Hunter School of the Performing Arts

Infobox Aust school
name = Hunter School of the Performing Arts


motto = "Each of us is responsible for our own destiny"
established = 1923
type = Government, Performing Arts, K-12, Day school
principal = Mr. Bryan Campbell
city = Broadmeadow
state = New South Wales
country = Australia flagicon|Australia
coordinates = coord|32|55|30|S|151|43|42|E|display=inline,title
campus = Suburban
enrolment = ~1,160 (K-12) [http://www.huntperfor-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/information/forms/pdf/reports/HSPA_ASR_2004.pdf HSPA Annual Report 2004] (accessed:25-04-2006)]
colours = Jade, Purple & Black color box|#00A86Bcolor box|#660099color box|#000000
homepage = [http://www.huntperfor-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ www.huntperfor-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/]

Hunter School of the Performing Arts (HSPA) is a Public, co-educational, specialist primary and secondary school which offers a comprehensive curriculum with a performing arts specialty, located at Broadmeadow, New South Wales,

Although the Hunter School of the Performing Arts has a specialised curriculum based around Drama, Music and Dance, students perform well with academic tasks. In 2007, Hunter School of the Performing Arts was listed among the top 200 schools for the HSC in New South Wales.Fact|date=February 2008 Also in 2007, a team of students competed at the National Science and Engineering Challenge in Toowoomba, Queensland, with the school ranked 13th in Australia for Scientific and Engineering.Fact|date=February 2008

History

The school has undergone many name changes -- and changes of direction since its first day in July, 1923.

* 1923 - 1926 : Newcastle Junior Technical and Domestic Science School
* 1927 - 1931 : Broadmeadow Junior Technical School
* 1932 - 1960 : Newcastle Central Technical School
* 1961 - 1965 : Broadmeadow Boys High School
* 1966 - 1975 : Broadmeadow Boys School
* 1976 - 1992 : Broadmeadow High School (co-educational)
* 1993 - 1997 : The Broadmeadow School of Performing Arts
* 1998 - present : Hunter School of the Performing Arts

A notable moment in this schools recent history was the 2007 June floods which struck the Hunter Valley. The Hunter School of the Performing Arts was one of the most severely affected schools in the area. A copious amount of damage was aflicted on the school, where the entire bottom level was washed away, and the schools library was severely affected.

School motto

The original motto was "Advance", which changed after the school became a boys school in 1932 to "Faber est suae quisque fortunae". The motto was changed in 1999 to its English form, "Each of us is responsible for our own destiny".

Recently the students have adopted a newer, shorter moto that still embodies this spirit. "Performing At Our Best".

School colours

The original colours of the school were those of the Newcastle Regiment of World War 1, Green and Brown. In later years it changed to Green and White. In 1999, students were given a survey in a bid for them to choose their own school colours; the students decided to chose Jade, Purple and Black. To keep a link with the Newcastle colours, the new logo (of the mask, dancer and bass clef) has been incorporated into a shield which also has a ribbon of brown and a ribbon of green.Following the change in the school colours, a new school uniform was introduced in 2000, with options ranging from formal to casual, including performance and sporting wear. In 2001, the school's Marching Band uniform changed to reflect this as well, formerly being green and gold, as opposed to the school colours of green and brown.

Drama and productions

The Drama Faculty of the Hunter School of Performing Arts is a long standing and successful one. Drama students of the school have appeared in both OnStage (showcasing the best of Higher School Certificate Drama group and individual performances) and the regional, state and national Shakespeare festival.

The Hunter School of the performing arts holds bi-annual musical productions. Past productions include "Guys and Dolls" (1999), "Little Shop of Horrors" (2001), "Bye Bye Birdie" (2003), and "The Pirates of Penzance" (2006). The most recent musical, "The Pirates of Penzance", was postponed due to the construction of the school's new theatre complex, which was due to by finished by that time.

Last year (2007), year ten presented their production of "Monty Python and The Holy Grail", adapted from the screenplay of the famous comedy film. The play was presented in the school's new theatre on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of November.

Their school theatre also held 'A Little Night Music'.

This year (2008), the school will be putting on "West Side Story".

Music

The school is home to a number of musical ensembles. Three Concert Bands, a number of choirs, String Orchestra, Stage Band, a Marching Show Band and student based ensembles (Trombone quartet, percussion ensemble, guitar ensemble, brass quartet, vocal groups) are well known within the school and community and frequently perform at festivals, parades, ceremonies and competitions.

In April 2007 Junior, Intermediate and Senior Concert Bands competed in [http://www.nbca.asn.au/ The National Band Championships] held in Melbourne. 2006 saw a trip to Brisbane in order to compete. The school Choirs, Stage Band and Marching Show Band accompanied the Concert Bands on what was known as 'The QLD Tour'. Junior Band came first in all four areas of focus (Hymn, Test Piece, Own Choice and Stage March) and ranked first over all in the Junior C Grade Concert Band section. Intermediate Band came third in the Hymn, Own Choice and Stage March and came 3rd of 6 Junior B Grade Concert Bands. Senior Band ranked first in the Test and Stage March and second in the Hymn and Own Choice. They were second in Junior A Grade Concert Band. 'Junior' is used to determined bands where all musicians are 18 years or younger.

Recent events of the Music Faculty Calendar include Marching Band and Stage Band's performances at [http://www.tocalfielddays.com/ Tocal Field Days] and the [http://www.horsecapital.com.au/festival/ Scone Horse Festival] . Marching Band also be performed at [http://www.rfd.org.au/ The Reserve Forces Day] on Saturday 30 June, Children's Day in the Gardens at the Hunter Region Botanical Gardens Tuesday 3 July and are awaiting the [http://www.mattarafestival.org.au/ Mattara Parade] , Sunday 7 October.On 16 May the Stage Band performed with the highly acclaimed [http://www.ultraswinglounge.com/ Ultra Swing Lounge] , to rave reviews. The Ultra Swing Lounge is a jazz ensemble in which past students have a strong presence. The show took place in the school's recently completed Hunter Theatre.

Notable alumni

* Benjamin McKenzie - Australian Idol 2007 finalist
* Charli Delaney - Former Hi 5 member
* Short Stack

References

See also

* List of Government schools in New South Wales
* List of creative and performing arts high schools in New South Wales

External links

* [http://www.huntperfor-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ Hunter School of the Performing Arts website]
* [http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/schoolfind/locator/summaryschool.php?selectOption=8819 NSW Department of Education and Training: Hunter School of the Performing Arts]