Specialist Programs
At St Mary’s, all students participate in the following specialist programs:
Physical Education
All children from Foundation to Year 6 participate in one hour of Physical Education each week. In addition, they participate in a range of other sports at district, regional levels and beyond including; athletics, cross country, soccer, football, netball, t-ball, basketball, swimming, tennis, racquetball and hockey.
All students from Foundation to Year 6 are expected to participate in formal swimming lessons at the local aquatic centre for a period of five weeks with a total of ten lessons.
Performing Arts
All students from Foundation to Year 6 participate in one hour of Performing Arts each week. Performing Arts includes, Music, Drama and Dance. In addition to the whole school biannual performance, students are given the opportunity to rehearse and perform plays in their year levels for their families.
STEM
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is critically important for our current and future productivity, as well as for informed decision making and effective community, national and global citizenship. While students at St Mary’s engage in educational experiences in the area of STEM within general classroom instruction, they also receive specialist instruction for one hour each week for a semester.
Visual Art
All students from Foundation to Year 6 participate in one hour a week of Visual Arts for a semester. Every second year, the school hosts an Art Show that showcases a range of art achievements from Foundation to Year 6.
Japanese
All students from Year 1-6 participate in Japanese lessons for 40 minutes each week. The lessons focus on the ‘gesture’ method of learning the skills to speak and understand the Japanese language. This also complements the Japanese Homestay Program which occurs each year in fourth term and has been a valued part of our school curriculum for over twenty years.