Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

A number of years ago I had the privilege of engaging in a two year professional learning program with Independent Schools Victoria and Project Zero, the educational research unit of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Project Zero’s mission is to understand and nurture human potentials – learning, thinking, ethics and creativity for all human beings to flourish. Since Camberwell Girls has been actively involved in a number of research projects based out of Harvard, we have trialled and helped to refine a number of their educational tools.

The importance of creativity and the arts in learning is a feature in a number of programs at Project Zero (Harvard). They focus on:

• Curiosity and questions in the arts are linked to the human need to make meaning. Such inquiry is the genesis of all learning.
• Works of art are designed to engage people in consideration of the deep complexities of human experience. They have the power to provoke curiosity and the desire to come to deeper understandings.
• The work of artists is to inquire and explore through making. In a sense, they make their learning visible in their products. In turn, their works catalyse curiosity and inquiry in others. Cycles of inquiry, research and learning are inherent in all serious artistic experiences.
  
  

The creative arts are also an integral part of an education at Camberwell Girls and as a result we look for ways to showcase this important learning for our students. This year we have created a permanent gallery space in the ground level of the Woodstock Building where art is displayed in situ and on screens for our students in Years 7 to 12.

Another important exhibition is our annual Junior School Art Show, showcasing the works of students from Early Learning through to Year 6, curated by Lilian Bishop, our Junior School Art Teacher. Lilian provides our students with a wide range of exciting experiences exploring different themes, mediums and techniques including ceramics, textiles, painting, drawing and sculpture across multiple themes to enhance a sense of awe and wonder.

She also links some of the art projects with units of inquiry such as the Year 6 Stencil Art that conveys a message about sustainable energy sources. Woven through many year levels there was also a link to our Wurundjeri learning program.

At the Junior School Assembly last week opening our Art Show, students from each year level introduced their pieces as follows:

Foundation

• Tanya: These are our ceramic fish. In Term 2 we explored different tropical fish and practiced drawing them.
• Sophie: We used a skewer to draw patterns and marks on our clay. We used underglaze to add colour to the fish.