Japanese and Visual Art Elective Update
by
Emelia Tobin
In Year Nine Visual
Art this term, we are working on paintings of a humanitarian who inspires us. A
humanitarian is someone who works for the greater good of the community. They
help to break down barriers regarding gender, race, age, nationality and try to
help fix other social justice issues. We are creating portraits of them and are
trying to recreate the style of the artists Del Kathryn Barton, Pablo Picasso,
Frida Kahlo, John Brack and Kate Benyon. Included in our artworks are symbols
that represent the humanitarian that we have chosen. One of my favourite things
about art this term is learning about our artists and how to incorporate their
style of painting into our artwork. Although this has its challenges, it has
been really fun! We have learnt many different painting skills such as
blending, creating lines, and creating a focal point in our work. Our paintings
are starting to look great and we are excited to display them around the Brigid
Centre once they are finished! Visual art this term has been great fun and is
an elective that you should choose if you want to get creative and add a bit
more colour into your everyday life.
In Year Nine
Japanese this term, we have just finished two assessments; a speaking test and
a listening exam. Throughout this term, we have learnt how to ask and respond
to questions about hobbies and sports. One thing that I enjoyed in Japanese
this term was learning the days of the week. We have also learnt what the names
of our favourite after-school activities are. This has helped us develop our
knowledge of the Japanese culture and widen our vocabulary. Interestingly, we
have also learnt about Japanese sports and hobbies, which include traditional
sword fighting, tea ceremony, calligraphy, Japanese archery, and karate. For
our speaking test, we paired up and worked on an interview with a famous
Japanese star, who could be either real or made up. We interviewed each other
and asked questions about age, family, nationality, hobbies, sports, and where
they live. We had the choice whether we wanted to perform in front of the class
or only in front of the teacher. For our second assessment we had an exam and
had to listen to recordings in Japanese and answer the questions. Learning
Japanese has been so much fun this term and is an elective you should defiantly
pick if you want to learn about other cultures and are interested in traveling or working over seas when you are older.
