How did Orban School manage to achieve 108 diplomas, 46 junior diplomas, 146 gold certificates, and 10 silver at this year’s National Eisteddfod?
That’s an easy response, the learners gave stellar performances when the school hosted a week-long, science, technology, art, and performing arts display.
The school was assessed by an assigned adjudicator of the National Eisteddfod Academy who assessed the school’s individual and group entries in the speech and drama categories. The school’s Lounie van der Vyver said their foundation phase experimental theatre groups all received junior diplomas (90%+). While the grade 4s, 5s, 6s, and 7s also all received the same high praise.
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“Experimental theatre groups at Orban involve the entire grade. Each group chooses a theme that they workshop together with the drama teacher as well as the dance teacher, by sharing ideas and suggesting dance moves. It culminates in a word, music, and dance programme of about 15 minutes each,” she explained.
Van Der Vyver said Grades 1s and 2s chose ‘imagination’, Grade 3s ‘dreams’, the Grade 4s taught them to be ‘shatterproof’, Grade 5s convinced them there is a place for rebels whilst Grade 6s showed them some lessons worth learning. “The Grade 7 group had the adjudicator and many teachers in tears with their piece revolving around their understanding of ‘freedom’. These group performances were phenomenal,” she says. Adding the individual art and drama items proved to be just as inspiring.
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The school was fortunate to not only host the Eisteddfod, but also present their intersen phase (Grades 4 to 7) science and technology exhibition. “We have a strong focus on Steam at Orban, with a dedicated Steam lab following the Lego curriculum for enhanced and extended education in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics over and above the normal day-to-day curriculum. Here our children also learn the fundamentals of coding and robotics.”
Their intersen phase learners said to have put their technological, scientific, and engineering skills to the test and enjoyed their interactive electrical circuit projects.
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“Understanding electrical circuits is one of the building blocks needed for robotics. Our Grade 6s had to light up a city or engineer a theme park while the Grade 4s tested the limits of their sound engineering skills by building their own instruments and the Grade 7’s had to devise movement without the use of a cell/ electricity,” concluded Van der Vyver.
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