St Mary’s is equipped with a wide range of specialist teachers and programs which the children participate in.
Physical Education:![](https://www.smthornbury.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Cross-Country-2023.png)
PE. and sport at St Mary’s Primary School are a high priority in developing a sporting culture that creates opportunity, wellbeing and skill development. The children receive high intensity focussed lessons each week with a specialist teacher and are given the opportunity to participate in a controlled competitive environment to advance their skills and ability.
Regular Physical activity helps to prevent disease; promote a sense of wellbeing, self esteem and overall wellness in fighting obesity, promotes lifelong physical fitness, develops a sense of persistence, provides health related self management skills and motor capabilities and fosters whole child education. Health is a high priority that ties human wellbeing to movement.
Physical activity is promoted as being fun. It is personally meaningful and is a primary source of identity of self. It offers a positive approach to the playground as being something to look forward to. Physical activity also helps develop freedom to express, explore, discover, invent and create.
Italian – LOTE (Languages Other Than English)
The LOTE program enables students to experience another culture, which is important for full participation in the modern world, especially in the context of increasing globalisation and Australia’s cultural diversity.
Learning a language offers students the opportunity to:
• Use the language to communicate with each other and with its speakers.
• Understand how language operates as a system and through comparison, how other languages, including English, are structured and function.
• Gain direct insights into the culture or cultures
that give the language its life and meaning.
• Consider their own culture, and compare it with the cultures of countries and communities where the language is spoken.
• Add to their general knowledge.
Visual And Performing Arts
At St. Mary’s the Arts program focuses on extending the students’ range of artistic concepts and developing skills in Visual and Performing Arts. The students have the opportunity to demonstrate these skills in a variety of ways; such as art shows, school displays, multi age presentations and whole school concerts. They are introduced to the many aspects of art such as, form, movement, line, shape, sound and space. At many opportunities within the arts program the students examine and reflect on the contributions of selected artists, cultures and styles. The students are encouraged to view, discuss and critique the approach artists use to make their own work, and to practice particular techniques and methods in their own ‘Art making’. They have the opportunity to use, explore and manipulate different forms of media throughout the Arts program and use their own creativity to complete tasks.
Library![](https://www.smthornbury.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_3415-225x300.jpg)
Library sessions take place in our Resource Centre. We have a large and comprehensive collection available to students for borrowing and research purposes. Students are taught a wide variety of skills during these sessions and develop in their capacity to find resources and locate relevant information. The library sessions also serve to promote the love of literature and to provide students with access to information research skills.
The library is attractive and welcoming to the school community. The Library Resource Centre is open before school for borrowing and parents are welcome to assist at this time.