On Thursday 16 May 2024, the St Joseph’s community celebrated our work in the area of the Performing Arts with impressive performances in Drama, Choral Singing and Music Theatre.

Our students were excited to have the opportunity to work with professional artists from Brisbane: Annie Lower and Peggy Channon(Music Theatre), and Kellie Lazarus and Frankie Mason (Drama).

The students had only 3 hours to workshop the presentations and the ensuing performances are a testament to the focus and concentration of students and the expertise of the tutors. The regular work from our Arts teachers, James Cuskelly and Amelia Wilshire, has laid the foundational skills for student engagement and these special workshops provide rich extension experiences for all our students.

Many thanks to all the staff who assisted in the preparations and supervisions, and of course, sincere thanks to all who able to be part of the audience on the day.

In the upcoming newsletters for the remainder of Term 2, we will feature ‘Reflections’ from Secondary students centered around the theme of ‘Creativity,’ which was the focus of this year’s Arts Festival.”

Please enjoy reading the first of these "Reflections" below :

Year 10 Students - Erin O’Dea & Jahnavi Miriyala

What is creativity (and more importantly what is not!!)

A:          Wow! Did you see the artwork that the Yr 8s are doing?? It is so beautiful and it is so creative!

B:            Yeah I did see it and I agree – I think it is just fantastic. But it got me wondering – how is that those kids are so creative and lots of us just aren’t?? I mean, I don’t think that I can draw and paint like that!

A:            Well I guess we could get all complicated about it but creativity is really just defined as the tendency to generate or recognise ideas, alternatives or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems.

B:            A tendency to generate ideas? But we can all think of new ideas can’t we?

A:            Yes, absolutely. We all generate new ideas all the time! I mean, I know that some of those kids who went on the ANZAC trip had to find a way to pay for it and some of them went and got a job so that they could afford.

B:            Wow, that is a creative response to a problem – thinking about a way to solve a problem.  So being creative is something that we all do all the time actually.

A:            But don’t we usually think of creative people as the ones who have wild hair or lots or piercings or alternative clothes?

B:            Well, you have to wonder about that a bit – is that just imitating what someone else has done or is that a new way of responding to a problem.

A:            And that means that you have to understand what the nature of the problem is if you are actually going to find a creative response. I think that far too often we put creative people in a sort of fringe basket instead of really understanding what creativity is all about.

B:            So, creativity isn’t just about people in the Arts then?

 A:           No, not at all, creativity is a capacity that all humans have within ourselves – but we have to work at developing it if we are going to produce anything worthwhile!

Year 7 Students - Audrey Paten & Amity Buscher

What motivates people to be creative?

A:           Hey, have you ever wondered what motivates people to be creative?  I mean, some people seem to effortlessly come up with brilliant ideas, while others struggle.

B:           Absolutely!  It’s fascinating.  I think creative is like a mysterious force that pushes us to explore new ideas.  For some though, they seem to have this innate drive like my mate can come up with the most interesting and creative things with the click of her finger.

A:           Yep, while me for example need a heap of other stimulus and support to help spark an idea!

B:           True.  Have you noticed that curiosity often sparks creativity?

A:           How do you mean?

B:           Well, when we ask questions like ‘What if?’ or ‘Why not?’our minds start churning.  It’s like a mental playground where ideas collide and give birth to something unique.

A:           Yes that’s right!  And sometimes, limitations fuel creativity.  When we’re faced with constraints – whether it be a rule, or a theme, or a word count – we’re forced to think outside the box.  It’s like our brains say ‘I can do this challenge!’

B:           Oh I like that!  It’s like our brains are rebellious artists, breaking free from the boring and mundane. 

A:           But you know what else?  Passion drives creativity. 

B:           Ahh that’s is true.  I know that when I’m genuinely passionate about something, I pour my heart into it and magic happens.

A:           So true!  And you know what, I think playfulness is a secret ingredient to this magic. 

B:           Yes, I know when I approach creativity with fun and curiosity, it seems to unlock hidden doors in my minds.

A:           Well said!  So curiosity, passion and playfulness all woven together is like a beautiful tapestry we call creativity.