This year our annual Art Splash Primary Exhibition was unable to take place in person due to the COVID restrictions. However, the fantastic Visual Art team has worked hard to transform it into a digital art exhibition instead!

We have showcased a range of artwork from across the Primary School and we encourage all our Primary learners to share their artworks and knowledge with family and friends.

A wide range of artwork is on display including textiles from Year 6, collage from Year 5, ceramic creations from Year 4, Aboriginal inspired art from Year 3, Picasso inspired artwork from Year 2, a range of tactile explorations from Year 1, colourful three dimensional cakes from Kindergarten and a wonderful range of exploratory artworks from our youngest Nursery learners.

Please join us in celebrating the creative achievements of our learners by visiting the Art Splash website Art Splash 2021 Primary Virtual Art Exhibition.

Congratulations to all of our Visual Art learners for their continued passion and enthusiasm and for contributing to such a vibrant display of learning.

Year 3

Year 3 learners continued to develop confidence and creativity through the skills of practicing and performance. They developed listening skills and vocabulary through a series of online platforms, quizzes and games. There was a focus on songwriting and melody, as well as musical notation, which continued the explorations from the classroom setting. Learners were encouraged to be creative where no instrument was available, by using found objects to create music, as well as using Garageband to write, play, and arrange music.

Year 4

Year 4 learners continued with note reading online with a variety of music notation games and activities. Learners posted drawings of Treble Clefs, completed musical spelling activities and also were encouraged to "Get up and Dance" with our "Get Moving" dance breaks. Learners also had a go at using a digital platform 'Google Chrome Songmaker' to create and improvise their own melody which consolidated their knowledge of pitch and rhythm encouraging our play based learning philosophy of PYP.

Year 6

Year 6 learners continued their exploration of 20th Century music and enjoyed the online approach to our tasks and activities. Learners had the opportunity to create their own "John Cage" inspired piece - 'Silence', and used 'extended techniques' we learned about in class by using objects found at home to make music. Year 6 were also challenged to a final project which encouraged agency and creativity. Choosing either a performance or researched based approach, learners submitted their final music work online and were then encouraged to listen and appraise each others work.

Secondary Years 7-9

We are so proud of our learners and how they have adapted to online learning. As music is a practical subject there is always the difficulty to combine live practical lessons and ensure that music is kept alive and interactive. The music team have set various challenges and work to ensure this has been maintained and we would like to share some celebrations with you of what are some highlights over the past few weeks.

Year 7

Year 7 have been learning about Calypso music from the Caribbean. Using any instrument they can get their hands on they have performed melodies and chords and researched about Steel Pans. They have also participated in a mini recital.

Year 8

Year 8 started their unit on Raps whilst in school, working individually or in pairs (using personal google meet sessions to collaborate) they completed their Raps based on a personal, local or global context; incorporating hooks, bass lines and drum samples to accompany themselves.

Click on the links below to listen to some of 8G's compositions

Isaiah, Sebastian and Trishan

Lily and Chloe

Click on the video's below to see some screen recording of the learners work.

Mak, Tomas and Jonathon Annabel and Flora

Year 9

Year have been finishing off their Garageband project based on Film Music. Some learners experienced using midi players to create their own sample whilst in school, others used the Garageband loops or the smart instruments to create their own samples. Our musicians also recorded themselves playing on their instruments. The learners chose their own film clips and formulated the music whilst focusing on how to manipulate the different musical elements.

Work below by 9B's; Lily, Flynn, Felix and Eve

Learners in these year groups had a choice between coming in to school as normal or working online via Off-campus Learning. Both groups had lots of opportunities to reflect on their learning throughout the year, participating in simple music theory games, pitch activities, mini recitals to showcase their instrument playing, and exploring musical instruments from all around the world. And of course, to celebrate the end of the school year learners had lots of dance parties and played many music games!

The progress of our young musicians has been amazing this year and we have continued to celebrate learning through 'Lessons without Walls', 'Music Recitals' and within the classroom. Our Instrumental tutors continue to support their learning journey and have adapted from face to face lessons to online with flexibility and ease. Many of our musicians have enhanced their skills and taken risks with competitions or examinations. ABRSM and Trinity exams are an excellent way to provide building blocks and a platform to perform whilst encouraging practise at home!

Over the summer break our Instrumental tutors continue to be on hand and will continue to offer online lessons, some of them may even suggest lessons within your home or theirs if you feel comfortable with this situation. Before school closed we were exploring the possibility to have our music studios open for lessons over the summer break and if he situation changes we will pursue this as an option.

If you have any further questions regarding instrumental lessons do not hesitate to contact music@nexus.edu.sg

We hope it has been a great first week of the summer break! To celebrate the end of our academic year, our Nexus “Everyone Can Sing”🎤 community sing-along Music Video is now up for your viewing pleasure! This time around we did a cover of “Reach” by S Club 7. 🙏 A big thank you to our learners along with their families and friends from our Nexus Community for getting in on the action! Continue to reach for the stars 🌟 during the school holidays and we’ll see you back in August!