The Arts

Monbulk College has a long tradition of excellence and exemplary achievement within the Arts.

Performing Arts students regularly engage in performances and develop their skills through study and practice.

Visual Arts students have continued success in achieving routinely high results in VCE and have their work exhibited at prestigious VCE Student Showcases such as VCAA Seasons of Excellence: Top Arts and the MGA: Top Shots.

From Year 7, students are exposed to all dimensions of the Arts and have the opportunity to explore and develop their skills as they progress through the year levels.

Year 7 & 8

Students explore a range of contemporary and traditional media, materials, equipment and technologies to explore and expand their skills, techniques and processes in photography. They combine and manipulate media to represent and communicate ideas and develop imaginative solutions to set tasks.

Year 9

Students will complete practical exercises in a variety of photographic tasks. Skills in the use of the SLR and digital cameras, photographic processing and printing, darkroom procedures, manipulation in Photoshop and design principles are focused on.

Written exercises on aspects of photography and photographers will be completed. Students will start to develop an understanding of photography as an art form, through the study of varied photographs and photographers, this will take the form of written presentations.

Year 10

This unit involves the exploration of a range of traditional and contemporary photographic processes including black and white photography, computer manipulation, digital imaging and digital editing. Students are encouraged to develop personal responses to themes explored. The relationship between art styles and culture is examined. Students are encouraged to develop a critical awareness of their own works and to consider issues of presentation. Individuals may wish to pursue filmmaking.

Year 7 & 8

An introduction to the drawing and design techniques used in Visual Communication and Design. Students are involved in creative problem solving using the design elements and principles as the building blocks of good design and are encouraged to develop both manual drawing skills and computer skills using the programs, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Projects include designing symbols, creating pattern, drawing in perspective, contour drawing and rendering.

Year 9

This unit emphasises the role of the student as a designer. Designers use conventional drawing to communicate their designs to others and students are introduced to these conventions. Designers define their target audience, do research and follow the design process. Students are involved in creative problem solving using this process and the design elements and principles as the building blocks of good design. Students are encouraged to develop both manual drawing skills and computer skills using the programs, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Year 10

This unit involves the development and application of creative and technical skills. Students will respond to a variety of design briefs, some of which allow the student to develop work along individual areas of interest. Students will also complete a folio of conventional graphics involving the use of drawing systems. A folio of computer-generated work will be produced using the programs Photoshop and Illustrator.

Year 7 & 8

Introduction to art and design elements: line, tone, shape, form, colour, texture. Using the elements of art/design and the work of different artists as starting point and inspiration, students will undertake projects in a variety of two and three-dimensional media.

Year 9

Exploring aspects of art and design principles: scale, proportion, balance, movement, repetition, unity – within two and three-dimensional art forms. Students will utilise different styles and periods of art as a basis for research and for their own art making, students will undertake projects in a variety of two and three-dimensional media.

Year 10

This unit will undertake to illustrate ways that artists develop ideas for artworks and give students a foundation for expanding their own art practice. Students will explore how artworks can be developed from a number of starting points. They will examine the artworks of selected artists and then undertake their own artworks in a range of media.

Year 7 & 8

Students learn the properties and limitations of clay, and basic hand building techniques including, pinch, coil, slab, and modelling. Students learn basic technical and decorative techniques (slips, oxides, brushing and dipping glazes) and firing processes. Students are encouraged to use appropriate language/terms to describe the way images/forms are arranged in artworks. Students will also be required to submit an assignment on contemporary and ancient ceramics. Students acquire skills gradually with each topic enabling them to work progressively more independently.

Year 9

In this Unit, students will extend their ceramic vocabulary, research 4 ceramic artists, learn about the firing processes while designing and creating their own pieces. They will come to understand the elements and principles of 3D ceramic design and gain the skills and techniques needed to produce work they can be proud of. The unit will consist of one major written assignment and a series of practical assessment tasks.

Year 10

The course involves a detailed study of practical skills and their application in both functional and sculptural ceramic and found objects. The technical side of ceramics will involve the study of clay bodies, wheel work, decorative methods and firing processes. The sculptural component will involve carving, modelling casting and constructing clay with other materials, wood, wire, plaster, resin etc. Students should demonstrate an understanding of the most important overseas influences on the development of Australian ceramics.

Monbulk College offers an extensive drama and performing arts program from Years 7-12. Performing in our own Monbulk College Performing Arts Centre (a thrust stage that houses 240 seats), the College stages drama productions for Year 9, 10 and VCE. The college also stages a school wide musical, and a school wide talent quest (Monbulk Idol) on a bi-annual basis.

Starting from Year 7, student study a wide range of dramatic styles, theatre management and set construction, sound and lighting.

In our VCE program, students run their own productions using the full resources of the Monbulk Performing Arts Centre. The program offers fine preparation for those wishing to study performance with an aim to professional work, or those simply wishing to explore personal expression through theatre study.

Graduates of our program have gone on to tertiary study in the theatre as well as work in professional theatre and television.

The goal of our drama program is to provide a rounded, enjoyable learning experience in the performing arts that will benefit all students regardless of their pathways for the future.

Year 7 & 8

Students are introduced to a range of musical instruments and different styles of music. They learn about practical and theoretical components of music and are tested on both written and performance based content. Students learn the basic elements of music and put their new found knowledge into practice by playing the drums, keyboard and guitar. Students also get their creative juices flowing with a unit on songwriting.

Year 9 Music

As part of the Year 9 Music elective, students will learn about Rock Music through the ages. Beginning with a brief look at Jazz and the foundations of the 12 bar blues, students will learn the history and theory of musical styles and then put this into practice via performance on their chosen instruments. Students will learn about various aspects of aural training and music theory and be tested on these at regular intervals. As part of the study into different rock styles, students will look at 1950s Rock’n’Roll and 60s Teen Pop and as a class practise and perform songs from these eras. Students will also have a chance to perform their own choice of songs in both solo and group situations.

VCE Music Performance

VCE Music offers students opportunities to engage in the practice of performing, creating and studying music that is representative of diverse genres, styles and cultures. Students can specialise in one or more approaches to the study of music, depending on their VCE program overall and the post-VCE pathways they may be interested in following.

Students develop knowledge of stylistic, aesthetic and expressive qualities and characteristics of music and develop their ability to communicate their understanding through music making: performing, composing, arranging and/or improvising; and musicianship: aural perception, analysis and music language.

VCE Music offers students opportunities for personal development and to make an ongoing contribution to the culture of their community through participation in lifelong music making.