Specialist Learning Areas

St Thomas Primary School has a diverse Specialist Program, immersing students in rich and purposeful learning in weekly, 40 minute sessions. 

Specialist curriculum areas include: 

• Physical Education (Foundation - Year 6)

• Music (Foundation - Year 6)

• Italian (Foundation - Year 6)

• STEM (Foundation - Year 6)

• Drama (Foundation - Year 4)

• Visual Art (Year 5/6)

Physical Education

All students are provided with the opportunity to develop life-long participation in healthy activity and sport.  As part of their weekly Physical Education program, students learn the fundamental skills of locomotion, ball control, throwing, tracking, kicking and striking.

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

Music 

The dynamic music curriculum aims allow students, through the development of music skills, to use their imagination and creativity to represent their ideas and experiences. Our school has an extensive range of instruments, including ukuleles, glockenspiels, marimbas, as well as a large variety of classroom percussion. All students 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. 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.

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

Through the STEM lessons, students develop their knowledge and understanding of areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. 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 Foundation 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 the function of a touchscreen, stylus and yoga style computer to suit various learning styles.

Drama 

The drama program aims to build confidence and self-esteem 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. 

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

The Italian 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 a celebration of various cultures from our community.

Visual Arts 

The Visual Arts program provides senior school 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.