High School Physical Education

For PE and swimming classes in Quarter 4, all students are expected to be able to study at home through online activities. We hope all students will do sports for strong endurance, to be in the best health and fortify themselves against the coronavirus. Regular exercise is a way to maintain health, fitness, and endurance. Doctors and experts say there are many sports that can be done at home in the middle of a pandemic. “In principle, there are two types of sports, namely neural exercise / neural exercise to maintain health and physical exercise/physical exercise to maintain fitness.

The sport can be done at home,” Nerve exercise is realized by means of breathing, vocalization and posture. Breathing exercises can be done with breathing exercises like gymnastics and yoga. Posture can be enhanced by means of doing Tai Chi exercises and prayer movements. According to doctors, these breathing exercises can be carried out at any time, anytime, and anywhere. By doing breathing exercises regularly it makes the body healthy and minimizes stress.

“Right now we are encouraged to undergo physical distancing, to stay at home. Therefore, it is appropriate to do sports that can be done anytime,” Physical exercise can be done to keep the body in shape while carrying out daily activities. This physical exercise involves large muscles, is rhythmic, and sustainable. When doing physical exercise it is recommended not to overdo it with high intensity.

Middle School Theatre

At the Surabaya Intercultural School, it is almost the end of Week Five of Online Learning. During this period of their schooling, Theatre Arts students in the Middle School have had the opportunity to demonstrate new lifelong skills, such as independence, flexibility and open mindedness. It has been a challenging time for students, but it has been wonderful to see so many individuals embracing this alternative way of learning.  I look forward to exploring more practical theatre activities with my theatre classes in the next academic year. 

Grade 7 Theatre Arts

The Grade 7 class began their Theater Arts studies with a new unit at the onset of Online Learning after the Spring break. The group have been learning about the style of theater known as British Pantomime and the numerous conventions that make this drama so unique. 

Some of these conventions include; the use of the aside, audience participation (cheering and booing at relevant moments in the drama and answering questions asked of them by characters onstage), standard plot lines, and the use of the stock character, such as the villain, the hero and the heroine.  Within the unit, students watched a British Pantomime of “Aladdin” and explored different elements of the theatre performance: Pantomime Conventions, Staging, Costume, Hair and Make-Up, Acting Techniques and Singing and Dance Routines.

For the final part of the unit, students will work on elements of stage production of a play script. The chosen play, “Cinderella”, has been written in the style of a Pantomime. Grade 7 Theatre Arts students have been working extremely hard in the subject and many have revealed excellent work habits during this period of their schooling.

Grade 8 Theatre Arts

Previous to the Spring Break, the Grade 8 Theatre Arts class “travelled” back to the beginnings of the ancient western world and learned about Greek Drama, and how theatre evolved from rituals performed for the God Dionysus, to the creation of plays for competition. The class explored the historical period and the way that theatre proved to be a central component of the ancient Greek civilization.

The importance of mask, costume and the Greek Theatre, (known as the Amphitheatre), were central to our study. Students discovered that the use of a chorus was also a relevant part of the theatre during this time period in history. The group worked on group chorus activities, focusing on vocal variation and movement suitable for the given text.

During the period of Online Learning, students have explored the link between Greek Mythology and the Greek Theatre. They have had the opportunity to read and experience some Greek Myths and have been developing skills in transference from story to script. The class has reflected upon their experiences and their learning of Greek Theatre as a final unit assessment. 

For their final unit, “Page to Stage”, the class will work on elements of stage production of a play script. The chosen play, “The Prisoners of Grade 8”, has links to the Greek Theatre unit, with the use of a modern three person chorus.  It has been a pleasure to see the Grade 8 Theatre Arts students rising to the challenges of Online Learning in the subject. 

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