Newtown High School of the Performing Arts
Encyclopedia
Newtown High School of the Performing Arts (NHSPA) is a state government school located in the suburb of Newtown
in Sydney
, New South Wales
, Australia
. It is one of the leading Performing and Visual Arts schools in Australia. All the students that attend the school are able to study Drama
, Music
, Dance
and Visual Arts
and are required to study them as part of the school’s curriculum for the first year of secondary school. The school participates in concerts, performances and workshops both on and off school grounds in all types of Performing and Visual Arts as well as Video, Technical, Costume and Design.
The school is run by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training
.
The school remains open and accessible to the local population, however a larger percentage of prospective students from outside the local acceptance boundaries can audition to obtain a place at the school.
It is also the sister school of the nationally recognised Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
.
. Only members of the Prefecture may be a candidate for the School Captain and Vice Captain. In previous years, the Prefecture has organised the NHSPA Talent Quest which was immensely popular amongst students, and the proceeds raised from the Talent Quest went towards the cost of the Year 12 Formal.
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is one of the leading Performing and Visual Arts schools in Australia. All the students that attend the school are able to study Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
and Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
and are required to study them as part of the school’s curriculum for the first year of secondary school. The school participates in concerts, performances and workshops both on and off school grounds in all types of Performing and Visual Arts as well as Video, Technical, Costume and Design.
The school is run by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training
New South Wales Department of Education and Training
The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsibile for primary schools, secondary schools and Technical and Further Education colleges...
.
History
The school was founded in 1990 as the first state selective high school for performing arts in New South Wales. NHSPA was formed from the merger of the nearby Petersham Girls' High School and Newtown Boys' High School on the latter's King Street site. Newtown's foundation principal was Robin Amm, formerly the principal at Petersham Girls.The school remains open and accessible to the local population, however a larger percentage of prospective students from outside the local acceptance boundaries can audition to obtain a place at the school.
It is also the sister school of the nationally recognised Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is a public secondary school located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas . Booker T. Washington High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is the Dallas Independent School District's arts magnet school...
.
Campus
The campus is located on King Street, Newtown and bounded by Newman and Whitehorse Streets. The campus has a large paved playground and a grass oval. The various faculties within the school are located in different areas ranging from A to F Blocks and the gymnasium located near the school oval. The school also has an operational theatre, known as the Studio Theatre, that it uses for its biannual Showcase concerts and other productions. The school also manages the adjacent St Georges Hall which is used for larger productions and school activities.Students
The student body is estimated to be in excess of 1000 students, This equates to roughly 150 students per school year and 200 students in each of the final two years (Year 11 and 12). A significant proportion of the student body is now recruited through a selective and highly competitive audition process, although local families retain the right to send their children there. Students can audition to gain entry to the school in Years 7 and 11 and make up roughly 75% of the school's student population.Prefect Body
The Prefecture at NHSPA consists of Yr 12 students who are elected by both their fellow students and teachers. Its primary role is act as role models for other students and represent the school at any public event. The Prefecture is also responsible for assigning fellow Prefects to a faculty at the school, which that Prefect must represent and raise the profile of. The Prefecture is also the sole body who votes for the School CaptainSchool Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
. Only members of the Prefecture may be a candidate for the School Captain and Vice Captain. In previous years, the Prefecture has organised the NHSPA Talent Quest which was immensely popular amongst students, and the proceeds raised from the Talent Quest went towards the cost of the Year 12 Formal.
Faculty
The faculties in the school include:- EnglishEnglish studiesEnglish studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
- MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- ScienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
- Human Society and its Environment
- Design and TechnologyDesign TechnologyDesign and Technology is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school. In some countries such as England it is a part of the National Curriculum. It is offered in many countries around the world such as Brunei, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan...
- Visual ArtsVisual artsThe visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
- DramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
- MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
- DanceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
- Personal DevelopmentPersonal developmentPersonal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...
, HealthHealthHealth is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
and Physical EducationPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting.... - FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
- ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
Extracurricular activities
The most notable extracurricular activities available to the students of the high school are the ensembles and companies in the Music, Drama and Dance departments. These form to prepare short performances to be included in the following "Showcase" concerts, staged in the Studio Theatre.Curriculum
The school focuses primarily on drama, dance, music and visual arts. In addition, students can obtain experience in the technical side of the performing arts including technical theatre, video, costuming and design.Notable alumni
- Lindsay FarrisLindsay FarrisLindsay Farris is an Australian born actor, author, musician, voice over artist and entrepreneur who has been labelled as one of the young guardians of theatre.-Personal Life and Training:...
- artistic director of the National Youth Theatre Company. - Nathan Foley - (1979) cast-member of Hi-5.
- Abe ForsytheAbe ForsytheAbe Forsythe is an Australian film and television actor, director, writer and producer. He is the son of actor and comedian Drew Forsythe.-Career:He first appeared on the TV series The Miraculous Mellops...
- (1999) actor. - Virginia GayVirginia GayVirginia Gay is an Australian actress most known for her work on the Australian TV dramas Winners & Losers , and All Saints .-Education:...
- actor. - Tamara JaberTamara JaberTamara Jaber , is an Australian pop singer-songwriter who rose to fame as a member of pop group, Scandal'us. She is also a former member of pop duo Scarlett Belle.- Early life :...
- recording artist. - Rose JacksonRose JacksonRose Jackson is a Councillor for Waverley Council in Sydney, Australia. She was the former President of the Australian National Union of Students...
- (2002) is a former president of the University of Sydney Students' Representative CouncilUniversity of Sydney Students' Representative CouncilThe University of Sydney Students' Representative Council is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney.- Structure :...
and is a past president of the National Union of StudentsNational Union of Students (Australia)The National Union of Students is the peak representative body for Australian university students. Most student unions in Australian campuses are affiliated to NUS...
. - David Jones-RobertsDavid Jones-RobertsDavid Jones-Roberts is an Australian actor, best known for portraying Xavier Austin in the long running TV series Home and Away. David's father, Danny Roberts, is an actor who played Andy Green on Sons and Daughters and Jim Eagan on Underbelly 3, and his mother, actress Lindsay Neil worked with...
- (2008) actor. - Jordan LoukasJordan LoukasJordan Loukas is an Australian model, who was the second runner up in the third cycle of Australia's Next Top Model...
- model and fashion correspondent. - Emma LungEmma Lung- Career :Lung played Carmelita in the short-lived Australian drama series The Cooks. She received her first breakthrough role in the film Peaches starring alongside Jacqueline McKenzie and Hugo Weaving. She starred in the movie 48 Shades alongside Victoria Thaine and Richard Wilson...
- (1999) actor. - Hanna Mangan-LawrenceHanna Mangan-LawrenceHanna Mangan-Lawrence is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Holly in the Australian drama series on the ABC television network Bed of Roses in which she received an AFI Award nomination in 2008 and a Logie Award nomination in 2009.-Career:Mangan-Lawrence started her film...
- (2008) actress. - Alyssa McClellandAlyssa McClellandAlyssa McClelland is an Australian actress and filmmaker. McClelland was educated at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney and holds a BA Communications in Media Arts and Production from the University of Technology Sydney...
- (1999) actor. - Elana StoneElana StoneElana Stone is a vocalist, songwriter, pianist, accordion player, and band leader based in Sydney, Australia. Described by John Bailey from Sunday Age as 'One of the most impressive singing voices in the country' , her album In the Garden of Wild Things was released in 2006 on the Jazzgroove label...
- (1998) jazz singer and band leader. - Jessica ToveyJessica ToveyJessica Tovey is an Australian actress. Tovey graduated from the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and has made appearances for various drama companies. She is best known for her role of Belle Taylor on the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away. Tovey joined the show in 2006...
- (2005) actor. - Ralph MyersRalph MyersRalph Myers is an Australian theatre set-designer and director. In November 2009 was appointed as the new Artistic Director of Sydney's Company B Belvoir. He will replace outgoing Artistic Director Neil Armfield at the beginning 2011...
- (1996) artistic director of theatre company Company B Belvoir.