A hikoi around Hawke’s Bay by year 11 Sacred Heart College students resulted in a number of creative projects capturing the sights, sounds and fabric of the region. 

The Level 1 Arts Showcase Ko wai au, ko wai tatou – Who am I, who are we, was the brainchild of Sacred Heart College Head of Arts Sandra Howlett. 

It was the culmination of a multi-discipline response to changes to NCEA that focus on more localised curriculum. 

Students took part in a two-day hikoi around Hawke’s Bay. The showcase brought the students’ knowledge and understanding to life and reflected their exploration of their local environment and identity. 

Mrs Howlett said she was really pleased with how it turned out. 

“It was just one of my mad ideas again that came to fruition. I’m just really proud of the quality of work that the whole cohort came together to produce.”  

Music students created soundscapes, Textiles students made a collection of garments, Visual Art students constructed a piece of wearable art, and English students created poetry that responded to a certain part of the hikoi that interested them. 

Sacred Heart College Principal Maria Neville-Foster acknowledged Mrs Howlett for her vision, and for “delivering a curriculum across disciplines that meets the needs of today’s ākonga which allows them to achieve their full potential”.

Mrs Neville-Foster emphasised how this initiative is a clear example of the innovative and future-focused curriculum being developed at Sacred Heart College.

Year 11 student Magdalena Jobbins embraced the opportunity to express her creativity by crafting a soundscape, textiles collection, and wearable arts piece. 

“It was nice to experience something different,” Magdalena shared.

“It gave us time to create our own interpretation of Hawke’s Bay. And it was good to communicate our ideas into something we made that we could share.”

Magdalena's soundscape incorporated her love for drums, blended with the sounds of the ocean and birdsong.

“It was nice to learn how to take sounds that don’t normally go together and put them into something that represents where you come from.” 

Fellow student, Hayley Cope, created a soundscape inspired by the natural sounds she grew up with on her family’s orchard. 

“It was a really good experience. I’ve always been more of a traditional musician, so creating something like this was stepping outside of my comfort zone, but I really enjoyed it.”

Hayley also appreciated seeing all the elements come together on the night of the showcase. 

“I found it to be a really positive event. Seeing the sisterhood of all the different year groups modelling and smiling down the runway—sisterhood is something I think Sacred Heart really values, and I think that was really shown.”
 

Article added: Wednesday 06 November 2024