From the Head of Department (Curriculum)
Melinda Norman
Visual Arts Program 2021
At NFSS we are very fortunate to have Ms Rebekah Davis join our teaching team as Specialist Arts Teacher in 2021. Rebekah has a wealth of experience in both Visual Arts and Music. It is a joy to see her sharing her specialist knowledge and skills with students in Prep and Year 1 this term.
Our Visual Arts Program is new this year and has a focus across all year levels on portraiture. The students are exploring their individual features to express themselves in a variety of ways.
Visual Arts is one of 5 subjects taught in the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. Through the subject of Visual Arts, students independently or in groups, participate to express and reflect their growing understanding of themselves and their world. They are beginning to learn visual art technical skills.
Prep and Year 1 students are exploring realism using techniques used by Pablo Picasso, who born in Spain in 1881, is possibly considered one
of the most important figures of the 20th century, in terms of art over this period.
"Have a look at our wonderful Picasso inspired portraits created in week 3 by Year 1! I am blown away by their imagination and creativity and we have only just begun!" – Ms Rebekah Davis
We look forward to sharing the student’s visual art work with you at our upcoming Faces of New Farm exhibition.
Music Program 2021
Languages Program 2021
Students have the opportunity to learn Chinese across all year levels at NFSS. They use simple words and phrases to respond to instructions and participate in shared learning experiences about Chinese culture and language building in their knowledge and skill as they progress up through year levels. This year Ms Mei-Lin Chen is enjoying teaching years 5 & 6 this year, whilst Ms Liz Lee teaches Prep – Year 4 students.
Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration
On Thursday, 11 Feb, New Farm state school celebrated 2021 Lunar New Year at the hall. Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year which is one of the biggest celebrations on the Chinese and Southeast Asian countries. Most Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year, as well as those with major Asian populations, including Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Lunar New Year 2021 falls on Friday, February 12th. Thursday was the Lunar New Year’s Eve. The celebrations last for 16 days until the Lantern Festival on February 26th, 2021 which is the 15th of January in the Lunar Calendar.
This year is the Year of the Metal Ox, which symbolizes diligence, honesty, reliability, stability, perseverance, power, stubbornness and excellence.
There are 12 Chinese Zodiac animals. Every 12 years the same animals repeat. The Ox is the second animal in the Chinese Zodiac.There are 12 animals in the zodiac and five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each animal paired with a particular element only occurs once every 60 years, so this is the first year of the metal ox since 1961.
Chinese New Year Celebrations
FREE Early Years Community Connections Workshop
On Thursday 18th February the Early Years Community Connections team are holding a free workshop, 6:30pm – 7:30pm at Community Place, Newstead. Each term (every Thursday in week 4) free workshops such as this will be held with a variety of interesting speakers. This week we welcome Ms Maria Offermans, our Speech Language Pathologist who will offer her insights into oral language development in the early years. First Five Forever, a State Library of Queensland initiative will also be there offering a free book to every family. Should you be interested in attending, please register using the QR code available on the flyer at the end of this newsletter. Hope to see you there!