Subject Overviews

Name of Subject

Content or Overview

Stage 4 Art

Students will develop knowledge, understanding and skills:

to make artworks informed by their understanding of practice, the conceptual framework

and the frames

to critically and historically interpret art informed by their understanding of practice, the conceptual framework and the frames.

Music in Stage 4 learn how to read music through listening, composition and performance, which is presented in a broad manner to accommodate a range of learning needs.

Students are taught how to play the keyboard in Year 7 within the context of music from various cultures, including Africa, Japan, Ireland, Indigenous Australian and Australian Folk music.

Year 8 are taught how to read guitar tablature in the context of ‘Australian Rock Music' and ‘Music that Tells a Story'.  They learn to play the guitar during these two terms. From then, they are given the choice of either keyboard or guitar for the topics ‘Structure in Music' and ‘Music for Film and Television'

Students  in Stage 5 are expected to be able to read music competently and gain a thorough understanding of Music theory throughout the course. They are also expected to play an instrument or sing to an acceptable standard as this will assist them in practical assessments. Listening activities are included in the course to develop aural skills.

The topics covered in Year 9 are Music for Theatre, Music of a Culture, ‘900 Years of Music' (1100AD to 1900) and Music for Small Ensembles. They compose music using their own laptop computers and perform a range of items that reflect each topic. Listening tasks also reflect the topics studied and are designed to allow students to develop an understanding of Music theory.

In Year 10 , the topics covered are ‘Jazz', ‘Australian Music of the 20^th/21^stCentury', ‘Australian Popular Music' and ‘Classic Hits'. Composition and some Music theory tasks are completed on their student laptops.

Stage 5 Art

Students will expand on their knowledge, understanding and skills:

to make artworks informed by their understanding of practice, the conceptual framework

and the frames

to critically and historically interpret art informed by their understanding of practice, the conceptual framework and the frames.

Stage 5 Photography

Students will develop knowledge, understanding and skills:

• to make photographic and digital works informed by their understanding of practice,

the conceptual framework and the frames

• to critically and historically interpret photographic and digital works informed by their understanding of practice, the conceptual framework and the frames.

Stage 6 Art

Students will develop knowledge, skills and understanding of how they may represent their interpretations of the world in artmaking as an informed point of view.

Students will develop knowledge, skills and understanding of how they may represent an informed point of view about the visual arts in their critical and historical accounts.

Students in Stage 6 complete the Music 1 course, which has a balance of Musicology, Composition, Aural Skills and Performance. In Year 11, these tasks are equally weighted but in Year 12 students have a choice of Composition, Musicology and Performance for their three ‘elective' choices. These electives make up approximately 72% of their H.S.C. and most students at this school take the performance options. There is one compulsory Musicology and one compulsory Composition task to be completed and the Listening outcomes are assessed in formal examinations.

The topics covered in Year 11 are ‘Music of 20^th/21^stCentury', ‘Music for Film and Television' and ‘Music for Small Ensembles' while in Year 12 some choice is available for students. While ‘Instrument and Its Repertoire' is covered by all students in Year 12, they are to choose two topics from the following: ‘Music for Religion', Music of a Culture', ‘Popular Music' and ‘Technology and Its Influence on Music'. In this way, the talents and interests of all students are taken into account and they have ownership over their own musical choices.

Stage 6 Photography

Students will develop knowledge, skills and understanding, through the making of photographs, and/or videos and/or digital images, that lead to and demonstrate conceptual and technical accomplishment.

Students will develop knowledge, skills and understanding that lead to increasingly accomplished critical and historical investigations of photography and/or video and/or digital imaging.