Hawkesbury High School

Caring, learning, connecting

Telephone02 4579 6800

Emailhawkesbury-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Creative arts

In creative arts, students discover a variety of art forms through a study of dance, drama, music and visual arts.

Studying the creative arts, students learn to appreciate, compose, listen, make and perform. Each art form has its own unique knowledge and skills, elements or concepts as well as a capacity to inspire and enrich lives.

Students must study 100 hours of both music and visual arts during Years 7 to 10. They also have an opportunity to further develop their knowledge and skills in other art forms through elective subjects including drama, dance, photography and visual design. Students can then select from a range of courses in Years 11 to 12.

There are numerous performance and exhibition opportunities for students involved in the creative arts at Hawkesbury High School. Opportunities include education week, Hawkesbury music festival, regular exhibitions in the Annex Gallery and Deerubbin Gallery, Hawkesbury High music, art, drama and dance night (MADD), formal assemblies, open night and all creative and performing arts students are welcome to become part of the Glee Club.

Areas covered/courses offered

  • Years 7 to 12 visual arts
  • Years 7 to 12 music
  • Years 7 to 12 drama
  • Year 9 to 10 dance 
  • Year 11 and 12 photography, digital media and visual design

Visual arts 

The comprehensive, board developed visual arts course (Years 7-12) teaches students not only technical skills and appreciation for a range of forms and artists across times but also encourages them to think laterally and work collaboratively.

The programs at Hawkesbury High School focus on projects in:

  • Painting
  • Drawing
  • Sculpture
  • Ceramics
  • Video
  • Photography
  • Digital imaging
  • Printmaking

In visual arts students will also develop sound time management and planning skills as well as develop key literacy and numeracy understandings that are valuable in a range of post-school contexts.

Visual arts is mandatory in Years 7-8 and available as an elective in Years 9-12. In the Preliminary and higher school certificate (HSC) courses visual arts students are involved in a number of tutorials to develop key skills in art making geared toward the development of a body of work that is undertaken over the entire HSC year.

Students will also have the opportunity to partake in exhibitions at the school and in local galleries as well as participate in excursions to galleries and other exciting opportunities designed to enrich the students Art education.

Music

In the music mandatory and elective courses, students will study the concepts of music (duration, pitch, dynamics and expressive techniques, tone colour, texture and structure through performing, composing and listening).

The mandatory course provides a foundation in music for all students. In Year 7 and 8 students learn to play on keyboard and guitar. The elective course will build sequentially from the mandatory course and is designed for students in Years 9 and 10 who wish to extend their musical experiences and learning. Students in the elective course choose which instrument they would like to focus on.

Year 11 and 12 music 1 caters to all skill levels. It is a practical based subject. Students can achieve well in the HSC even if they have very little ability at the beginning of Year 11. The course is designed to develop music knowledge and skills in performance, composition and musicology. Music 1 students can go on to study music at university.

Ensembles and instrumental lessons

There are a number of ensembles that students can join. The ensembles cater for a wide range of instrumental and vocal talent, encouraging students of all musical abilities to participate.

Hawkesbury High School offers instrumental tuition from professional musicians for piano, voice, guitar and all brass and woodwind instruments.

Drama

Drama encourages a cooperative approach to exploring the world through enactment. The collaborative nature of this art form engages students in a creative process of sharing, developing and expressing emotions and ideas. It is a form of action in which students take on a role as a means of exploring both familiar and unfamiliar aspects of their world. They portray aspects of human experience while exploring the ways people react and respond to different situations, issues and ideas.

In Years 7 to 10 both the processes and performances of drama are valued equally. Participants in dramatic processes create meaning by interacting actively, creatively and imaginatively through improvised, spontaneous and structured responses. Participants in drama performance create meaning through their relationship with the audience and experience of this engagement is essential in dramatic presentations.

HSC drama students can investigate, shape, and symbolically represent ideas, feelings, attitudes, beliefs and their consequences. By studying this major art form students acquire skills in interpretation, communication, performance and critical analysis and become aware of the technical processes and technologies that may be used to heighten dramatic presentation. In the critical study of drama and theatre students can recognise the collaborative contribution of actors, directors, playwrights, designers and technicians to production. They develop an understanding of the cultural traditions and social contexts of drama and theatre.

Dance

Dance has existed as a vital part of every known culture throughout time. It is a distinct form of nonverbal communication that uses the body as an instrument of expression, articulating the culture and society from which it emerges. Dance exists today in many forms and is performed for a variety of purposes in differing contexts.

Dance in Years 7 to 10 builds on the knowledge, skills, understanding, values and attitudes offered in the art form of dance in the creative arts K – 6 syllabus (2000). The Dance syllabus has been developed to make dance accessible to all students and educators while encouraging the physical, creative and intellectual development of each student. It encourages the creative and confident use of technologies, including traditional, contemporary and emerging applications in information and communication technologies (ICT). It caters for students with a high level of prior knowledge, skills and experience in dance as well as those without prior knowledge and experience.

Photography and digital media

In senior years 11 and 12, students have the opportunity to choose photography, video and digital imaging a board endorsed course based upon contemporary photographic and digital media practice reflected in a range of vocations.

During the two years, students will learn to use digital and analogu cameras, darkroom equipment, as well as photo editing and movie making software including the Adobe Suite. Students will also learn to use a range of information and communication technology that is applicable to a wide variety of real-world contexts.

The projects students embark upon are a mix of collaborative and individual assessments designed to replicate ideas and processes from various fields of knowledge including but not limited to; photography, performing arts, visual arts, mass media, science, history and mathematics.

Visual design 

Offered to senior students in Years 11 and 12. Visual design is a board endorsed course offered to students. The course is reflective of many vocational opportunities for tertiary education in Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and University such as:

  • Graphic design
  • Architecture
  • Advertising
  • Interior design
  • Product design
  • Jewellery making
  • Fashion design
  • Industrial design

The emphasis in the course is on career related, practical understandings that enable students to experience a range of modules focussed upon real world processes. The project oriented terms begin with a design brief where students are introduced to a ‘client' and their planning, development, implementation and creation of a prototype, project or design builds from there. Each project involves a focus on literacy, numeracy and interdisciplinary practice designed to develop independent learners.

Students embark upon a series of projects over the two years that reflect fundamental design principles, in a range of contexts and client needs that are embedded in current practice. In critical and historical study students evaluate and reflect upon contemporary and historic designers and practitioners, modelling their own designs on exemplary examples in the world.

Special programs/activities offered

  • Music ensembles 
  • MADD
  • Art exhibitions
  • Music tutoring

Staff

  • Ms  A Cullen (Music) ( Year 11 Advisor)
  • Mr J Lander (Visual Arts)
  • Ms K Mladenovic (Year 8 Advisor)