Week Two!

Started at Mandurah Catholic College this week and I am thoroughly, thoroughly impressed with all of the facilities and resources at this school. As previously stated, this is my first time in both a religious and private school so it was all very new to me. Mandurah Catholic College teaches pupils from kindergarten- year 12.

Firstly, I am blown away by the amount of resources available at MCC. I have never had any experience within the private school sector and it is totally different to any Scottish school I’ve been in. Obviously this school is in Australia so looks entirely different as well. I’ve only ever seen schools like this on television so to actually be in a school like this, I feel a bit disjointed from reality although I am getting used to it.

the amount of outside resources is something I am totally blown away, especially the play areas for pre primary, kindergarten and junior school kids. The lack of wet weather means there are a lot more accessible outside areas. There is a large focus on sport at MCC although I’ve not been involved in that side of school as much as my mentor teaches music and health.

The library at MCC is amazing and a really well resourced area with lots of different areas to learn in. IT lessons take place in the library for younger kids and allows them to use 1:1 technology such as iPads to get to grips with technology. The library is also open until 7pm every night for secondary pupils to study in and use all of the resources available.

Seussical: the Musical!

 

 

 

 

 

There were two full run through rehearsals this week. Frankly I am astounded by the talent of these pupils. The drama department at MCC is just amazing, the amount of effort that has went into this production by both staff and students is astounding. I have never had any experience with any theatre groups or been in any productions so I am really excited to be involved with Seussical.

Drama is something I am nervous about teaching due to my lack of experience so I hope that by the time I am done my confidence regarding teaching drama will be vastly improved.

Shape Mandurah – Encouraging A Connected City.

I’ve been exceedingly impressed with all the effort and work that locals are putting into improving Mandurah and aiming to turn Mandurah into a more vibrant and creative community. Shape Mandurah is a community not for profit organisation that aims to engage and connect the city’s residents. Shape Mandurah are aiming to  build a network of volunteers who will help make their events better, share new ideas and host independent activities. Their vision includes pop-up galleries, community gardens, art installations etc.

Luckily I was able to attend a meeting and it was incredibly beneficial to be involved in the ‘behind-the-scenes’ discussions that I would normally never get the chance to be a part of. Although I am not living in Mandurah it was interesting to see how members of the local community are so passionate about improving and developing their local area.

Fremantle Art Centre – WA Revealed.

On Friday we attended the Western Australia Aboriginal art revealing in Fremantle. Fremantle is a city near Perth, focus on the arts and creativity within the whole city. We went to the art reveal as one of the Artists Peter Farmer, had done the YB memorial. Stretch were interested to see a fashion show that he was putting on that displayed aboriginal patterns and fabrics. Pater Farmer and his wife Miranda have worked tirelessly on their business that helps young aboriginal children have a chance in life to become models and better themselves whilst celebrating their own culture and lifestyle. Their fashion show focuses on the Aboriginal six seasons and each piece was individually created and hand painted.

The Six Seasons fashion show will be on at Stretch and it will be a fantastic opportunity for members of the Mandurah community to seee these fashion pieces and hear how the young people involved in this project have been able to improve their confidence and be proud of their native background.

Gami George was an elder of another Aboriginal community close to Fremantle and was the last native speaker of his language. He is working on creating a picture book and translation book for his native language so that new generations will be able to remember and speak his language. Ignorantly, I did not realise just how many different languages there is across Australia. There was thousands and thousands but now there is just little over 300 being actively spoken across the country. I did not know this before coming here so I am incredibly grateful to be able to listen and speak to the last remaining elder of certain native cultures.

At night there was the Aboriginal art show being unveiled and the artwork that was on display was just incredible. The various talks that had been held all day were still fresh in my mind and to then see such astounding pieces of artwork on display has created so many ideas for art lessons I could use on classes in the future.