Year 5 Gets Creative with Artistic Showcase
On Tuesday, Year 5 students had the opportunity to show their amazing work to their Junior School peers, staff, and parents.
As an International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme school, Junior School students learn subjects such as History, Art, Geography, Wellbeing, and Science, through Units of Inquiry.
Year 5 combined literacy and their Unit of Inquiry to examine the theme of How We Express Ourselves, which looked at different streams of art through the conceptual lens of significance. Students explored how texts have enduring value developed through layers of meaning, universal themes, and aesthetics, to evoke emotion. In class, students then investigated different expressive mediums and how effective expression in these mediums is informed by a process. They studied significant poets and artists who have used the arts to express their feelings, ideas, and values. They also read and analysed poetry, culminating in writing their own poem, which they recited, using multimodal ways.
For the final part of the Unit, the students went through an artistic process, experiencing the ups and downs of being an artist, and creating a piece to present in a showcase. Through a series of masterclasses, teachers aimed to inspire students and pique their interest, giving them a foundation of creativity to build upon. The students were visited by a range of creatives including slam poet, Miles Merrill, Creative Arts teacher, Ms Lewington, Head of Dance, Mr Fares, film-maker, Mr Pomfrett, and master seamstress, Ms McNally. They even received a masterclass from their own classmate, Mary, who taught her peers how to crochet.
After all of these inspiring visits, our Year 5 students were now ready to choose an idea, feeling, value, or theme, that they could display through whatever medium they wished. They also had to think of a skill they wanted to develop, which was linked to their poetry writing.
Our students spent four weeks bringing their projects to life, enlisting the help of mothers, fathers, siblings, and grandparents to help them sew, paint, draw, and film. Throughout these weeks, students were put through their paces, regularly pushed from their ‘comfort zone’ into their ‘stretch zone’ and even, potentially, dipped into the ‘panic zone.’ They documented their learning process in journals and learnt about the importance of time management and organisation skills. The culmination was a live exhibit in which students arranged stalls to display their incredible pieces of work. They were visited by other year groups and had the chance to elaborate on their creative processes. Finally, parents were invited to view their daughter’s work, and there was a great buzz of energy and excitement as art pieces were displayed, dances performed, and music played.
“This style of learning is a trademark of the IB system. It encourages students to use their agency, research, seek help, and develop new skills. As teachers, we make sure students feel supported, encouraged, and challenged to take their learning further, while having fun throughout the process. This fantastic example of disciplinary learning starts in the classroom, extends to the family, and often goes even further. We have all enjoyed the process and are proud of our students in Year 5 for being engaged and artistic, and for producing pieces that surpassed our expectations,” said Mr van den Bosch.
“During the showcase, I learnt how other people express their feelings or ideas in a certain medium. My idea was betrayal, and my medium was film. I chose betrayal because it creates wonder, so I ended on a cliffhanger so that people can imagine the rest more dramatically. I loved the process and how my film turned out,” said Year 5 student, Amber.
“It was wonderful to see the students' dedication, and the application of their efforts come together. Their unique lines of inquiry yielded a vivid array of productions that dazzled their audience. My favourite bit was hearing the students speak about how learning to use a new medium was the most significant part for them. It was fantastic to see the students value the process more than the result, and I hope to see them continue to learn more about their chosen mediums or be inspired by projects they have seen this week,” said Ms Early.