Students will have the opportunity to be innovative and express their creativity through our high quality Arts’ program.
The Arts have the capacity to engage, inspire and enrich all students, exciting the imagination and encouraging them to reach their creative and expressive potential.
The Arts’ program at Merredin College will entertain, challenge, provoke responses and enrich students knowledge of self, communities, world cultures and histories. The arts contribute to the development of confident and creative individuals, nurturing and challenging active and informed citizens.
Music (Primary), Drama and Visual Art are taught by specialist teachers at Merredin College.
Opportunities to exhibit or perform in front of a wide range of audiences are provided and encouraged.
Primary Arts
The Arts are an integral part of the curriculum in the primary years at Merredin College and comprise of programs in:
Music
Visual Art
Music
Music lessons are provided for all classes from Pre-Primary to Year 6. The lessons involve many aspects of music including singing, movement, playing, creating, recording and many others.
Years 4-6 students are also involved in playing the recorder or ukulele during each Music lesson. Each student is encouraged to supply their own recorder and bring it to each lesson.
Years 3-6 students also have a chance to audition for our Merredin College Choir. There are only 40 places so the auditioning process involves a singing element as well as reference to the student’s attitude and level of classroom behaviour. The Choir is often invited to sing at community events throughout the year and also has a small overnight camp in Perth to perform at Music Festivals.
All Merredin College students learn and sing a whole-school song at primary assemblies. This is enjoyed by all in attendance and is a highlight of primary assemblies. Music is also a major component of the MerryDin performances at the end-of-year concert.
Music is not just a subject. It is part of our life and is enjoyed in many ways. It is our role to open children’s minds so they enjoy music in their own way. The most important thing is to be happy and have fun!
Secondary Arts
The Arts have the capacity to engage, inspire and enrich all students, exciting the imagination and encouraging them to reach their creative and expressive potential.
The Arts’ program at Merredin College in lower secondary comprises of:
Dance
Drama
Visual Arts
Year 7 and 8 students rotate through each of these disciplines so that they develop a strong foundation for continued learning and skill development. Links between the different Arts become clear to students as they experience and complete each course and apply previous learning in new contexts.
Year 9 and 10 students have the opportunity to select a preferred discipline as a semester long course.
Drama
Students in Year 7 to 10 learn increasingly more complex Drama skills such as vocal and non-verbal communication, performance devising and effective characterisation. Students study a range of performance styles, and practitioners to best support their own work as a theatre maker.
Select groups are also invited to become a part of a yearly public performance in Term 3.
Visual Arts
Visual Arts incorporates all three fields of art, craft and design. Students create visual images that communicate, challenge and express their own and others’ ideas. Students engage as artists using a variety of techniques and processes as well as interact with displayed work as an audience member. They develop perceptual and conceptual understanding, critical reasoning and practical skills while exploring physical and imagined environments. They consider a variety of cultural, historical, social and political views to assist their understanding of intention and influences in an art work.
Students with a passion or aptitude for one or more of The Arts can continue to develop their talents in their senior secondary years. They can choose the following pathways:
GENERAL Drama
The Drama General course focuses on drama in practice and artistic understanding as students integrate their knowledge and skills. They engage in drama processes such as improvisation, play building, text interpretation, playwriting and dramaturgy. Students’ work in this course includes production and design aspects involving directing, scenography, costumes, props, promotional materials, and sound and lighting. Increasingly, students use new technologies, such as digital sound and multimedia. They present drama to make meaning for a range of audiences and adapt their drama to suit different performance settings. The focus in this course is primarily on ensemble performance and team work.
Units 1 & 2 in Year 11 and Units 3 & 4 in Year 12.
GENERAL Visual Art
The three key components of the Visual Arts General course are: Production, Investigation and Analysis. The focus is on producing art, however, in order to expand art understanding, students will learn to use art language and develop their conceptual understanding.
Students engage with traditional, modern and contemporary media and techniques within the broad areas of art forms. The course promotes innovative practice. Students are encouraged to explore and represent their ideas and gain an awareness of the role that artists and designers play in reflecting, challenging and shaping societal values. Students are encouraged to appreciate the work of other artists and engage in their own art practice.
Units 1 & 2 in Year 11 and Units 3 & 4 in Year 12.
For more detailed information about each course, go to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) link on this page.