Statement of Intent

At St Gregory’s we believe that the role of the Art’s is not just to promote creativity within each and every child; we recognise the power that music, art and drama can have in nurturing  a child’s  self-confidence, individuality and expression of their emotions.

The Art’s are not just seen as discrete lessons but as the building blocks of core subjects. For example: teaching Shakespeare in English through emersion in drama well before putting pen to paper. Because unless you’ve lived it how can you truly write about it?

By offering children a diverse and rich art, drama and music curriculum we know we will be developing children who have the perseverance to keep practicing their craft: kind and caring pupils who can work collaboratively with each other and are not afraid to take on new experiences with confidence in their own ability to try their best.

You will leave St Gregory’s with a diverse knowledge and skill set which will leave you feeling confident. You will know that with any new challenge that arises when leaving our school you will be able to face it head on and confident in your abilities to adapt, create and work with the people around you.

Article 31 Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities

Term 3

This term, children in KS1 are learning about the skill of drawing and are being taught ways to make marks on pages and to shade and use colour. In Stone Bay, due in enquiry time Mr Gilbert gave a 'master' class on how to draw a manikin using careful observational skills. The children first had a go following Mr Gilbert's instruction then independently drew the manikin themselves. As you can see, the results are fantastic. At St Gregory's we believe that Art should be of real quality no matter the age.

Over the past few weeks children in Mr Graham's class have been turning their stories and images into a wonderful short film to be shared as part of The Raree Tales Exhibition in Margate as part of Margate Now. 

Raree Tales Exhibition - The Boxes

The Raree Tales Exhibition will run from this Sunday 1 December 2019 - 12 January 2020. 

There will be 7 Raree Boxes installed in 7 locations across Margate.  Each box contains a different Raree Tale animated film, created by one of the 7 schools who have participated in the project. The film created by Louisa Bay class at St Gregory's Primary School will be installed at Margate Superstore, 12 The Centre, CT9 1JG. 

Anyone can visit and watch the film between 1 December - 12 January during Margate Superstore's opening hours which are Mon-Sat 10.30am-5pm; Sun 12-4pm. Closed 25 Dec-4 Jan.

Raree Tales Exhibition - Projections Alongside the 7 Raree Boxes later in December there will be some pop up outdoor projected animations, so long as the weather allows - include a projection onto outside of the cinema at dreamland.  The outdoor projected animations will include artwork from all of the children who participated in the workshops across all 7 schools.  We will keep you posted on these dates so that you can share them with the children who took part.

Drum roll please.........

Studio 39 is open!

We are proud to announce that we have a new art's space dedicated to drama, dance and music activities. Studio 39, named after the School's opening year and the iconic New York club 'Studio 54' which gave birth to disco, is a new classroom that is now being used for drama, dance and music lessons. Our aim is to promote the arts further in our School and curriculum. The studio has a stage ready to use, and instruments easily accessible for our teachers to deliver lessons to the highest standards.As the Studio progresses, we look forward to sharing with you all the wonderful activities that will take place.

Mrs Wilson's class have already started using the space to practice their new Shakespeare play that they will be performing later this year.

Stay creative

The Arts Leader

Mr Gilbert

06.09.19 Stone Bay Class Year 1

We are back in the swing of things here at St Gregory's and our children are already making the most of our KS1 art room. The children have been creating their own 'Dot' piece of artwork based on the story 'The Dot' by Peter. H Reynolds. This term the children are learning about a growth mindset and what it means to persevere. Through painting, the children have learnt that all you need to do is start with a dot and from their the possibilities for what you can create are endless!

Much more Art, drama and music to come this year.

Stay Creative!

The Arts Leader

Mr Gilbert

Turner Gallery Visit - Art Rebels Project

We had members of the Turner  Gallery visit us this week to work a long side our children on a project entitled 'Art Rebels' it was brilliant listening to our children discuss what being a 'rebel' meant to them and how this can be shown in Art work. Once again, we showed how creative our children can be . The art work below was created using a variety of materials and was completely from the children's wild and wonderful imaginations!

Mr G

The Arts Leader

Year 4 Romeo and Juliet Performance 

through term one and two, year 4 were immersed in the world of Shakespeare, studying the play Romeo and Juliet. This gave many opportunities for cross-curricular learning as the children wrote Newspaper articles, diary entries and recounts all based on events in the play. In addition, the class were learning through drama and performed on stage at the Theatre Royal in Margate. The photos shown are from the performance to the School. 

It was an absolute joy to watch and fantastic work Miss Wilson for bringing the world of Shakespeare to life for the children.

Mr G

The Arts Leader

KS2 Virtual Orchestra Trip to the Sidney Cooper Gallery In Canterbury

On Friday 29^th March 2019. Mr Gilbert took children from years 3 to 6 to experience a Virtual Orchestra at the Sidney Cooper Gallery. This exhibition was a 10-room installation featuring Philarmonia Orchestra performing the pieces from Gustav Holst's The Planets. The children were taken on a guided tour to witness each of the different instrument groups playing. Exploring a variety of new and interesting the sounds the children were able to play orchestral instruments a long to the music. Finally, the children were able to put on a virtual reality headset and experience what it is like to sit in-front of a conductor.

I know that this was a very enlightening experience for many of the children with a year 6 pupil saying they will practice their trumpet more so they can play in an orchestra one day!

This shows why we cherish the Arts at St Gregory's 

Mr Gilbert

The Arts Leader

29.04.19 - 01.05.19 Star Snapper Workshop

This week, we were lucky enough to be visited by the Star Snappers! Each class in the School took part in a photography workshop where each child was able to pose and take professional photos of their peers. Using state of the art lighting and camera equipment, this was a fantastic opportunity for our children to see what it takes to be a professional photographer. The Star snappers team were fantastic with our children and each classed absolutely loved the opportunity they were given.

Mt Gilbert

Arts Leader

22.04.19- Thanet School's Young Artist Competition - Sainsbury's Westwood Cross

This year, we have made a real push to give our children more opportunities to be involved with the arts, not just in school but also in the wider community. We were lucky enough to be invited once again by the Margate Rotary Club to submit Art from children in our School to be displayed at an exhibition at the Sainsbury's store Westwood Cross.

The theme this year was 'My Special World' this was a topic which sparked the imagination of both the children and teachers. Each year group worked with a different medium for example: Year 4 used chalk and looked at perspective  drawing, Year 1/2 used paper and layering and year 5 and 6 studied Andy Warhol and Pop Art.

Although all our children produced fantastic pieces of work, only a select few could be put forward to the finals where they were judged. Our very own Lily B from KS1 and Ruth from Year 4 were awarded Merits and commendations.

Well done to all the children who took part you are all amazing!

Mr G

The Arts Leader

Press release link: https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2019/05/05/thanet-schools-young-artists-festival-2019-winners-and-pictures/

Year 5 - Term 5 - Blue Planet Art Project

This term, in year 5 we are embarking on an Art project called 'The Blue Planet' project. This has been inspired by the BBC programme of the same name. The focus of the project is to educate other about how we effect the oceans with by plastic. Over the first two weeks of the project the children have created their own sea creatures using recycled plastic and other materials. This will be displayed in the school as a piece of ethical art with a message of reducing the use of single use plastic and trying to recycle more. The children will be moving onto designing and sewing their own sea creatures.

I'm blown away by the children's imagination and creativity!

Mr G

The Arts Leader

23.05.19 Term 5 Sketching Competition exhibition

Once, again a huge congratulations to all the children who took part in this term's art competition. Yesterday, the work of the children was exhibited on the playground and we had some lovely responses from parents.

This term's winners and runners up were:

KS1: Janielle and Keina

LKS2: Joshua and Sophia

UKS2: Jasmine and Frankie

I am very proud of all our artists at this School and I'm looking forward to the next term's submissions (see the attachments)

Mr G

The Arts Leader