Music
At Fraser Coast Anglican College students are able to involve themselves in Music as a subject and a co-curricular activity.
Our students enjoy a wide range of musical activities. The instrumental music program offers tuition in many areas of instrumentation including:
- Brass - Trumpet/Cornet, Trombone, Euphonium
- Woodwind - Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone and French Horn
- Percussion and Drums
- Piano
- Guitar
- Singing
- Theory
We boast a wide variety of ensembles for student participation including Concert and Stage/Jazz Bands, Junior and Senior String Ensembles, Wind Ensembles, Orchestra, Rock Band, Choirs and Vocal Ensembles.
Parents interested in enrolling their child in the instrumental program can contact the Music Department for further information at any time of the year..
Throughout the year, the College affords students the opportunity to perform their AMEB programs before an audience with the hope that they will gain insight into their performance. The tutors tell us that it is an invaluable opportunity for them to judge how their students will perform in the examination early enough to be able to correct any minor problems that might develop as a result of nerves etc. They are always keen to talk with parents about the students, so it makes for an excellent night all round.
These Music Soirees allow the various bands and ensembles a performance platform and serve as a trial for Eisteddfods in which we are keen to compete. It should be noted that our primary concern is the enjoyment of performance rather than the competition. Students also have an opportunity for their classroom Music assessments to be made at the Music Soirees or at a variety of performances held throughout the year.
Our classroom Music program allows students to design their own course of study based on choices from a variety of units of study. Senior students are encouraged to select their assessment tasks with their own personal strengths and commitments in mind according to how they relate to their particular chosen work units. This individualised approach allows all students to work within but to also extend their capabilities while encouraging the higher order thinking skills so necessary for discernment in every day life.
The Junior, and Middle and Senior Schools host a musical bi-annually. Last year the Junior School gave an outstanding performance of Pinnocio with every student appearing on stage. Previously the Senior School performed 'Little Shop of Horrors'. The 2009 Middle and Senior School Musical is 'Annie' to be performed at the Brolga Theatre in August.
Year 8 - Performing and Visual Arts
Year 8 participate in an integrated Performing and Visual Arts program. Throughout the academic year, students will participate in Art, Music and Drama lessons which are taught under an integrated theme. The theme for 2009 is 'Life is a Circus'. Art lessons will include drawing like Picasso, painting like van Gogh, ceramics and clay, facepainting and body art. Music lessons present program music, study Cirque de Soleil, and create music/sounds and sound effects to enhance circus-type performances. Drama lessons will deliver theatre sports, study comic characters, slapstick and mime. In Term four, all year eight students participate in a culminating performance presenting 'Life is a Circus' to the younger members of our community.
Drama Department
Year 9 & 10
Course Outline: The Year 9 & 10 Drama programs are designed in an exciting, fun and interesting experience, for all students who enjoy performing, exploring the Drama world, dramatic activities and being involved in group work. Year 9 Drama is a pre-requisite for Year 10 Drama.
The Year 9 program provide the foundation for Year 10, 11 and 12 Drama and explore improvisation, breathing methods, voice acting, the history of Drama, mime and movement, and one-act plays. The units provide dramatic background, self-esteem, communication and aesthetic appreciation.
The Year 10 program is an extension and culmination of the skills learned in Year 9. Units include a study of the works of William Shakespeare, with a particular emphasis on studying the text “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. One of the highlights of Year 10 Drama is a unit in short film production in which students write and produce a 10-minute short film which is then entered into a film competition.
In Term 4 both Year 9 and 10 will also showcase their work at the Celebration of Arts Showcase Evening.
Excursions: Students will be attending Arts Council and Grin & Tonic performances. Year 10 students also take part in an excursion to Movieworld as part of their short film unit, as well as the possibility of attending live theatre on other occasions throughout the year, such as the annual Shakespeare on the Bay Festival.
Drama Careers: Arts Administrator, directing, acting, costume design, stage design, television, advertising, modelling, public relations work, teaching, journalism, social work, personnel / management, law, Stage Manager, Lighting / sound Director etc.
Comment: This is a challenging and valuable course that emphasises oral, presentational, and communication skills while developing confidence, co-operation, independent thinking and interpersonal skills.
Year 11 & 12
Pre-requisites: Presentation of an improvisation, if Junior Drama not completed. A Sound Level in English.
Course Content: Improvisation, Directing, Australian Theatre, Theatre of the Absurd, Commedia Dell Arte (16th century comedy), Realism (Acting), Epic Theatre and Extended Study in either; Theatre for Young People, Political Theatre, Community Theatre, Theatre of the Oppressed, Women in Theatre, Neo Classic Comedy.
In studying these Units assessment involves:
- Written and practical tasks
- Performances
- Analytical tasks
- Student-devised drama and script writing
- Theatre criticism
Major Course Criteria: Achievement in Drama is judged by matching a student’s achievement in the assessment tasks with the exit criteria of the subject. These criteria are: ‘Forming’, ‘Presenting’ and ‘Responding’.
Special Facilities: Drama excursions on weekends and school holidays visiting professional workshops, drama performances and educational dramatic institutes. Each year the students will present two polished public performances, directed by the students. Year 11 and 12 students perform at the Celebration of Arts showcase evening and attend various Arts Council and Grin & Tonic performances during the year.
Career Possibilities: Stage Managing, Acting, Arts Administration, Playwrighting, Directing, Costume and Make-up, Film and Television, Advertising, Modelling, Theatre Arts, Journalism, Law, Politics, Public Relations, Social Work.
Visual Arts
Visual Arts
Visual Arts at FCAC is a strong growing and exciting aspect of College life.
Our Art Studio is the envy of all the schools in the Bay, with a large airy class-room and adjoining ceramics court-yard. We boast our own kiln, printing press and an extensive pool of resources for practical work with a large class-room library of colourful books.
Students in Middle School and Senior School enjoy Art lessons with a specialist Visual Art teacher.
All Year 7 students have a 70 minute Art lesson each week. They enjoy using a wide variety of materials and techniques to produce a range of exciting Art-works.
In Year 8, Art is incorporated with Music and Drama into PVA (Performing and Visual Arts). Students have 2 lessons per week and are taught by specialist teachers in all disciplines and take part in a performance at the end of each year.
In Year 9 students elect to study Visual Art and embark on what could develop into a 4 year journey culminating in Visual Art as a Queensland Studies Authority OP subject in Year 12. Much of Term 1 (What is Art?) is spent laying a foundation for subsequent years. Students also experience portraiture, print-making and ceramics and create a variety of work over a wide range of topics and media areas, learning about Art history and theory of Art as they progress.
Students study Visual Art conceptually in their Senior Years and are presented with a wide range of topics about which they make Art. Our Visual Art students have consistently achieved top results in our Senior College for many years.
The Senior programme reflects our College motto of ‘Enriching Body, Mind and Spirit’ as students work on concepts of ‘The Physical’,’ The Intellectual’ and ‘The Spiritual’.
Year 10 students are challenged to continue to make Visual Art over a wide variety of media areas. With Year 10 being the start of Senior School, the programme mirrors the Year 11/12 programme giving opportunity to develop a greater range of skills and processes.
These include drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking and sculpture. They will be looking at the Human Body in Art, Ceramic Sculpture, 3-Dimensional Sculptures, Mask Making, and Print-Making techniques.
As students build on what they have learned and add to their skills base, the quality of work produced becomes progressively more visually exciting and personally satisfying for the students.
Students in Year 11 diversify in their Art making and in Year 12 are able to specialise to produce the best possible outcomes for themselves. They are able to work studio style and by the end of Year 12 many of our students are artists in their own right and several have gone on to study at Art College when they leave our College. Appraising Tasks relate to practical work as students are encouraged to seek inspiration from a wide variety of artists, art-works and Art Movements.