Performing Arts
The Performing Arts program at WPS enables students to learn ways of creating and making, experiencing, exploring, representing, negotiating and understanding their thoughts, emotions, values, and cultural beliefs through engaging in Drama, Dance, Media, and Music activities.
Students in each year level will participate in a term of Dance, Drama, Media, and Music developing their knowledge of Performing Arts from Prep to Grade 6.
Each class has a weekly timetabled session of Performing Arts and students participate in collaborative class activities and tasks which are aligned to the Victorian Curriculum for The Arts.
Students learn to negotiate, take risks, be imaginative, explore alternative solutions, share opinions, develop performance skills, rehearse, refine techniques and reflect on their performances.
Students focus on Dance, Drama, Music and Media practices by exploring and expressing ideas, presenting, and responding to, and interpreting their own and others’ Performing Arts works.
All students at WPS will be given the opportunity to perform in performances at various levels of the school such as –
- Wakakirri National Dance Story Competition, which the Senior School Students participate in every second year.
- The Senior School Production held at The Mahon Theatre every alternate year.
- The Festival of the Arts market every consecutive year which combines Performing Arts, street theatre performances, and Visual Arts and Art works in a school-based gallery.
- The Senior School and Junior School Film Festival, where the students create their own short films, storyboard their movies, create scripts, rehearse, film, and edit their movies. These Short Film Festivals are held at Reading Cinemas, Chirnside Park.
- Inhouse productions for the students by the students in our Middle School.
In addition to all these performances, students also perform to each other regularly in class as they share their group work during weekly classes
Students will be able to develop their understanding of Performing Arts through a variety of hands-on programs and workshops throughout the year.
Workshops in all areas of Performing Arts are held with experts in their fields sharing their skills including Stunt Skills, Circus Skills, Dance Classes in Tap and Hip Hop, Hula Hoop dancing, and Puppeteering.
As part of our WPS student leadership team, our Year 6 students are given the opportunity to become Specialist Captains. As part of their role, these captains organise and maintain the WPS costume wardrobe, conduct Public Speaking at Performing Arts events such as Productions and Film Festivals, and run Performing Arts lunchtime clubs for students throughout the year such as Dance club.
Our Performing Arts teacher, Jacinta O’Leary, is a qualified Generalist Primary School Teacher and a Qualified Drama and Dance Teacher and she has a background in the Performing Arts industry. Jacinta has a passion and enthusiasm for this area of the curriculum.
The Performing Arts Program provides a positive and stimulating environment that encourages the students to have confidence in their own ability and engages each student to make progress at their individual level of ability.
At Warranwood Primary, the Performing Arts program aims to build the self-esteem of each student to explore and celebrate the human experience, take risks, empathise, create a sense of curiosity, and challenge their own creativity.
