Twelfth Night in 2012

Well, 2012 has begun in earnest, and we are off and racing.

The Stage Challenge team have started planning, and shortly will be calling for dance auditions.  Shakespeare is off the ground with rehearsals underway for Sheilah Winn.  Arts classes are brimming with talent, and looking spectacular in the possibilities.

We have so many fun activities planned, especially with the International Arts Festival.  "Private Peaceful" will be playing at Kuranui, which is looking amazing, and we are really lucky to be offered tickets at a highly discounted rate.  We are also taking Drama students to "A Winters Tale", Dance students to "Birds with Skymirrors" and a whole van load to the Maori version of "Troilus and Cressida".

Last night the Drama classes were given the chance to go to "Twelfth Night" at Gladstone Vineyard.  It was amazing.  Dan Carlisle was quoted saying, "Shakespeare was a bloody genius".  The kids laughed hysterically at the antics of Sir Toby Belch and Malvolio, and a good time was had by all.  We will definitely be going back to see whatever is performed at next years' Summer Shakespeare.

Natalia, Moana and Sarah enjoy the show

Chaedyn and Oliver laugh at Sir Toby Belch

The amazing cast of "Twelfth Night"

Jan and Jordan sit enraptured by the performance

Long time, no update!

It seems like just yesterday that we updated the blog.... however, it was MONTHS ago!

Crazy.

Term 2 has been a whirlwind of successes and brilliant moments.  We will endeavour to update the blog with the latest and greatest.... or at least, fill in the gaps from the last few months.

Regional Fame in Print

Thanks to Jenna Powell of the Wairarapa Times Age, we have made printed news!  Yes, this blog is now mentioned in the paper (or at least was mentioned on Thursday evening).

If the paper brought you here, awesome!  And welcome to our Arts portal on the web.

Here we are in the paper, legendarilly mentioned in the first paragraph and referenced again in the ending.....

This article is a great one about the Stage Challenge and the skills that students gain in participating.  This is going to be a great year for the Arts, and Stage Challenge is a wonderful experience to kick it off.  The cast are working through their lunch hours to choreograph and practise the routines, and they look really professional.  The competition is in May, so they will only get better from here on out.

Watch this space for an announcement about the major Musical production this year...... we have secured the production rights, and we are a little excited about it.

Subject Selection 2010

Well, Friday is re-enrolement for senior students.  Bring in your NCEA results and confirm your course selection (or change it if need be).  Year 11's should attend too, as you may have forgotten which classes you chose, or wish to change.

For the Arts, you should be aware of the requirements to take each subject.

Year 11:

1. Drama - Have taken either Yr 9 or 10 Drama
   
2. Music - Must be able to play an instrument, reading music is recommended
   
3. Dance - Must have taken Yr 10 Dance
   
4. Art - Should have taken Yr 9 or 10 Art
   
5. Te Reo - Must have completed Yr 10 Te Reo, can be used as literacy credits for NCEA

In Year 12, things get more complex.

1. Drama - Should have 12 L1 Drama credits (or approval of JM)
2. Music - Should have gained 12 L1 Music credits (or approval of WT)
3. Dance - Should have gained 12 L1 Dance credits (or approval of PJ
4. Art - Should have 12 L1 Art credits.... you can take Art or Photography
5. Te Reo - Should have 12 L1 Te Reo credits

Year 12 and 13 are much harder than Year 11 courses.  You should be fairly proficient to contemplate studying at each level above L1.  Committment beyond school hours is compulsory for performances.  You will also have to work by yourself and with groups for assessment.

Music, Drama, Dance and Te Reo Maori all have external assessments at the end of the year.  To complete the exam for Dance and Drama you have to have seen a live performance and to have studying a genre of performance.

This is the last year that Unit Standards can be used for assessment.  

In Year 13 Visual Art breaks up into components.  You can take Photography (though you should have completed the L2 course), Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking and Design Art.  A number of Design Art students have taken Graphics prior to opting into Design Art.

All of the performing Arts require that you PERFORM in front of an audience.  In Te Reo, you should expect to have to speak publically in Te Reo Maori.  For all of these courses, expect to be video taped and to watch said tape for analysis.

If you have any queries, talk to the teacher in charge of each subject, or consult the subect selection guidebook that Mr Hall gave out.  You can take more than one Art subject each year, and many go well together.  Come in on Friday and see me if you have any issues.

Greytown Arts Festival

As you well know, the Ukulele Orchestra played at the Greytown Arts Festival.  The weather was appaulling, but the crowds still came to listen to the groovy tunes.  We had an awesome turnout, and a crowd ready to sing along.

We even had an encore!  That is truly hitting the big leagues.

Shortly I will post a couple of the songs we played on Youtube and link them to here.  In the mean time, think about this..... maybe you too could join the KC Uke Orch?  Ukuleles start at about $30, which makes them fantastic value as an instrument.  They are also rated as one of the easiest instruments to play.  Our orchestra has all kinds of people with levels of interest and talent, from those lacking both, to having both in screeds.  As well as learning an instrument, it is a great way of getting to know some awesome people.  We had the chance to hang out backstage with the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra- and it was AMAZING--- we too shall be that cool eventually.

So, school is back next week.  Seniors, re-enrole on Friday.  And do this ESPECIALLY if you are an Arts student.  A number of senior Arts subjects are timetabled at the same time, so you will need to check up on your timetable and sweet-talk your teachers if there is a clash.

Ukulele Orchestra-ing

Right, as you all should know, the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra is the key act of the Greytown Arts Festival this coming year.  As you may not know, we are providing a ukulele warm-up act.  Excellent!

As you will know if you have seen our Ukulele Orchestra perform, we are all about a full musical experience, with guitars, mandolin, kazoo and even the odd wooden block.  Totally awesome, complete with mime.  All previous, past and future members of the orchestra are invited to perform with us on January 23 2010 at 3pm in front of the Greytown Town Hall.

We will be holding 2 rehearsals prior to the event, on Saturday 16th at 11am and Wednesday 20th at 7pm at Kuranui.  If you have instrument, come along.  All instruments welcome!  Including ukuleles.  We would love to see as many people as possible.

Junior Prizegiving

Congratulations to all prizewinners and graduates from the Junior College. Particular congratulations need to go to Kaden Saywell, Drama award winner and lead in the major school production, Jan Meyer for receiving the Drama award at Year 10, and to both Sian Dunlop and Amanda Trass for their Excellence awards as well as outstanding work ethic. To the performers, well done! Aaron van Zanten, Finn Harmon and Phillip Penney did a great rendition of "Numb" by Linkin Park, and Zoe Renor, who sang, "Reflections" from Mulan. It was a terrific morning, and great to see so many talented students gaining recognition for their hard work this year.

This does signal the end of the Arts at KC for some time. However, during the Greytown Arts Festival, the College is playing home to the Wellington Ukulele Orchestra, who will be performing on the 23rd of January. Watch out for a Ukulele gathering in the town, and the members of the KC Uke Orch who should be present.

School begins again in February, though staff will be onsight from mid-January. We should have the details of Stage Challenge, Rockquest and the Shakespearean Competition early in term 1, 2010. Have a great break, and be prepared for a busy 2010!

Welcome to the Smart Arts!

Welcome here to the blog space of the Kuranui College Arts Department. Here we will try to keep you all up to date with what's going on at school, especially with the Arts! Hopefully over time it will support the Facebook class groups, moodle courses and supplement school Korero notices. It should become an exciting portal into the cool stuff we get up to.