Specialist Learning Areas
DRAMA
Drama is offered to all students from Kindy to Year 6. This program focuses on engaging children in creative expression and performance, giving students the opportunity to perform in school and at Catholic Performing Arts Festivals. It aims to spark our students imaginations, build their confidence, boost their self-worth, enrich their school day happiness and inspire their beautiful young minds.
VISUAL ARTS
Arts-rich education from an early age increases students’ confidence, stimulates imagination, enhances problem solving and most of all develops creativity!
The Visual Arts program at Mary’s Mount is structured to build upon skills and techniques allowing all students to enjoy, explore and experiment with a wide range of mediums including drawing, painting, collage, ceramics, textiles, woodwork and mixed media.
Students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 attend art classes every week for a one-hour lesson. Visual Arts delivers a wide range of skills that build self-reflective, empowered students who bring great joy to our world!
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
The Physical Education program at Mary’s Mount Primary Schools aims to inspire our students and their families to live healthy active lives. We aim to provide students with the necessary skills to confidently participate in sport and recreational activities. Students play a wide variety of sports as part of the Physical Education curriculum including fundamental movement skills, AFL, soccer, cricket, basketball, netball, tennis, volleyball, athletics and hockey. Lessons are run by a specialist Physical Education teacher once a week for one hour. Students also have the opportunity to be involved in various faction and inter-school carnivals such as Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics carnivals. Upper school students also have an opportunity to be involved in Inter-school cricket and lightning carnivals.
SCIENCE
At Mary’s Mount Primary School, Science provides an empirical way of answering interesting and important questions about the biological, physical, and technological world. The knowledge it produces has proved to be a reliable basis for action in our personal, social, and economic lives. Science is a dynamic, collaborative, and creative human endeavour arising from our desire to make sense of our world through exploring the unknown, investigating universal mysteries, making predictions, and solving problems.
ITALIAN
At Mary’s Mount Primary students learn Italian as a second language from Pre-Primary to Year 6. Our cultural program is based on The Western Australian Curriculum for Languages, which has two Strands: Communicating and Understanding.
The aims of the Languages Curriculum is to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure that students:
- communicate in the target language
- extend their literacy repertoires
- understand language, culture, learning and their relationship, and thereby develop an intercultural capability in communication
- develop an understanding of an respect for diversity and difference, and an openness to different experiences and perspectives
- develop an understanding of how culture shapes worldviews and extend their understanding of themselves, their own heritage, values culture and identity
- strengthen their intellectual, analytical and reflective capabilities, and enhance their creative and critical skills
- understand themselves as communicators.
During Italian lessons students are immersed in Italian through classroom instructions, viewing and listening activities and reading stories, which reinforces students’ comprehension of the language and confidence. Students also participate in a variety of activities and interactive tasks including singing and actions, role-plays, games and projects. Computers and iPads are used for listening exercises, speaking tasks and games. Students are encouraged to take risks in speaking the Italian language, as well as coach and praise each other.
English literacy is reinforced when learning Italian grammar, and maths concepts are also revised during relevant topics. Other general and cross curriculum priorities are also incorporated into Italian programs.
