The Arts As I near the end of my first term as the Arts Facilitator, each day I am blessed to see the breadth of offerings in the arts at SMC. Whether it is the Year 11 free range dancers breaking out of the classroom to use the school environment as the basis for their choreography, the Art Club creating fabulous works of art for Valentine’s Day, or the Year 7 girls sitting outside my office on their ukuleles creating fabulous musical offerings. I firmly believe the importance of the arts cannot be overstated. Michelle Obama’s quote sums it up perfectly – “The arts are not
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just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.” Seeing the arts in action here at SMC reminds me of the motto of my old school in Wells in the UK, “esto quod es – be what you are”. Be the champion, be the musician, be the dancer, be the actor, be the artist, but most of all be what you are! Gill Blackler – Arts Facilitator