The Arts

The last few weeks have provided a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Arts in Senior School. Starting with We Will Rock You, this incredible musical production highlighted the talent, creativity, collaboration, resilience and passion of the students and staff involved. Those of us who were lucky enough to go along were treated to some wonderful entertainment and amazing performances. As an audience, we saw the pinnacle, but what was not so obvious was the work undertaken behind-the-scenes. We are fortunate to have such talented, passionate and creative individuals in our community. I would also like to acknowledge the excellent performances of the PLC students. The entire cast and crew demonstrated what is possible when we work together and commit to a task.

Some of our students then travelled off-campus for Scotch Rocks at the Rosemount Hotel, a night featuring rock, funk, metal and contemporary music performed by our boys. This was followed by House Singing, with the theme 'Kings and Queens'. This event involves all Senior School students and culminated with Alexander, Cameron, Shearer and Stuart Houses battling against each other in an entertaining final. Shearer House was crowned 'Kings' for their great rendition of Castles by Freya Ridings. There were some inspiring performances across the week but, for me, the highlight was seeing students involved in an activity that for some would have been outside their comfort zone and for many, a challenging or even daunting experience.

These musical extravaganzas were followed by Arts Week, featuring the Art and Design Exhibition opening night in the Stairwell Gallery. It was fantastic to see the range of work on display from our Year 9 to 12 students. To hear from some of them about the inspiration behind their creation, the methods that they used to create their work, the time and dedication that made it possible and the guidance and support from the staff was fascinating. The pieces evolved from the students' own past experiences, abstract thinking, themes and premises studied in class or even something as simple as a fridge magnet. Most impressive was the manner in which the students developed these ideas and implemented different techniques to express themselves through their work.

Arts Week continued with the Director's Cut: Media Night in the Dickinson Centre, followed by our Year 12 Music Recitals. I hope many of you took the chance to attend these events as they continued to showcase the talent of our boys in  a number of  different mediums. I commend  all of  those students involved in these events and thank the staff for their passion, ongoing commitment, encouragement and expertise in these areas.

We celebrate the Arts for many reasons. They are an avenue to communicate and express ourselves, they bring joy and help develop our creativity and problem-solving  skills. They allow us to explore our identity while providing opportunities to build resilience. The Arts are central to everything we offer here at the College and are embraced by our community.