Our High School students from Years 7 to 10 immersed in creative and collaborative activities during IGS SAGE Week. SAGE is a project in limitless learning, a unique curriculum offering for students in the middle years. It cuts across disciplines and gives students inspirational, real-world, project-based learning experiences outside the classroom for a full week.
SAGE inspires our students to go beyond their age and their stage of learning. During the week, each Year group participated in different projects that helped our students build critical and creative thinking skills. Year 7 took part in the ‘Shakespeare Bootcamp’, Year 8 ‘The Rocks Quest’, Year 9 ‘Opera on Kelly’ and Year 10 ‘Writing the Island in Tasmania’.
Writing the Island in Tasmania
Year 10 students were taken to Tasmania for the week and immersed themselves in a mix of pristine, historic, artistic and other environments. They were involved in the creative endeavour of Writing the Island, a collaborative effort that transcends geographical boundaries and fosters a sense of connection.
Each group spent the week focusing on the activity chosen. Outdoor Education Group explored the region, tracking the most beautiful places. Art, Music, and English designed, composed and created, while Drama and Film focused on filmmaking and the design of engaging film and drama productions.
Students will produce a final reflection or production of a physical representation of their experience such as a short essay, poem, collage or video review. These reflections will be presented to parents upon return at an evening Showcase event in Term 4.
Shakespeare Bootcamp
Year 7 students collaborated with professional actors from Sport for Jove Theatre Company for a week. They participated in master classes conducted by award-winning artistic Director Damien Ryan. They studied and played key moments from various Shakespeare’s plays, learning more about history, words, poetry, and the heartbeat rhythms of his great works.
Students have also learnt about dramatic construction, embodiment, movement, and performance, as well as Shakespeare’s turbulent world exploring what it means to be human and the other big ideas that Shakespeare’s plays traverse. The learning process was fast-paced and expectations are now high. The week will end with a celebration of learning in a one-night-only performance.
The Rocks Quest
This week, Year 8 students team up in House groups to research, curate, and create a ‘Night at the Museum’ soiree that will showcase student learning about a chosen geographical or historical inquiry question. During the week, students participated in a mix of activities such as:
- an introductory guided walking tour of The Rocks
- an archaeological experience, ‘Cesspits and Old Rubbish’, at the Big Dig
- a harbour cruise onboard the Tribal Warrior that allowed students to hear the stories of the Gadigal people and learn about their history and culture
- a tour of the State Library, as well as activities
- a self-guided tour of the Sydney Modern Project at the Art Gallery of NSW.
Opera on Kelly
During the week, Year 9 students participated in intensive, challenging and fun master classes with professional opera singers, actors, musicians and Australian composers led by Opera Express. Students had to create from scratch their own original short operas and were responsible for every component of their piece: plot and character development, writing the libretto, composing the music, casting, creating the set, painting the backdrops and performing.
