This year our Arts Week took place towards the end of May depicting the theme of ‘Digital Arts’. Staff worked very hard to plan an incredibly interactive week for the children to enjoy! Ideas were centred around each year group’s NICER Challenge Pack; this made the work relevant to the children’s learning.
Areas of work incorporated two main aspects – computer aided designs and exploring various painting skills across the school.
EYFS children produced finger print art using the ‘Purple Mash’ computer program and ‘You Doodle’. Designs were created using the Pointillism Technique – the children used their finger prints to make tiny dots of colour, which they placed in close proximity to each other. Items on display were: potted plant pots, decorated pottery toadstools, bird houses, king and queen crowns and portraits of tress. All of the children’s work linked into their NICER Challenge Pack – A Magical World.
Year 1 children designed and decorated ice-cream cones and were able to design and make their very own ice-cream vans constructed from digitally produced nets. The children were proficient in using the computer programs ‘2Design and Make’ and ‘You Doodle’. The work that they generated was centred around their NICER Challenge Pack – Buckets and Spades.
Year 2 children were busy using ‘You Doodle’ to help them to alter a sea scene. They used knowledge which they had gained from researching information about the famous artist Picasso. They also constructed boats and buildings using digitally produced nets. They researched information about famous ‘Pillars’ from our society: Guru Nanak, Mary Seacole and Martin Luther King to name but a few. The children used their inspiration to complete work on their NICER Challenge Pack – Pillars Past and Present.
Children from Year 3 created ‘all things dinosaur’ to fit in with their NICER Challenge Pack – Dinosaur Stomp. They digitally enhanced their dinosaur artwork by using the ‘Purple Mash 2design’ program. This truly brought their artwork to life as they were able to create 3D dinosaurs using familiar settings as their backdrop. They also created dinosaur footprints and skin patterns using acrylic paint and blending environmental colours together.
Children in Year 4 researched the work of a more modern artist by the name of Andy Warhol. He was an American artist and was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as ‘Pop Art’. Year 4’s abstract art techniques were used for decorating vases, pencil pots and packaging. The children also designed their own soda cans by painting their designs onto polystyrene and using acrylic paint to add colour. The children had also been busy using sophisticated ‘2design’ Primary Software, working alongside staff at Shireland Collegiate Academy to help them to produce key rings which were later cut out using the lazer cutter in the DT department at Shireland. Year 4 also researched waste and recycling as they are instrumental in supporting the ‘Arrive Alive’ appeal to help raise money for more helipads across the country. All of Year 4’s work links in with their NICER Challenge Pack – Crazy Contraptions.
In Year 5 the children were busy designing and producing their own coat of arms using information gained from their research detailing what they needed to include to personalize their designs. The children used digital technology by way of using the green-screen to produce castle photographs with the children superimposed onto the scenes. The Year 5’s had also been involved with using the ‘2design’ Primary Software from Shireland to help them to design and produce shields. The children used prior knowledge and extended research to carry out their tasks linked to their NICER Challenge Pack – Castle Attack.
Year 6 had a busy week after their SATs tests producing some splendid work centred around their NICER Challenge Pack – Goblins and Ghouls. The children researched the technique of using gouache paint to create a watered, chalky, opaque effect for their designs for a portfolio front cover for their written work; based on the creatures of ‘Spiderwick’. After designing and painting their portraits, the children used the ‘You Doodle’ program on the class iPads to enable them to digitally enhance their designs.
The staff and children have been exceptionally excited about their Digital Arts Week as they were able to showcase their many talents to each other, parents and outside visitors.
