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At Para Hills West Primary we pride ourselves in providing students with a wide range of opportunities to develop their skills in the performing arts.
We have a specialist music teacher who works with all students across the school. Our dedicated music space is a colourful & inviting space where students love to create and explore. Students have access to a range of modern pitched instruments such as xylophones, chime bars, bells & boomwhakers & keyboards. We also have a large number of percussion instruments and access to iPads and computers that support students create music in a range of different ways. From Year 2 students also learn the ukulele, working hard to earn coloured belts at each stage of achievement.
Our school choir consists of students from Years 5 and 6. We have a lesson for an hour each week, where the students learn the songs, choreography and build on their musical knowledge from specialist lessons, including understanding pitch, harmony, tempo and musical terms and symbols.
The choir works on songs developed and chosen by the South Australian Primary Schools Music Festival. The Primary Schools Music Festival is a South Australian State Heritage icon under the direction of The Public Primary Schools Music Society and the Department for Education.
The songs are specifically chosen to engage students in artistic excellence, cultural diversity and social inclusion through performance in Music and The Arts.
The choir performs at our Mid-Year Concert and at some assemblies. Our hard work culminates in a colourful and exciting performance at the Festival Theatre in September.
Instrumental Music Lessons are available for students in Years 4 to 6. A specialist teacher from the Instrumental Music Branch of The Department for Education attends our school once a week to conduct small group lessons for each instrument group. Students can use their own instrument if it is good order or can hire an instrument from the school for a fee per term. The lessons are free of charge.
The instruments the students can choose from are: Percussion (drums), Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet or Trombone. During the year, when the beginning students have learned enough notes and can produce a sound on their instrument, all of the instrumental students work together in ensemble (Band) sessions. We encourage students to continue lessons in successive years, honing and further developing their skills.
Wakakirri is a nationwide initiative for Australian schools that provides a platform for students to express their thoughts, ideas, and aspirations through the art of storytelling and dance. Inspired by the belief that great stories can inspire change, Wakakirri is designed to promote student engagement and well-being in schools through the creation and performance of captivating Story-Dances. Established in 1992, the Wakakirri Story-Dance Festival is Australia’s largest performing arts event for schools. Held in term 3, this grand celebration showcases the Story-Dances from schools all across the country.
For more information see https://wakakirri.com.
Annual school concert is a much-loved part of the school calendar & great community night out. It takes place at the end of Term 2 with each class, as well as individuals & small groups getting the chance to perform. The concert is entirely run by the students themselves, with staff supporting back stage. At Para Hills West Primary it is important to us to let the students be the stars of the show.
We hope that you will find this site useful to gather information about programs at our school, both in relation to Montessori and Mainstream learning programs.
