The Arts

Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa.

Artistic Excellence makes the world sit up in wonder

The arts have their own distinct languages that use both verbal and non-verbal conventions, mediated by selected processes and technologies. Through movement, sound, and image, the arts transform people’s creative ideas into expressive works that communicate layered meanings. (NZC)

The Arts encompasses four strands:

• Dance

• Drama

• Music/Sound

• Visual Art

Why study the arts?

Arts education explores, challenges, affirms, and celebrates unique artistic expressions of self, community, and culture. It embraces toi Māori, valuing the forms and practices of customary and contemporary Māori performing, musical, and visual arts. At Albany Primary we focus on delivering culturally appropriate performance and artwork that explores identity and belonging through a Māori world view.

Learning in, through, and about the arts stimulates creative action and response by engaging and connecting thinking, imagination, senses, and feelings. By participating in the arts, students’ personal well-being is enhanced. As students express and interpret ideas within creative, aesthetic, and technological frameworks, their confidence to take risks is increased. Specialist studies enable students to contribute their vision, abilities, and energies to arts initiatives and creative industries. (TKI)

Dances in Schools

One of the opportunities students at APS experience is access to the international Dances in Schools programme. The programme allows our students to develop understanding of the relationship between rhythm and movement with experienced and qualified dance teachers. During periods of online learning this content can and has been delivered via Zoom with the option to rewind the learning and access it at any time once the session has been recorded. Below are some short clips of our learners learning or practising sequenced dance moves with content delivered digitally.

How are The Arts organised at Albany Primary School?

At Albany Primary, The Arts are integrated using relevant, contextual, learning experiences through the school Inquiry model. At times, standalone experiences are provided for students to experience wider variety, with classroom programmes used to support new learning and performances, both pre and post experience.

The four disciplines: Dance, Drama, Music/Sound and Visual Art are underpinned by the following four strands;

• Understanding the arts in context

• Developing Practical Knowledge

• Developing Ideas

• Communicating and Interpreting

Each discipline will be covered over the course of each year. Coverage of the strands will be ensured through end of term reflection and backward coverage mapping. Teachers are encouraged to reflect regularly on events that have become part of their annual cycle, continually questioning relevance and need. At time of writing, music is taught via specialist teachers during CRT blocks. Planning for this is written in conjunction with syndicate teams and wider inquiry is woven throughout. At Albany we value the arts as an important aspect of our Albany School Curriculum and daily school life. Visual Art, Music/Sound, and Dance and Drama will be covered in a range of different forms that reflect our diverse learners and follow our inquiry cycle.

Learners will discover different aspects of The Arts by following their own wonderings and using different mediums to communicate and convey their ideas. We continue to encourage the community to share their culturally significant performances and arts based traditions. It is our long term intention to develop performance events that cater to the diversity and traditions within our learners, engage the community in an inclusive space that promotes belonging and showcases different aspects of performance and The Arts.

Extra-curricular activities at Albany include; Kapa Haka, Glee, Albany Idol and every student has the opportunity to perform at the end of year prizegiving. Students can also opt in to guitar, piano and ukulele lessons with external providers during school time. These are usually at an additional cost to parents and caregivers.