Primary Focus

Much has been said and written about Early Child Development and the importance of the first years.

As teachers and parents we're often reminded of the great responsibility afforded us to do the best we can to ensure our students and children get the best start in their education journey.

Studies show the first 8 years  life are critical to the child's holistic growth. The emotional, social and physical development of young children has a direct effect on their overall development and on the adult they will become. 

At Helen O' Grady we don't see this a daunting task or great challenge to shy away from. We see this as an opportunity to make a life-changing impact on the young ones who carry our future.

Our primary school programme gives students the start they need for this all-round development. We are thrilled to part of every child's journey!

Spring is Coming

Spring is coming

And oh how we love newness.

A new term, a new season, new faces, new curriculum, new scenes, new skills to teach and new skills to learn, new opportunities for growth and new opportunities for fun!

And so far, this term has brought so much of it and we simply cannot wait for more.

Drama is a place of newness. New ideas come to life, new emotions are experienced throughout, new friends are made while it all happens and new layers of creativity are peeled back. 

We walk in others' shoes and learn empathy and compassion. We see the world through new eyes and see people with open hearts.

This is the magic of drama. This is why we do what we do. We are so happy to have you as a part of it all.

Theme Supreme

They say, “Art imitates Life” and so we like to incorporate ‘real-life’ themes into our Kindy classes. This way these young ones are not onlyl learning and enjoying performance skills but also interacting with real-world concepts in a fun and energetic way.

The last few weeks our classes exploded into the SPORT theme. How fitting for such a sport-mad country.

During the lessons teachers and students discuss the theme and share what they know and experience around the themes. Various activities then focus in on a number of skills. For example, during Movement we focus on balancing – students balance carefully while walking across a line like gymnasts; they even have to carry something on their heads for an extra challenge.

We also read and perform scenes from books. For this particular theme we use “The Sports Day” by Nick Butterworth & Mick Inkpen. Students live out the characters and scenarios from the story and bring the words and pictures to life in their unique way.

Rainbow Montessori's Kindy students just LOVED this theme

We also had great fun playing “Balloon Sports”. Using balloons allow the students to simulate ball sports without risking injury –or damage in the classroom J So much fun had by boys and girls alike!

EXPRESS YOURSELF

In today’s world it’s so hard for kids to just be themselves.

Pressure comes from a number of avenues – friends, 

teachers, TV, family and unknowingly children are being told who to be to fit in. 

At Helen O’ Grady, along with our parents we strive to create 

an environment where students feel safe to be who they are and express themselves freely.

Children who don’t get the opportunity to express 

themselves often grow up not knowing their own potential.

 Teaching kids how to express themselves needs to happen as

 early in life as possible—before the peer-pressure at school and from the media really kick in.

Learning how to express themselves can build their self-confidence, help them develop smart, independent thinking and nurture their creativity.

Drama gives children and youth a healthy way to express emotions like sadness, anger, aggression, happiness and excitement.

The Kuils River Upper Primary group show their great range of emotions and expressions

Every child is unique and together we can look for ways to foster the artistic expression that’s already within them.

Teaching children how to express themselves is one of the most important life skills you can give them. When children feel comfortable expressing who they are, they can make their dreams come true!

Don't Miss Helen O' Grady 2017

They say time flies when you’re having fun but boy, where did 2016 go?! 

What a great year it was filled with highlights and memories and it isn’t over yet. But we do have to start thinking and planning ahead. 2017 is around the corner and we need to ensure all our current students are given an opportunity to sign up for drama next year. We don’t want you to miss out!

This week all our teachers will be giving re-enrolment forms to all of our students.

Attached is all the information you need for next year.

 

And of course, if you bring back your forms next week – you stand in line to win amazing prizes so be sure to bring back those form as sooooooooooon as possible.

If 2016 is anything to go by you definitely don’t want to miss out on 2017 where it all gets bigger and better. While staying in line with our globally renowned curriculum we bring our students more skills and techniques in the form of high energy lessons.

Switch Drama On!

In this world taken over by technology and gadgets one might wonder why we bother with developing the creativity, confidence and communication skills of our children.

Some may even say face to face interaction is “dying out” and think a worse fate awaits theater.

At Helen O’ Grady we do our best to stay relevant, “with it” and connected to the times. That said, we believe our principles and core values are timeless.

Connection, stories, expression are things people long for. A wise man said, “No man is an island”. We may be able to survive on our own but boy what a boring time that’ll be.

Imagination and dreams are what drives us. Having something to strive for and reach for helps us get through our every day.

Reflections shape us and teach us.

Without these things, where would we be? Who would we be?

Well, all of these things are brought to you by DRAMA. Drama gives students the space to play, explore, discover, reflect and express. Drama is a gift and a safe place to go to grow.

Drama: the best invention yet ;)

Speak up!

Being afraid of public speaking is a fear acknowledged by so many adults. It’s no surprise then that children are afraid of it too.

Rather than having these children grow into adults holding onto that fear, drama gives them the opportunity to develop their speech and gain confidence in speaking publicly.

The speech activities in the Helen O’ Grady Drama Academy is a great, if not the best way to develop your child’s speech and build their confidence.

For 20 years we’ve seen amazing results. And not only that, it’s sooooo much fun!

From Articulation to Projection to Resonance and Expression, our students are exposed to and experience a wide range of exercises that prepare them for whatever task school, tertiary and adulthood brings.

A Mime is Worth a Thousand Words

At Helen O’ Grady we love miming and teaching our students the art of miming.

What is mime and why do we teach it?

Mime is not simply mimicking, it’s recreation

When we mime we get to create illusions.

Mime challenges us to imagine a new world and create a new world for us as the performer as well as for our audience.

During mime students are learning to use their bodies and facial expressions.

They learn to communicate effectively without using sounds and words.

A Mime to Music is a sequence of miming to create and tell a story. It’s one of the favourite activities for our students to do and for teachers to show.

Paarl students performing The Marionettes

Rainbow Montessori students performing The Marionettes

Last week our students enjoyed a Mime to Music called The Marionettes. During this item students are paired together as operators and their beloved marionettes. This gave students a further challenge to move together as partners WITHOUT SPEAKING! Oh what a challenge, but oh what fun.

They rose to the occasion and we might just have to save this one for Parent Day ;)

TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

We are so excited and privileged to have Shakespeare as part of productions this year.

The work of William Shakespeare is such a integrate part of Theatre. His writing has been part of high school and University English Literature curriculum for years. What a wonderful treat that our Youth Theatre students gain additional exposure and even better, get to bring it to stage!

Shakespeare is renowned for tragedies, unapologetically so. While the themes of his work is central to studying Shakespeare during High School and at university, at Helen O’Grady we choose to focus on the stage craft. Without giving too much away, this year parents and friends can look forward to seeing students master art of mask work….

Somerset West's Youth group playing around with Tableus while rehearsing The Unmasking of MacBeth

A wonderful educational adventure awaits!

It is said that if a child can understand Shakespeare they can understand anything. His language is difficult to read and even more difficult to perform to a theatre full of friends and family. Students gain strength, courage and determination.

The way in which Shakespeare is performed at Helen O’Grady, using neutral masks, builds class unity as students rely on each other to carry the story and characters.

Very few have made the contribution to English literature that Shakespeare has. It is our hope that our Youth Theatre class will move on to make their own contributions to the world of language, literature and theatre.

DRAMA MAKES LEARNING FUN

As we head to the end of another term it's good to reflect on what we've learnt from principals, teachers and our students.

This time of the term and this time of the year we are especially reminded of the way in which drama benefits our students in their school classroom.

Every lesson, our students are asked and encouraged to listen to each other's ideas as well as present their own. These activities allow children to recognise the value of concentration. It also improves their concentration levels on the whole.

They may not realise but learning movement skills, performing mimes to music and playing scenarios that involve counting and keeping count help to develop important numeracy skills.

 From pirate ships to space ships to circus tents and south American jungles, drama scenarios spark in students a curiousity about the world. An inquisitive child is the first step to lots and lots of learning.

And very importantly drama has the ability to create strong friendships between children as they laugh, learn and grow together week after week after week!

With opportunity comes responsibility

As parents and as teachers we have been entrusted with a great responsibility to give our children the best models and the best versions of who we are, and who they can be.

At Helen O' Grady we don't take it lightly that us as teachers have a portion of influence over our students. It is up to us to not only teach them our internationally renowned curriculum and equip them for performance on the various stages of life but also to show them respect, integrity and care. While we only see them for one lesson a week, we would like to ensure our parents that us as teachers do our utmost to positively influence our students. This all forms part of our mission to build their confidence, expand their creativity and equip them in communication.

We would like to thank all our parents for their continued support. Together we can bring out the best in our children and see them soar to great heights.

Build your confidence with Helen O' Grady

We've often heard and seen the expression: Outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens. Here at Helen O' Grady Drama Academy we couldn't agree more. And that is why our drama programme is key in the development of students' Creativity, Communication and building their Confidence.

Today we'd like to put a spotlight on the development of CONFIDENCE.

How does drama contribute to building the confidence of our students?

While students focus on reading, writing and calculating during the school day, they are encouraged and taught to speak and communicate with ease and expression during drama lessons. They are taken out of their comfortable spaces and taught to interact with others working towards the same goals and sharing and building ideas together. During drama they are also practising responding to daunting challenges and asked to present resolutions. These are but a few instances where drama allows students to exercise and build confidence in individual and group settings.

If your child is between the ages of 3 and 18 find a studio near you and join us for a free trial lesson.

If YOU are in this age group and would like to get involved, tell your parents about us, give us a call and we'll tell you more.

For now, find out more at our website, on Facebook or Twitter.