Course outlines

Year 7 & 8 - will complete one term of Art twice a week. The focus is on core skills and building up an enjoyment of being creative. Students work from an own-made Drawing journal and will be exposed to drawing, painting, basic printmaking and digital art making over the term. 

Year 9 - there are two semester based courses: 9photo and 9paint. Both run twice a week both semesters. 9photo is taught by Miss Keene; students use digital photoshop skills and a variety of similar programmes that function on a chromebook. They learn basic skills ona. DSLR camera (not a cell phone) learning about shutter speed, aperture and exposure. a range of digital and photography artists are studied.

9paint is taught by Whaea Rowena Clemence; students will. use a mixture of digital and physical paint practices to explore colour, texture, form and shape. The theme of the course is culture clash - we will investigate how Post-impressionism in Europe has informed Māori art makers in New Zealand right now, and how they are completely different in lots of ways as well. 

Year 10 is two semester based courses; 10des and 10paint. Both run twice a week, one semester at a time. Both courses are taught by Miss Abi Keene. 10 Des is based on learning about a range of 20th century modern artists. the intention is to finish the semester with a zine. Students will learn design, printmaking and photography skills leading up to this. 

10Paint is a 'turangawaewae' type course. A field trip to the Halswell quarry (or similar depending on the class) is a highlight of the course. Students will learn how to put visual research pages together and both traditional and digital painting and printmaking techniques suing the laser cutter to our best advantage. Students should finish the course with a sellable piece of art work.