St. Thomas, Drysdale - Specialist Program

Physical Education

At St Thomas Primary, all students will be provided with the opportunity to develop life-long participation in healthy activity and sport by providing positive and enjoyable experiences in various activities and learning environments that are developmentally appropriate. To enable students to achieve this goal, they learn the fundamental skills of locomotion, ball control, throwing, tracking, kicking and striking

The Physical Education program aims to support, foster and develop students to reach their maximal abilities. The key outcome is to educate (by providing knowledge, skills and values) the students to build a positive and outstanding attitude towards a fit and healthy lifestyle. A holistic approach is used, whereby individuals develop physically, socially, and mentally.

Our affiliation with the Geelong and District Catholic Schools Sports Association, and through our registration with School Sports Victoria, enables the senior students to compete in various sports. This can lead to individual/team pathways for Barwon Region Representation and beyond.

Music

The dynamic music curriculum at St Thomas runs from Foundation to Year 6 and is a dedicated, developmental program consisting of weekly 40 minute lessons. The aim of our program is to allow students, through the development of music skills, to use their imagination and creativity to represent their ideas and experiences.

We have an extensive range of instruments, including ukuleles, glockenspiels, marimbas, as well as a large variety of classroom percussion. All children are encouraged to participate in playing, moving, singing, composing, dancing and responding to music.

Every class participates in our annual school concert, and students can join the school choir, sing at school liturgies and perform in St Thomas Idol sessions during class. The choir has represented our school at various community events, including the Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival and The Mountain to Mouth Arts Walk.

Performing Arts - Drama

At St Thomas school, we strive to provide an inclusive and engaging program to encourage enjoyment, participation and appreciations of the many varied aspects of the Performing Arts.

The drama program aims to build confidence and self-esteem within the student whilst exploring and depicting emotions and experiences. It provides a creative outlet for the students and challenges them to take risks in new and exciting ways they may not thought they were capable of. The motto of the drama program is ‘Have A Go’.

Our drama program includes a diverse range of activities including role-playing, improvisations, mime, theatre sports, radio plays, story telling, reader’s theatre, monologues, magician tricks, puppetry and circus skills. During the course of the program, the students also look at a range of theatrical arts that occur in different parts of the world and are able to attend theatrical performances by professional companies.

Throughout the year every student has the opportunity to perform individually, in small groups and as a whole class unit through participation in assemblies, liturgical presentations and special events such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations. A finale to our school year is when our school community comes together for our concert that showcases every single star in our school.

Italian

Italian is one of the specialist subjects offered as part of St Thomas Primary School’s curriculum. All children from Year1 through to Year 6 participate in a 40-minute lesson of Italian each week.

The program's emphasis is on developing the child’s ability to communicate in the Italian language and ensuring that the child develops intercultural knowledge and language awareness. This is achieved through bilingual stories being shared and re-enacted, Pinocchio and other puppets coming to life in conversations and students actively learning vocabulary and phrases – through gestures, songs, games, stories, and computer programs and websites.

Each year, St Thomas Primary School hosts an Italian Day extravaganza with dancing, cultural performances, Italian themed costumes and activities.

Visual Arts

The Visual Arts program provides students with an opportunity to develop their skills in drawing, painting, and sculpture. Students plan, make, and respond to artwork. They use a variety of techniques to express ideas and make decisions about how their work will be displayed.

Students are exposed to a variety of artists from around the world and they discuss the culture and context that inspired the artwork. Students develop their knowledge of colour wheels, colour mixing, shading and tones, portraits and landscapes, art history, perspective and the elements of art.

Creativity is encouraged and celebrated. Artwork is proudly shared at school assemblies, in the Office Foyer, our Multi-Purpose Room and throughout classrooms. Students have the opportunity to submit their artwork into a variety of competitions. Last year one of our student's had her work printed on the front of a local Real Estate magazine. In March 2020, three of our students had their work presented at the Catholic Education Week Exhibition.

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

Through the STEM lessons, students develop their knowledge and understanding of areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math using an Inquiry lens. Students are encouraged to explore new ideas and learn through doing rather than just listening. By involving students in making through science practical lessons, children can develop a deeper understanding of Science in our world today.

Students have access to various devices and robotics, which develop their understanding of computer programming and enable them to create digital solutions. These include Bee-bots, M-bots, Makey Makey and Microbits, ozobots and OSMO stations.

Students also develop the technology skills to support their learning in the classroom. The flexible STEM/Drama room is an open space function that allows students to explore and experiment. Students from Prep to Year 2 have access to an iPad on a 1-2 ratio, and students in Year 3 to Year 6 have access to their own Chromebook, with Year 5 to Year 6 also having the function of a touchscreen, stylus and yoga style computer to suit various learning styles.

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Physical Education

Music

Performing Arts - Drama

Italian

Visual Arts

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

CONTACT US:

St Thomas Primary School,

Peninsula Drive, Drysdale. 3222

Ph: 03 52511050

eMail: office@stdrysdale.catholic.edu.au

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