1003 The Arts - March 2010

March 2010

Prepared by Robin Taua-Gordon

Curriculum Report – The Arts

Focus

• The focus for the curriculum of ‘The Arts’ within the school is to ensure that Dance, Drama, Visual Arts and Sound Arts are a regular part of the curriculum in all classrooms.  It is also the focus of the school to provide the students with a range of experiences in these areas, outside of the classroom programme.Using the New Zealand Curriculum as a guiding document we need to ensure that students have the opportunity to have understanding, develop practical knowledge, develop ideas and communicate and interpret the four different areas of The Arts.

Programme

• Visual Art programmes throughout the school are presently designed by classroom teachers supporting topic studies and general drawing and painting techniques.  The other areas are covered in the classroom programmes to varying degrees.  Dance is being covered school-wide with the introduction of movement to music (in the form of Jump Jam) during the morning fitness programme.  Drama and music require a certain level of skill from the teacher and as people generally tend to work within their understandings the amount of music and drama experienced in each classroom is very different.  As a school we will try to provide opportunities for the children to be exposed to as many different forms of ‘The Arts’ as possible.  Room 3 has been set up as a ‘school music room’.  There are musical instruments available and a safe space for dance and drama.So far this year we have had a group of authors come to perform, the children from the whanau unit have done a kapa haka performance, Rooms 13 and 14 receive weekly kapa haka tuition and the children in the whanau unit are going to the Ngati Hine Festival to watch and appreciate Kapa Haka from other schools.

Looking at the year ahead

• We will continue to look for opportunities where the different forms of ‘The Arts’ are promoted.  Syndicates may need to look at utilising the current skills of staff so to ensure adequate coverage of each of the strands in all classrooms. 

• The budget is still quite intact as it is early in the year and classroom programmes are quite well supported in resources.