Teaching & Learning
At St Patrick’s we believe that learning should be fun, stimulating, engaging and challenging. Our staff are committed to providing quality and enjoyable learning experiences for our students. They take the time to know each student and develop a professional relationship and also personal rapport with them.
Lunchtime Clubs
Each term the Student Representative Council coordinate student led interest clubs. Clubs have included: art, craft, drama, singing, poetry, chess, soccer, skipping and athletics.
Extra-Curricular
We have attained Sporting Schools funding which has enabled specialist sporting programs both within school time and as an after school program. Based on interest St Patrick’s has coordinated after school programs for fitness with local personal trainers.
Sustainability
Over recent years we have progressed our school sustainability program and worked to reduce our carbon footprint. We have established waste processes, build worm farms and compost systems and established a produce garden. Our Student ‘Green teams’ are working toward integrating an ambitious Chicken Coop Initiative (the largest of its kind in shire primary schools) as we have discovered we can divert more organic product from landfill than our waste audit indicated. St Pat’s has enjoyed a close working relationship with BVSC and has appreciated Community grant monies in recent years to assist in bringing our projects to fruition.
We continue to grow membership of our school Green teams and build more sustainability into our activities. We are increasingly utilising salvage in our construction, learning more about composting and worm farming and generally skilling our capable students and school community in the management of the project into the future.
Core Subjects
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
St Patrick’s School nurtures a Catholic culture characterised by its tradition, values and beliefs.
Our vision is
- to share and be witnesses to the Catholic Faith and Tradition,
- to build an inclusive community
- and to deliver contemporary quality learning.
St Patrick’s School nourishes young people in an environment that invites them to develop a personal relationship with God and cultivates a mindset of caring for the world and all its peoples. The experiences we provide promote a life-long journey of continuing spiritual, moral and religious development.
ENGLISH
At St Patrick’s we have a holistic approach to reading, writing, listening and speaking. We provide students with a rich language environment which begins early in Kindergarten and continues throughout their school life, further enhanced with our comprehensive reading program. We have high expectations of every learner to develop a love of reading and writing and the skills of comprehending and communicating. Our daily English program has minimum expectations of dedicated reading and writing time.
MATHEMATICS
We provide students with a hands-on, minds-on approach to developing mathematical skill and understanding where the tools of the learner are manipulatives. Our mathematics program has a focus on numbers, space, measurement and working mathematically. From the ‘warm up’ to ‘closing with cognition’ students are encouraged and challenged to make, say, write and do.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Students learn to observe and reason as they build models and test theories, problem solve and distinguish between evidence and personal opinion.
Insert sentence on how technology is incorporated into the curriculum – computers/iPads etc. Is your school doing anything really fun with science and technology? Robotics? List that here.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND EDUCATION
Students develop positive attitudes about themselves and their bodies and promote their all-round health and an active lifestyle through opportunities such as dance, gymnastics and sports.