Cultural activities at
St THOMAS AQUINAS includes:
CULTURE
Drama
Drama productions are a successful part of the St Thomas cultural program. In 2010, three of our Gr 9s wrote and produced a successful production which they will be presenting at The Grahamstown Festival of the Arts in June 2011.
Choir
We have a choirs for our pre-school as well as the junior and senior primary phases. They have a wide repertoire and take place in a Variety of Choir festivals in Witbank. At St Thomas Aquinas School, we have 2 choirs – Junior Primary (Gr 1 – 3) and Senior Primary (Gr 4 – 7). They participate in various choir evenings hosted by schools in Witbank and perform at special functions.
Marimbas
We have junior and senior marimba teams at St Thomas, both of which have done well at marimba competitions. Our senior team participated in a National competition held in Boksburg in 2016.They are also popular performers at a variety of functions in and around Witbank. We have 3 marimba groups – Gr 6 & 7; Junior High School & Senior High School.
The marimba groups perform at special functions and have been invited to play at corporate functions. They have even played for Thabo Mbeki.
All pupils in Grades 1 – 6 attend music lessons and are taught a variety of skills. They learn to play various instruments, including the recorder, marimbas, drums, xylophones, etc.
Debating
Although we have had debating teams compete against schools in Witbank that have done well, 2010 was the first year that we competed in the Un debate competition sponsored by Education Africa. Our debaters teamed up with a lesser advantaged school outside Witbank for the provincial competition in Nelspruit – which they won. They then represented Mpumalanga at the national event in Cape Town, where they competed against other provincial teams, as well as a few international teams – they won this too: and are now flying to New York in March to compete in America. Good luck debaters.
Music Lessons
Music is a part of the academic day for the pupils until Gr 7. They learn recorder, marimba and general music. In the afternoons extra lessons take place with one of our highly qualified teachers.
PREVIOUS SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTIONS
- 2016 – ” Beauty and The Beast ” Integrated within both phases our children performed our first ever major drama production.
- 2016 – ” Red & The Wolf” grades 1-3 performed a spin on the classic fairy tale .
- 2015 – Inter House Plays learners from the three school houses performed their takes on various fairy tales .
- 2007 – “A Merry Mix of Everything” was a production that included all learners from Gr 1 – Gr 7. A beautiful, colourful, humorous and lively production, it took the audience to different countries.
- 2006 – “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was a parody of the traditional Snow White. This play was performed by a small group of high school pupils.
- 2005 – “The Great Flood” – this humorous modern-day version of Noah’s Ark delighted the audience and brought stardom to the small group of high school pupils who performed it.
Arts Festivals
Pupils from Gr 0 – 12 participate in the Local Atrium Arts Festival in different categories, including poetry recitation (in English and Afrikaans), drama, music and art. A number of the category winners and overall winners over the years have been St Thomas Aquinas pupils.
Visits to Theatre
Each year we take our pupils to see Janice Honeyman’s annual pantomime at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre. We also support local schools by seeing their productions held at the Witbank Civic Theatre.
News & Events
