WASHK Yearbook - Our Favourite Subjects （Part Two）

Music

Music is an integral part of our mission: “Building confidence for life.”?Whether a skilled musician or a beginner, all pupils sing and play various instruments regularly in music lessons,morning assemblies, and other extra-curricular including the choirs, orchestra, and private instrument lessons.

Music making is enjoyable and fulfilling but more significantly, can deeply empower self and the community.?In choral lessons, each pupil explores and strengthens their own voice whilst listening to and keeping balance with others.

When playing instruments that are louder, higher, and lower than their voices, pupils externalize their thoughts and emotions through mediums that are completely different from singing voice but undeniably personal and significant.?

Through these collective musical experiences, pupils build self-confidence and valuable skills which transfer to all areas in life.

As the banner outside the music room reads,?“Each of us a single note, together we create a masterpiece,”?music celebrates the diversity of our pupils and the harmony they create when they come together.

This year, pupils across all key stages enjoyed exploring a digital music education platform Quaver Music to supplement curricular music lessons. Each pupil was given an account to learn, compose and perform which was especially helpful during online learning. In Summer Term,?pupils worked hard to develop techniques for instruments including the ukulele, recorder, xylophone, and percussions.

Instrumental Music Programme (IMP) grew to 70 pupils learning?a wide range of instruments covering the piano, cello, violin, viola, flute, saxophone, trumpet, guitar, ukulele, and drum set.?Despite COVID-19 disruptions, many pupils continued learning to achieve their musical goals with the support from their peripatetic teachers.

Music Department frequently engages with external organisations for special opportunities and collaborations.?In November, Years 4 and 5 pupils attended school concert hosted by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their Jockey Club Keys to Music Education Programme. Ensemble visit to our campus has been postponed due to COVID-19 but we look forward to more opportunities with the HK Phil in near future.

In Autumn Term,?Lucy Young (8P), Ariane Sibraa (8P), Audrey Wong (6M), Sophie Gowen (6M) and Lily Young (6H) were nominated and invited to join the Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival 2022 hosted by the HK Virtuoso Chorus.

The pupils had a chance to perform with over 100 pupils from 35 primary and secondary schools.?As last year, 74th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, ran via “Video Submission Mode” in view of COVID-19. Over 30 pupils studying private tuitions entered in solo competitions for various instruments and are waiting for results.

In December,?our 3rd annual Christmas Production was shared digitally featuring musical performances?by the Senior and Junior Choirs, Orchestra, and drama performances by Years 1 and 2 pupils.

On the final week of Autumn and Summer Terms,?many pupils across all key stages joined Wycombe Abbey’s Got Talent (Seasons 1 & 2) to showcase a variety of talents with their peers and adjudicating teachers.?Winning pupils earned up to 50 house points for various categories.

BRAVI TUTTI to all pupils for another successful year and well done for staying productive amid challenging circumstances.?The resilience you have shown this year is deeply admirable and I am certain that with this mindset, you will be able to tackle any adversities you may face in future.

I wish you a wonderful summer full of exciting adventures and well-deserved rest.

Special thanks to all families for your enduring support in music learning. I am grateful for your time and patience especially during online learning.?I look forward to meeting you when we host live concerts and productions in the coming year.

Mr. Kim

PE

This year we have tried to give all our students exposure to several team sports which many of them had never tried before.?We focused on Netball, Football, Basketball and TAG Rugby at all ages. A key focus across all these sports was to develop basic skills and understanding of the games but also their Teamwork, Leadership and Coaching skills of all our students from Year 1 to Year 8.

We want all our students to not only enjoy playing sports but understand how they can help themselves and others improve in those sports.

Sadly, for a large part of the year we found ourselves working online and teaching any subject online it creates a few challenges, but teaching PE was tough for everyone.?But the students did an amazing job at following our Tabata exercises and dances, with Rasputin being one of their favourites.

Next year we will look to add?Cricket?to our curriculum, with the aim of taking part in several different competitions for all ages.?There will be several other opportunities in different sports we will be starting next year with the idea of also entering competitions in Climbing, Cross Country, Fencing and Table Tennis.

Art

This year, pupils across all year groups had the opportunity to?not only to use their creativity when developing ideas, but also to explore different tools and materials when creating art?such as using nail polish to create abstract prints, using tin foil to create sculptures and recycled materials from home to create architectural models.?

Although we spent months having our art and design lessons online, our pupils got to practice their problem-solving skills and find different materials at home for their project.

This year,?pupils also got to learn about different art history?such as ancient Greek artifacts, aboriginal Australian art. By learning about different art movements, they understand how the world changes and how they can impact the world.?

They also studied about different famous artists around the world?such as Louise Bourgeois, Claude Monet. Romero Britto and Julian Opie.?KS2 also got introduced to different local artists such as Wu Guan Zhong the Chinese painter.

Throughout this school year, pupils got to challenge themselves and showcase their unique ideas and skills?by participating in different art and design contests such as “Chinese New Year poster design”, “Yearbook cover design”.

The art department has also partnered with the drama department to host “The Wizard of Oz” T-shirt design.?The whole school also worked together and created a small art show at the end of the school year.

Next school year, we will continue to explore more creative tools?such as action arts, making stop-motions, photography, puppet making and fashion design!

“?Every child is an artist.” ——Parblo Picasso

Art has no limit, so does our pupils' imagination at Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong!

Speech and Drama

Pupils have been very busy this year in Speech and Drama.?Pupils across all year groups have been exploring a variety of units including Author Study, Play-Text Study, Devising, Improvisation, Physical Theatre and Playwriting.?Besides this, pupils have developed their public speaking skills in our units on Performance Poetry and Presentation Skills. Other units have covered Mask Work, Bunraku Puppetry and Prop and Set making.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, we were still able to produce 2 school shows this year alongside class performances.?Even though we have faced challenges and difficulties along the way, pupils have continuously showed their resilience, flexibility and determination in the face of adversity.

Y1-Y3 pupils produced?a Virtual Christmas Sharing?comprising of a short Christmas play, a Christmas poem and a Christmas dance whilst Y4-Y8 pupils produced our?Summer Musical, The Wizard of Oz.?

“The Show Must Go On” is becoming a fitting mantra for our pupils in these uncertain times!?