School of the Good Shepherd offers specialist programs that enhance student learning and provides students with an opportunity to master skills in the areas of : Health & Physical Education, Languages-Italian, Music, STEM and The Arts.
Health & Physical Education
The main aim of our Health & Physical Education Program is to equip students with experiences, knowledge and support to develop competence in making decisions, taking action and to promote an active, healthy lifestyle.
Our school’s Physical Education program enables all children to participate in strategic sequential skill development programs. In addition to weekly, 1 hour classes with the Physical Education teacher, class teachers reinforce skills through outdoor activities.
All students are allocated House Colours and participate in a Sports Carnival annually. Years 5 and 6 are involved in the Inter school sports program and participate in summer and winter competitions, competing against other schools within the district. Students are also given the opportunity to try out for the Cross Country and Athletics team respectively.
School of the Good Shepherd also prides itself on providing extra opportunities for its students. With this in mind, the school regularly nominates students to try out for Victorian State teams, also known as “Team VIC”. These students (if successful) compete at the School Sport Australia National Championships against other Australian states.
Overall, the H&PE program at the School of the Good Shepherd plays a crucial role in promoting the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of students, laying the foundation for a healthier and more active lifestyle.
Visual Arts
Learning in Visual Arts involves students making and responding to artworks and drawing on the world as a source of ideas. Students engage with and develop knowledge of visual arts, skills, techniques and processes, and use materials as they explore a range of forms, styles and contexts.
Through Visual Arts, students learn to reflect critically on their own experiences and responses to the work of artists, craftspeople and designers and to develop their own arts’ knowledge. They learn to express and communicate experiences through and about visual arts.
Students apply their knowledge and understanding through the appropriate and skilful use of visual arts practices. As students progress through the levels of Visual Arts, their knowledge, understanding and practice as artists and viewers increases through exposure to a range of artists, craftspeople and designers. Students engage with artworks, visual arts ideas, practices, histories and theories. They discover new ways of representing and expressing their observations, ideas and imagination.
Languages-Italian
Learning languages:
- contributes to the strengthening of the community’s social, economic and international development capabilities
- extends literacy repertoires and the capacity to communicate
- strengthens understanding of the nature of language, of culture, and of the processes of communication
- develops intercultural capability, including understanding of and respect for diversity and difference, and an openness to different experiences and perspectives
- develops understanding of how culture shapes and extends learners’ understanding of themselves, their own heritage, values, beliefs, culture and identity
- strengthens intellectual, analytical and reflective capabilities, and enhances creative and critical thinking.
The Languages-Italian curriculum aims to support student’s holistic development and prepare them for success in an increasingly globalized world.
Here at the School of the Good Shepherd, each student from Prep to Year 6 is allocated 1 hour of Languages-Italian a week.
Our aim to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure that students:
- communicate in Italian
- understand the relationship between language, culture and learning
- develop intercultural capabilities
- understand themselves as communicators.
Music
The Music Program at School of the Good Shepherd aims to build confidence and provide the tools and strategies for self expression. Students’ active participation in music fosters understanding of other times, places, cultures and contexts.
Through the music program at SOGS, students will learn different ways of making music, using the voice, the body and various tuned and untuned instruments. Two of the most prominently recognised approaches to primary classroom music teaching are the Kodaly and Orff Schulwerk methodologies. Elements of these two approaches will be incorporated in the program. For more information, please view the links above.
Numerous studies have demonstrated a positive impact on brain development for students who commence lessons on an instrument prior to the age of 7. Therefore, students are also encouraged to seek individual lessons on a suitable instrument outside of what occurs in the music classroom. Suitable methods include the Suzuki approach for a range of instruments and the Yamaha approach for keyboard or piano. Click the above links for more information and to find a teacher. Alternatively, the details of a range of qualified and experienced teachers of various instruments and methodologies can be found through the Victorian Music Teachers Association.
As a Catholic faith-based school, we recognise the important role that music plays in helping students to live out and grow in their faith. Therefore, sung praise and worship music will be incorporated into music classes with a view to helping students to develop a personal relationship with God. Through this process, students will discover that music is an important vehicle that God uses to transform the heart, soul, mind and spirit of the individual.
STEM
We believe that in this ever-changing global world, STEM is an essential part of the curriculum. It is an approach to learning and development that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Through STEM, students develop key skills including:
- Problem solving
- Creativity
- Critical analysis
- Teamwork
- Independent thinking
- Initiative
- Communication
- Digital literacy