Island Time

Many of us dream of island getaways in the middle of the workday or work week. With drama our students have the opportunity to bring these dreams to life as their imaginations and creativity run free.

Drama has the power to transport you anywhere you like.

And this year’s Lower Primary Production will transport the students to a tropical island. How fun!

Paradesia is set on an island and promises to be full of adventure and fun.

The Durbanville LP class started rehearsing last week. They had great fun with teacher Inandi Vosloo. (Pictured above)

We hope to see friends and family in the audience when the students take to the stage and we'll all be transported together. 

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!

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!

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO PLAY PRETEND

You’re never too old to play “pretend”.

But then, our Youth Theatre programme offers so much more than that! 

Our    Youth    Theatre classes feature a dynamic, developmental   drama   programme. 

While some of our students start with us at Kindy level and progress throughout the levels reaching the Youth stage, others start their journey here. No  matter where a student starts at,  our  curriculum  aims and works to improve their creativity,     confidence     and communication skills.  

High School comes with a number of challenges in and outside the classroom. What we offer students will also prepare them for a number of these. We've seen students benefit  in  particular when it comes to presentations,  public speaking  and  performance  talents. 

All  sessions  are designed to  allow  each  student to  express  themselves in a positive way.

It's Showtime!

Every year the Helen O’ Grady productions take the shape of interesting, quirky stories with fun plots, unexpected plot twists and delightful characters. 

This year will be no different.

The Lower Primary classes take to the stage with their rendition of The Grasshopper and the Ants. The story follows a lazy Grasshopper who just wants to play and can’t be bothered to help the ants collect food for the winter. He would like to share with them though and has to use all his powers of persuasion to convince them he deserves their charity!

The Upper Primary group will provide a laugh-a-minute show as they present Fancy That. The scene is set at Gloria Van De Bergen’s fancy dress ball – the party of the year! There are some fantastic costumes; everyone has made a huge effort – especially the ‘revolting Robinsons’ from down the street who, apparently, have gate crashed the party dressed as aliens. But it all ends in tears…. Or does it…

The Youth Theatre students have their work cut out as the Durbanville and Kuils River group perform The Legend of Tim Sandy. The audience is taken on a journey starting at the beach where the Muscle Mob arrive to throw their weight about. Tim Sandy loses his girlfriend Dolores as he feels he is not worthy of her. Will Tim win Dolores back or has someone else already set his eyes on her… 

Meanwhile, the Bellville and Paarl groups will perform The Unmasking of Macbeth. The three witches promise Macbeth that he'll be King of Scotland and be invincible. Spurred on by his power-hungry wife, Lady Macbeth, he ruthlessly kills all those around him who might end up taking away his claim to the title. But the journey is filled with strife. This version of Shakespeare's Macbeth requires students to wear black costumes and white masks. Using masks allows students to play different parts in each scene.

The students are ready for the showpiece. Are you?!

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 For Yourself

The speech elements of the Helen O’Grady curriculum prepares students for so many tasks and challenges presented throughout their school career.

Together we explore ways students can enhance their speech delivery, enunciation and eloquence. We also teach them new ways to express themselves using their voices.

Hebron Christian Academy LP students performing a poem: The Lion

Our speech curriculum covers projection, articulation, tone and resonance exercises. These are taught using fun speech lines accompanied by energetic actions, expressions and sometimes we’ll throw in an accent too.

De Tyger's LP students showing their verbal skills

Speech is a critical part of communication and expression. The lessons learnt during our drama programme will benefit our students well into their careers and life.

Making dramatic friends

We’ve often spoken about the benefits of drama in terms of Creativity, Communication and Confidence. Those are the three key principles to all things Helen O’ Grady.

Often, however, we forget the benefits of drama for our children’s social skills.

Learning while playing different characters, realistic and not-so-realistic, gives students a great opportunity to explore parts of their personalities and find out more about who they are. In the Helen O’ Grady lesson students are also given the opportunity to do this while interacting with other students.

As students range across 2 or 3 years within the age group they get to interact with others who are older and they benefit from learning from others as well as students who are younger so they learn to mentor as well.

While the school classroom and break time play gives children the space they need to interact with other students, the drama lesson expands on this, throws in ample amounts of freedom and expression and students walk away with skill for stage AND the social space.

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.