students often ask to finish lessons with activities from last term.

I am loving this role and seeing many students stepping out of their comfort zone and having a go at lots of new things.

Remember ‘Imagination is the key’

Natarsha 🙂

Term 2 2014

Tomorrow we begin a new term. I am looking forward to teaching singing with the Reception to Year 3 and finishing off Drama with the older groups.

The Year 6/7 play is coming along nicely with props getting made and lines being learnt at a reasonably fast pace. I love watching the enthusiasm in this lovely group of students.

The year 6 class will also be performing the plays they have written. There are some very interesting concepts to say the least. This group has learnt the importance of working together and listening to all opinions and ideas.

I am looking forward to a very exciting and busy term.

Performing Arts Update

It’s been another busy few weeks. The students have been involved in many activities with a twist!
The activities have included; Word Tennis-which works on projecting your voice and posture; Smugglers-which is a silent game where students need to try and get a tennis ball around the circle without out getting caught by the ‘detective’; Pass the story-which encourages students to improvise and think on the spot- as a class the students need to add one word at a time to the story as it goes around the circle. Finally, the older students have been trying to work together in groups in order to demonstrate different forms of transport.

The R-3 students have been concentrating on Heroes and Villians. As classes we have been brainstorming the heroes they recognise from tv, movies and stories. Then we identified Villians from the same genres. Once the brainstorm was over the students were asked to draw their villain or hero and identify something about them. For example cape, Ben 10’s watch and so on.

Mrs.Roberts 5/6 class are in the process of making Newspaper hats. This involves the students developing a story in small groups which includes trying to tie all the different hats and characters together.

Until next time- follow your dreams.
Kindest Regards
Natarsha

More Drama News

We have had a very busy couple of weeks. We have had a focus on Mime and cooperation activities, however the Year 6 and Year 6/7 classes made hats out of newspaper and sticky tape. The students needed to think of a character and make a hat accordingly. They also had to think of six characteristics that the character would have and list them. Once they had finished they needed to find other students that had similar characteristics and perform a short skit.
Their skits were entertaining and well put together. I laughed a lot with the students. There are some very talented and funny students in the higher end of our school.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be working towards projecting our voices and working from scripts.

The younger students have enjoyed participating in various mime, concentration and group games/activities. These have included Eyes Right, Freeze, Smugglers and Old Man/Woman statues.

The key to my lessons is imagination and the students are definitely using theirs.

Until next time,
Natarsha 🙂

Performing Arts 2014

Welcome back to school, I hope everyone had a lovely break. I am enjoying my new role as the Performing Arts teacher. I haven’t provided NIT for a few years and I am looking forward to the new challenges this will provide. This role gives me the opportunity to work with all the students in the school which is always a lovely experience to have. I will also have the opportunity to work in a 2/3 class on Thursday and Friday, where I will continue Art and Cooking on Fridays.

Over the past two days I have worked with most classes. I am loving the energy and excitement the students are already bringing to the lessons. The students have performed mime, made animal noises, become statues and played Chinese whispers with a twist. They are all keen to act, perform and have fun during our time together.

Each week I aim to update all the ‘Dramatic’ things happening in Term 1. I am aiming to do some plays with the older classes with the hope we can perform them in front of other classes or assemblies. In the coming weeks I also hope to post some pictures to show some of the interesting things we will be doing.

I hope you continue to follow me this year and I would love to hear your feedback.

Imagination is the key……..what do you think?

Til next week
Natarsha 🙂