Its been an exciting and busy first term in the art department.

The first class in the year 9 rotation was 9I, a very enthusiastic class who are always keen to learn. They learnt all about different drawing skills which resulted in a collaborative art work of the Basilica (currently on display in the Roncalli school office).

The most exciting part of the year 9 art activities was printmaking - students created relief prints using leaves and flowers, to print creative artworks using the printing press.

Year 10 have spent the first half of this term creating animal character portraits. Students choose an animal, then created character cards for them, turning them into animals with human clothes and characteristics. It was wonderful to see so many creative characters and really see them come to life in a painting.

Year 11's started their folio process with a class field trip around Timaru, to gather photos and create drawings for their folio theme ‘My Timaru’ . We visited a number of iconic Timaru landmarks, such as Caroline Bay, Patiti Point, and the Lighthouse. Students spent the day gathering photos of landmarks, textures, and various found objects at each location. At Patiti point, in small groups, they created sculptures from natural things found at the beach.

They will create a body of work throughout the year, which uses their images as reference, and a variety of established artists, as influence on their work.

Senior painting and photography students have been getting stuck into their folio themes for the year. The photographers have spent the majority of this term learning about the different camera settings and technique used in digital photography, while the painters have been trialing painting techniques and creating a series of drawings for their folio theme.

The art room is always a busy, happy place, with many creative students. I have been impressed with the positivity of students in the art room, particularly during this challenging term, with many using art as part of their well being.