Here is the link to our latest newsletter.

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Ashdale Secondary College is inviting students of Year 6 2019 from the Cluster Primary Schools to audition for our Year 7 2020 Dance Enrichment Program. This program is open to boys and girls and it will provide talented and passionate dance students from the Ashdale Cluster the opportunity to further develop their skills within a discrete class learning dance for an entire year.

The vision of the Dance Enrichment Program is to provide an avenue for students to achieve success in addition to the traditional academic pathways on offer at the College. The Dance Enrichment Program is designed to create a sense of pride and a culture of ‘belonging’ within the Ashdale Community through Dance. The Enrichment program will develop and extend skills and technique already possessed by the students, as well as providing them with access to professional choreographers and dancers in and around Perth. The Enrichment Program will have a focus on developing all aspects associated with The Arts, including technique, composition and performance. The Enrichment program will provide a clear pathway into Senior School (ATAR) with the aim of each student attaining either a Certificate II and/or III in Dance by the end of Year 12. We also aim to create a culture of success for the College in Dance with direct links to professional bodies and community organisations. Students within the Dance Enrichment Program will be provided with the opportunities to represent Ashdale Secondary College in competitions and eisteddfods, dance tours, annual dance showcases and community and school performances. Students will study a range of dance styles including jazz, tap, contemporary, commercial dance, hip hop, world dance styles, musical theatre, industry skills and choreographic skills. Students will also work in a disciplined group environment, developing positive and diverse friendships as the group will be a mixture of students from the Cluster Primary Schools and external dance studios.

The Dance Enrichment Program is a contemporary dance program however, opportunities exist to learn other genres as well as dance theory, history, choreography and composition. In Year 7, the program has a strong focus on technical dance skill development in the contemporary dance genre, along with jazz and hip hop. Students will perform their own and others’ choreography in a range of genres and styles. They will also learn how artists create meaning through choreography and design choices by viewing, analysing and creating dance works.

Students are accepted into this program through an audition process only and must demonstrate a genuine passion in dance, high technical and performance skills and the ability to learn and grow as a dance artist. The group will operate as a discrete group within The Arts Learning Area.  Students within the Enrichment Program will have a specific focus on creating versatile and confident dancers that are highly trained; with particular attention to instilling correct dance technique. Students are motivated to participate in real-life industry experiences where professionalism is paramount. Throughout the year, the program will reflect theatre and performance etiquette required by dancers. Operating as a discrete group, learning and working as a group as well as individuals, will enable them to develop not only a group ethos and a sense of ownership and belonging but a competitive streak within the Performing Arts arena.

Classes in 2020, will take place during periods 0 (before school 7:30-8:30am) and/or 6 (after school 3:30-4:30pm), which will allow the students to still be a part of the Year 7 Arts rotation (learning Dance, Drama, Visual Arts and Music) within the normal school timetable. Students will be assessed and reported on through the current outcomes of Making and Responding, as outlined in the West Australian Arts Curriculum 7 – 10 across The Arts Learning Area.

If you would like your child to be a part of the Dance Enrichment Program, please complete the expression of interest form and email to; Terry.Pirlo@education.wa.edu.au by Friday 13 September 2019.

Mr Terry Pirlo
Head of Learning Area – The Arts

This week I had the pleasure of launching Ashdale Secondary College’s new website. The website contains important information about the College, upcoming events, latest news, teacher email contacts, absentee emails, uniform ordering and the Connect portal.

The College had received feedback that our old website was hard to navigate and also contained outdated information. One of the goals for this project was to not only revamp the overall look of the website but to enhance the visitor’s experience.

The homepage now contains links to the four most commonly viewed pages on the website based on analytics being; student enrolments, events calendar, staff directory and College hours.

This redesign was conducted with the parents and guardians being front of mind as the user. Feedback or any issues that you encounter whilst viewing the new site are welcome as we want to continue to make the website the best it can be.

Mrs Antonio
Marketing & Communications