Visual Art @ RSHS
Te Ihi and Te Wihi, or positive energy and emotions, have been buzzing about the visual arts learning space and at times have been overwhelming to contain. The floor was alive with the excitement of creating. Our ākonga were at the height of their artistic prowess.
Two notable wider-community projects involved the Waikato Society of Arts and The Welcome Swallow Art Gallery, with our akonga’s artwork receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. Three of our ākonga were finalists in the National Youth Art Awards, with Navya Choudary winning her category.
The Welcome Swallow Gallery hosted our student exhibition, with numerous pieces selling to the public at professional artist rates. This is a huge step forward in these talented artists’ careers. We gratefully appreciate WSA and The Welcome Swallow Gallery's generous support of our kura.
The year 2022 brought us closer to professional artists from our New Zealand creative community. In the wonderful wananga ako at our kura and in their workshop, ceramic artist David Kenny, local artist Daniel Ormsby, and printmaker Shayne Tuffery shared their invaluable experiences with our ākonga. This genuine collaboration has increased our akonga's deep learning and awareness of the art world.
We are very pleased and impressed by this year's amazing portfolio results, which include 50 folio entries at Level 2 and 21 at Level 3. Congratulations to all the ākonga who showed the perseverance and fortitude required to successfully finish all of their assignments. The end-of-year folio show was well welcomed by our extended whanau. Here's a link to the portfolio display ART FOLIO SHOW CLIP . Their always generous compliments and words of support were heartwarming. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our ākonga's parents, caretakers, and other family members.
As the number of students in our learning area increases, so do the expectations. Our art ākonga survey revealed how wonderful our brilliant arty kaiako team (Franda Zondagh, Merri Davey, Michelle Karl, and Sudhir Duppati) is, and how much they value our contribution to their work and understanding of the world. So, I want to thank our kaiako crew for sticking with the ākonga through thick and thin, going above and beyond the call of duty.
Every Wednesday after school, we invited our junior school ākonga to join in and experience the senior high achievers group/scholarship group (HAG). While our bonding and learning partnership grows, this has been a wonderful and motivating experience for both of us. We are grateful to the RJHS arty kaiako team for their support of this space.
Finally, we would like to thank all of our Kaiarahi, Kaihautuu, Arts Coordinator (Vicki Jordan), SLT and BOT members for their support of our ākonga and us on our arty trip in 2022. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2023.
Don't forget to follow us or visit our FB page to encourage us. OUR VART FB LINK
With warm regards.
Ngā Mihi Nui
Sudhir Duppati
Poutiaki-Visual Arts