Iona Presentation College

DRAMA - Report by Mr Max Leech

Drama is alive and well at Iona College and offers the students an enriching and vibrant course. Drama is part of our everyday life and is one of the oldest art forms. Through taking on roles and enacting real and imagined events, performers engage audiences who suspend their disbelief to enter the world of drama. Every student is challenged to open her mind to original ideas, self-expression and communication. It is a ‘real’ and varied art form found in play, storytelling, street theatre, festivals, film, television, interactive games, performance art and theatres.

Year 7 All students in Year 7 undertake Drama for one Term. During this time they will explore the fun of Italian clowning called ‘Commedia Dell Arte’. Having fun exploring stock characters, masks and costumes. The course is an introduction to Drama and focuses on building confidence while meeting new people in a safe environment.

Year 8 Drama is an elective in Year 8 and runs for 3 periods a week for the whole year. Current tasks include: Archetype Characters ‘Heroes & Villains’, Circus Skills, Critical Review and Class devised performance for Variety Night.

Year 9 Drama is an elective in Year 9 and runs for 3 periods a week for the whole year. Current tasks include: Improvisation, Documentary Drama, Production & Design Exploration, Critical Review and Class devised performance for Variety Night.

Year 10 Drama is an elective in Year 10 and runs for 3 periods a week for the whole year. Current tasks include: Scripted Scenes, Production & Design Application, Monologue Performances, and Class devised performance for Variety Night.

Year 11                 Currently Stage Two if offered for this Course of Study
                             Focus for Unit 2A: DRAMATIC ACTION/Realist Styles, Forms and Theories
                             Focus for Unit 2B: CHALLENGE AND IDENTITY/Non-Realist Styles, Forms and Theories.

Year 12                 Two alternative pathways are offered for this Course of Study:
                            Stage Two is repeated with a different context and content. This is appropriate for those students who found the rigor Year 11’s course challenging.
                                     Stage Three is appropriate for students who gained at least a Grade ‘B’ in Year 11. This is suited to students using Drama for university entry after Year 12.

Associated Co-curricular

College Production: Each year the College presents a production. Students are auditioned and selected from across the entire College to make up cast and crew. The performances are of the highest standard and enjoyed by all.

Interhouse Drama: Year 12 Drama students, audition, cast, direct and produce a 20 – 30 minute scripted production. Students from across the College are encouraged to audition.

Interhouse Dance: Year 12 Culture Captains, audition, choreograph and produce an awe inspiring dance routine. Tickets sell out immediately for this event.

Interhouse Theatre Sports: The mayhem of Spontaneous Improvisations is battled out on stage by each house. Professional Actors guide the students through this live performance. All Ionian’s can participate.

IGSSA Dance: Have your chance to represent the College in a showcase of Dance routines presented by other Independent Girls’ Schools.

NIDA TOUR: A week spent in Sydney with other keen drama students from WA work-shopping their performance skills at NIDA under the tuition of professionals in their field.

VISUAL ARTS 2009 - Report by Mrs. Lisa Fay - June 2009

‘Art is an adventure that never seems to end’

This charming metaphor, I believe, embodies the wonderful attitude displayed by our Art students here at Iona. From our Year 7 students being exposed to many of the disciplines & techniques for the first time, right through to the Year 12’s who are presenting sophisticated, conceptual portfolio’s in preparation for tertiary interviews, our students all present a wholehearted & enthusiastic approach to this subject.

What’s been happening this year?

There have been some exciting changes in the Art department this year. Firstly, we welcomed two new staff members to the team - Mrs Judith Robinson (Art teacher) and Ms Holly Pepper (Art technician). We also welcomed, for the first time, our Year 7’s to the school. 2009 also saw the implementation of the exciting new 1A/1B & 2A/2B Courses for our Year 11’s.

Students at Iona have the opportunity to experience a range of studio areas; Painting, Textiles, Sculpture, Ceramics and Printmaking. And, for the first time this year, girls also have the option of creating kiln-formed Glass Sculptures.

So far this year students have participated in a variety of exciting projects including ‘The Peace Project’ (motivated by the biennial Art Award run by the Australian Psychological Society), a mask-making project entitled ‘In your Face’, and the Year 7’s enjoyed an exciting ‘taster’ course, where they were able to design and make their own life-sized, Fauvist-inspired decorative ‘Jumping Jack’ puppets.

Students explore ideas in the Arts by using direct experience, observation, curiosity, research, imagination and emotions. They are required to interpret and reflect upon both their own work, that of their peers and also the works of ‘established’ artists. Our aim in the Art department is to provide our students with a repertoire of appropriate arts skills, techniques and processes to facilitate maximum participation in, and understanding of, the Arts.

We encourage our students to consider the purpose of Art within our society and to understand the use of the Arts in creating, expressing, understanding and communicating a range of messages. The Year 9’s had the wonderful opportunity in Term One of designing and producing a large scale outdoor mural for the residents of a local Aged Care Home. This gave students the chance to not only ‘give the gift of art’, but, more importantly, the chance to meet, and interact with, a number of the elderly residents from within our community while they completed the project.

With regard to Art excursions, senior students have visited two inspiring, yet very different, Art exhibitions this semester. Firstly they visited ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ on Cottesloe Beach. While they were there, they were required to complete a number of written and drawing tasks in their Visual Journals, for example, sketching the sculptures that most inspired them and exploring the logistics of organizing and setting up such a large exhibition on a beach. Tessa Carmody (12B) felt particularly inspired by the setting, describing the beach as ‘an enormous and versatile canvas upon which the artists can display their works’. And, more recently, the girls went on an excursion to the Art Gallery of Western Australia to view the ‘Perspectives’ exhibition. This was the exhibition of the top artworks by TEE & Art and Design students from across WA in 2008. Katie Little (11D) described the works as ‘amazing, thought-provoking, emotive and a pleasure to view’. Many students commented that they felt inspired to extend themselves artistically, in bolder and more confident ways than before after viewing this exhibition. Many also said they now aspire to have their work exhibited in this prestigious exhibition next year!
A number of our Year 12 Art & Design students submitted artworks to the Mosman Park Art Awards in May this year. The college was very proud when two of our girls were recognized, and awarded, the First & Highly Commended prizes.

At the end of 2008 visitors were treated to an artistic extravaganza at our ‘In the Frame’ Art Exhibition. The exhibition showcased a range of paintings, prints, textiles, sculptures & ceramics created by Year 8-12 students from the Art department. The works on display drew from a plethora of inspirations including ‘Patterns in Nature’, ‘Mementoes’ & ‘Popping Pods’. At the opening, guests were treated to exquisite musical performances by our music students as they enjoyed their al fresco refreshments. They were also entertained by the (very convincing) Year 11 ‘living statues’ posing amongst them. This exhibition gave students the invaluable opportunity of presenting and discussing their artworks with families, friends and teachers in a realistic gallery setting. It was a wonderful conclusion to a year of hard work by the Art students.

To view the artwork from the event, click here.

Do we have co-curricular Art at Iona?

Yes. Many students make use of our Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday lunchtime Art sessions to catch up with missed work, seek further advice or feedback, or to simply continue with a project that they are enjoying.

What are we looking forward to?

We are excited about our next Art Exhibition entitled ‘Kaleidoscope’ where we will showcase the best artwork from Years 7-12 from 2009. The exhibition opens on the evening of Friday 6 November.

We are also planning on entering a number of art pieces into Art Awards & Exhibitions in the near future, for example, the Anjelico exhibition, the aforementioned Peace Award, the Shaun Tan Award and the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture.

We will keep you updated about Art news and events via the Ionian newsletter.

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