RING RING!!!

A great addition to our curriculum this term is our telephone snippets.

These short activities focus on students’ vocal delivery. As the short play is performed as if conducting a telephone conversation it is crucial for students to put to practice all the elements taught during speech. Without being able to rely on facial expressions and gestures the voice is tested to new extents.

With a range of fun and interesting scenarios students get to play around with improv and ad-lib as this remains a key element in all our activities. The snippets deal with simple, everyday situations and give students some skills in dealing with these real-life scenarios.

 

De Tyger UP students dialing in on the action

They also practising opening, building and closing a narrative.

What a fun way to bring the lesson to a close.

Growth and Gold at the end of the Rainbow

The students at Rainbow Montessori School in Durbanville are a true testament to the benefits of the Helen O’ Grady Drama programme.

Students were first introduced to the curriculum during demonstration classes in March 2015, soon after which they enrolled in their numbers. The programme was well received and what started as one class was quickly split into two.

One year later and the classes have expanded to include a Kindy age group as well!

This is all due to the exciting, interactive, confidence building activities included in each lesson.

Every week students get to explore characters they rarely have the opportunity to imagine. They get to go on adventures few have the courage to dream of. And every week they watch and observe as class mates soar, finding new ways to express themselves, work together and deliver stellar presentations.

And all of this in the comfort of their own school.

Whether the difference and growth can be seen in the student numbers or performance or even the behaviour of students we count ourselves privileged to be part of each and every child’s development journey.

We look forward to many more years at Rainbow Montessori.

Who knows, we could be at your school too!

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 ;)

Drama Day Is Our Favourite Day!

The students at Bellville Christian Academy have for years looked forward to Monday afternoons.

Every Monday the centre auditorium comes alive with vibrant drama activities that teach the students invaluable lessons in communication, encourages creativity and builds their confidence.

The Upper Primary Group at BCA full of dramatic expressions

The students in this class have through the years shown tremendous growth, increased vibrancy and a keen knack for drama the Helen O’ Grady way.

When new students join they are quickly welcomed and made comfortable. They soon learn the drama activities in class are not only leading them to become great performers on stage but also good people off stage.

Helen O’ Grady Drama comes to Bellville Christian Academy every Monday at 2pm.

Youth Theatre: A Place to Grow, A Place to Shine

Many of our Youth Theatre students are part of the programme after growing with and progressing through from the younger group stages.

This means several of them are well exposed to and well acquainted with the principals of our world-renowned curriculum. A scenario like this presents us with interesting opportunities:

·  The student is well versed in Helen O’ Grady techniques and brings a strong level of participation and enthusiasm.

·  The student is uncomfortable and sees the new activities as a challenge and stretch of their abilities – thus rising above this obstacle to grow even more!

There are also students who join our programme for the first time at the Youth Theatre level. With this comes a fresh perspective and new outlook in terms of drama the Helen O’ Grady way. This gives us unique opportunities:

·  The student is introduced to Helen O’ Grady techniques and principals at the highest level.

·  While it may be a “baptism of fire” of sorts, students are quickly guided to new heights of dramatic performance.

Whichever way you look at it, Youth Theatre is a great place for new and nurtured students to find and further develop their drama!

Dynamically Verbal

If you do a search to see the meaning or definition of Verbal Dynamics you will often stumble upon the phrase: “The Words Come Alive!”

And how true! At least in the case of our Upper Primary Group’s Parent Day Verbal Dynamics

Every year teachers are excited to guide their students on this journey of verbal adventure.

While learning and rehearsing the verbal dynamics presentation students learn more about pace, volume, delivery details and other speech performance practices.

Pace plays a role in how speech is received and understood. You can change the meaning of a line or sentence simply by playing around with the speech. It’s so important to get the pace just right!

Volume control is another important aspect of any verbal showcase. Knowing when to drop into a stage whisper and combining it with projected exclamations gives the piece colour, shades and nuances.

Other practices include pronunciation, gestures and pitch. Every week the class will practise these and others as we bring together the features of a fun, interesting and lively verbal dynamics piece.

We hope you’ll be there to see the final product.

Speak to your teacher and keep your eyes on this page for your Parent Day dates.

TWO Cheers for TERM II

Term two got off to an incredible start. 

It’s an exciting time for students, teachers and parents as we gear up for our annual Parent Days.

Returning students were excited to share stories of their Easter breaks and new students were happy to get stuck into the dramatic world of Helen O’ Grady. Old and new students alike were over the moon to learn about new curriculum features for the term. And teachers? We’re just so thrilled to be part of each student’s development journey.

Our Kindy groups will this term get to explore space and be part of a circus troupe.

Lower Primary students get the opportunity to create their own plays using Helen O’ Grady scene starters. Our Upper Primary stars will try their hands at script work while the Youth get to explore and enjoy all sorts of theatre development activities.

We can’t wait to get into full swing and we can’t wait to show our parents. 

Be sure to read our start of term newsletter and keep your eyes glued to this page and our Facebook page to be sure you don’t miss out.