Stage Coordinator Comment

What a wonderful day the Open Day was, much enhanced by the weather.  A big thank you to Christine Condos, Belinda James and Alex Coubrough on the organising committee and Lucy B on the P&F; also to all the parents who helped or organised stalls, providing extras here and there.  An especially big thanks to the teachers and the children for the magnificent work presented and the wonderful concert.  It was a great way to celebrate our 30^th Anniversary.  Another exciting aspect is the number of new and interested families who came along to look at John Colet School.  The behaviour of the children was exemplary, and they obviously had a wonderful day.

Art at John Colet
One of the outstanding aspects of the children’s work is the Art which is lavishly presented about the school.  Several people commented on  the high standard.  Mrs. Gadsby and Mrs. Allcorn run the Department, ably assisted by Mrs. Anne Fox, who has recently joined as a very experienced volunteer, and of course, by Ms. Alex Coubrough as well as the Art Prefect, Alexandra R and Vice Art Prefect Kauri P.  Mention must also be made of several other senior children, Sophia W, Sasha B, Jaanvi K and Eugenia C, who as our Art Monitors, give their time to help.  It’s obviously a very popular location in the school!

The Visual Arts programme is fully integrated with other aspects of the Curriculum. It helps with the development of the whole child by giving opportunities for creative expression and by developing concentration and fine motor skills. Through studying art, children develop visual literacy, and an understanding of cultural symbols and the importance of artistic expression as a means of communication. The children’s work is grounded in drawing: firstly from observation of natural forms, and then still life, mark making, pattern making, portraiture, landscape and creative drawing. The ability to design and produce a finished artwork is encouraged.   This culminates in the making of artworks in the different media of painting, sculpture, ceramics and print making.    Art at John Colet is artist-based, in that the children see themselves as artists producing artworks. They learn about the works of a variety of artists and study the different ways art is produced. This is in keeping with the current curriculum.  There is a strong emphasis on culture based art integrated in with the H.S.I.E. curriculum.

Mrs. Anne Fox
Mrs. Fox began  on Wednesdays at John Colet at the beginning of the year.
Her original training was in Secondary School Art Education at The Alexander Mackie School of Arts in Sydney and then at the Polding College:  Her experience includes teaching at the Gilroy Catholic College in Castle Hill, and then at St. James School, London, followed by nine years as Art Teacher at the School of Philosophy Day School in New York.  In the meantime, she married and has three daughters.  Her husband, William Fox, is a new Member of the JCS Board of Governors.
Her special Art interests are children’s art,  the great artists, art history, Greek art, primitive art, and Indigenous art.  It is with great pleasure that we include her in our teaching ranks.