Three STEAM Teams
Anamorphosis: Gaining Perspective
In a project really bringing out the A in STEAM, students used Visual and Dramatic Arts to explore perspective, creating the illusion of 3D pieces using two dimensional techniques.
Using their bodies, students first worked together to make shapes and letters.
One group spelled out the letters that make up the word love. Another explored the concept of perspective distance using the light of a projector. With two students standing close to the projector and two further away they produced the illusion of two adults holding the hands of two children. Groups also used their hands to make shapes in the light and produced a story involving the different animals they were able to create: wolves, snails, birds, elephants and bulls were featured.
For the Visual Art pieces, staff and older students prepped ahead of time, drawing the outlines of various pieces on the walls outside the Music department. Finished pieces included a zebra that looked like his head was poking through an open window, a mouse inside a hole nibbling on a piece of cheese, and a rocky canyon that looked as though you might fall down into it.
Seeing Birds and Bees
Although the name might conjure up a cringe-worthy health education class you took when you were 11 or 12, a group of students looked at Birds and Bees, through the lens of conservation, and had a decidedly good time.
On their introductory day, students conducted several bird counts on Harrington Sound, Trunk Island and at Spittal Pond. As part of the count, they looked at which species were most common and most uncommon and investigated different questions on bird conservation and how humans can help.
On Day Two, they used this information to create a presentation on bird conservation, answering the questions that had been posed at the start of the project. They also made a video on bird conservation in the afternoon to go along with the presentation.
On Day Three the students visited a beekeeper and learnt about bee conservation before creating a presentation on this subject as well.
Gabriella Quinn-Sirera ‘23 said the highlight of the project for her was seeing all the new and interesting birds that she had not seen before, “I personally found the experience very interesting and enjoyed it very much.”
Junk Rock
Combining the best of Arts and Engineering was this year’s Scrap Heap Challenge, Punk Rock edition. Students had three days to build instruments using discarded materials like metal and wood, and unused household items brought from home or salvaged from Tynes Bay Waste Management Facility.
The students also had to learn how to play the instruments, so they could perform for the school in a Punk Rock orchestra!
Some of the challenges the students faced while undertaking the project were deciding which type of instrument to make, finding the best materials and then creating an instrument that actually made music. Many people struggled with determining the correct measurements for creating the right notes, and using tools in a safe manner.
Once the instruments, which ranged from guitars and violins to percussion instruments, were built, the group came together as an orchestra and performed ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen for Secondary students and staff.
For the students, highlights of this project were seeing their instruments finished and knowing that their hard work had paid off. Another one of the highlights was going to Tynes Bay Waste Management site and seeing how the household waste is turned into usable energy.
Torchbearer Fall 2017
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