It has been an interesting fortnight with Year 7 and 10 camps, covid isolations and also the rain. Thank you to all of the students, parents and teachers who have been flexible and made accommodations for all of these variables. Most lessons have been continuing as normal, with some tutors who are isolated at home offering lessons via zoom. A reminder that if a student is unable to attend their lesson, please notify their tutor and Mrs Day. If they are isolated at home and are well enough, zoom lessons may be offered as an alternative in consultation with the teaching staff.
Also, if students are attending a school excursion and are unable to attend lessons, please notify the music department as you would normally an illness. Often the tutors are not aware of students on excursions so your help with this would be greatly appreciated. Also, a reminder of our policy regarding make-up lessons is on the college website. Students may still be billed for lessons they do not attend if no prior notice is given for the absence. This includes if a secondary student forgets to attend their lesson. You can find all of the information here:
https://www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/mybdc/music/music-tuition
Thank you to James Rothacker (12) who performed his arrangement of ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ on guitar at secondary assembly last week. To view his performance, click on the following video link:
Next week, we have Emily Hodges performing a dance item at secondary assembly.
The Secondary Dance Academy has been learning about Safe Dance Practice. To demonstrate their knowledge they designed a dance class. Last week, Stage 1 visited the Secondary Dance Academy and the students ran them through the class. The Dance Academy students had the chance to practice their teaching skills whilst demonstrating their knowledge. The Stage 1 students had a heap of fun and we had some excited future Dance Academy students. Thank you to Ms Johnson for all of her work with Dance. There are some more exciting dance opportunities coming up so stay tuned!
Students in Year 7 have started learning to play keyboard. For many students, this is the first time they have played an instrument and they are doing really well. The Year 7s are enjoying learning to play simple melodies such as When The Saints Go Marching In and Frere Jacques. I have also been very impressed with the students remembering to bring their headphones to class.
Year 3 students in 3 / 4 SD and 3W have started the string program. All students in these classes have a lesson with Ms Smith as a group on either violin or cello. So far the students have had only 2 weeks of lessons and already they can play simple variations on the open strings.
Students in 3N will participate in this program in Semester 2.
After the Year 3 string program, students have the option to continue learning their violin or cello. They take part in small group (usually pair) lessons with a tutor and then come together for an orchestra rehearsal once a week. Ms Smith’s Orchestra 4 this year are loving their rehearsals as can be seen in the pictures below.
We are now getting to the point in the year where assessment tasks are starting to be due. Please see below the due dates for 7-12 Performing Arts tasks for the next fortnight. Students are encouraged to speak to their classroom teachers regarding these tasks if they have any issues.
Week 8 (14th - 20th March)
* World Options Contemporary Dance Performance
* World Options Just Drama Theatre Style - Playbuilding Class Production Diary
* Year 12 Dance Presentation of Core Performance
The first combined Instrumental Showcase Concert will be held on Wednesday 23rd March at 6:30pm. This is an opportunity for students to perform in a relaxed atmosphere with a supportive audience. The concert will be open to all students learning from music tutors at BDC across all instruments. Please speak to your music tutor or a member of the Performing Arts faculty if you would like to perform. The showcase concert will take place in M1 and we are hoping to make these a termly event.
We are currently seeking a teacher for violin and/or cello to join our amazing team. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please ask them to contact the College. This position has been advertised externally. A link to the position on Seek can be found here:
https://www.seek.com.au/job/55878788
The Coffs Harbour Eisteddfod is now finalised and all sections are open for entries. This is a wonderful opportunity for all Performing Arts students (dance, drama and music) to improve their performance skills. Details on sections that you can enter, costs and venues can be found on the website:
https://coffseisteddfod.org.au/
● 11th March - Emily Hodges Secondary Assembly performance
● 14th March - Let’s Stamp Out Bullying performance for Primary students
● 18th March - Harmony Day Assembly at BDC
● 23rd March - Instrumental Showcase 1 6:30pm in M1
● 8th April - Easter Service and Grandparents Day
Rebecca Day
Head of Performing Arts
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