At St. Angela’s, we encourage our students' natural curiosity and support them to become lifelong learners equipped with the necessary skills to solve problems in the contemporary world.

The disciplines explored through our specialist classes play a crucial role in providing opportunities for our students to become confident learners who appreciate Every student at our school learns to develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, practices and attitudes to be an engaged, robust digital citizen capable of shaping our future in the increasingly globalised and interconnected 21st Century.

In addition to the core curriculum, St. Angela’s School runs specialist classes, which are typically provided to all students for 60 minutes per week.

Specialist Classes

Once a week, students enjoy Specialist classes in the areas of:

• Physical Education
• LOTE (Japanese)
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); and Media Arts

One semester a year, students enjoy Specialist classes in the areas of:

• Performing Arts 
• Visual Arts

Physical Education

Participation in Physical Education is an essential part of the education journey for students at St. Angela’s School. The Physical Education program places a strong emphasis on developing fundamental motor skills, strategies in game situations, and physical fitness.

Sport

Students from Years 3 to 6 compete in Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics Competitions, where they have the opportunity to represent the school and compete against other schools at the District, Division, Regional and State levels.

Year 5/6 students participate in Interschool Sport, competing against schools in our district area. Weekly training sessions take place to hone skills and practise strategies used in game situations.

Languages (Japanese)

The Languages curriculum aims to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure that students:

• communicate in the language they are learning;
• understand the relationship between language, culture and learning;
• develop intercultural capabilities, and
• understand themselves as communicators.
• Victorian Curriculum - LOTE

Students are encouraged to practice conversational language and to identify and imitate culturally appropriate language. The students repeat words and learn to ask and answer questions related to themselves, building a personal profile in Japanese. Students are also encouraged to join in songs, dance and art projects and be able to demonstrate awareness of the immersion of the Japanese language and culture.

Performing Arts

At St Angela of the Cross, the Performing Arts program includes teaching the skills and knowledge for dance, music and drama. 

The Dance curriculum aims to develop students:

• body awareness and technical and expressive skills to communicate through movement confidently, creatively and intelligently
• choreographic and performance skills and appreciation of their own and others’ dances
• aesthetic, artistic and cultural understandings of dance in past and contemporary context sits in relationship with other art forms and contributions to cultures and societies
• respect for and knowledge of dance's diverse purposes, traditions, histories and cultures by making and responding as active participants and informed audiences.

The Music curriculum aims to develop students:

• confidence to be creative, innovative, thoughtful, skilful and informed musicians
• skills to listen, improvise, compose, interpret, perform, and respond with intent and purpose
• aesthetic knowledge and respect for music and music practices across global communities, cultures and musical traditions
• understanding of music as an aural art form, its relationship with other arts forms and contributions to cultures and societies.

The Drama curriculum aims to develop students:

• confidence and self-esteem to explore, depict and celebrate human experience, take risks and challenge their own creativity through drama
• knowledge and understanding in controlling, applying and analysing the elements, skills, processes, forms, styles and techniques of drama to engage audiences and create meaning
• sense of curiosity, aesthetic knowledge, enjoyment and achievement through exploring and playing roles, and imagining situations, actions and ideas as drama makers and audiences
• knowledge and understanding of traditional and contemporary drama as critical and active participants and audiences.

Visual Arts 

The Visual Arts program incorporates both art making and art appreciation in association with developing a visual arts language. Arts specialists take weekly lessons across the school where students learn to explore their creativity and imagination through a skills-based visual arts program. Clear instructions on the correct use of tools, materials and techniques support the process of art making. Over the course of the year, students experiment with various media including painting, drawing, construction, textiles, modelling and collage.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)

Stem is a fundamental part of the Victorian Curriculum. This includes the learning areas of Science, Design and Technologies, Digital Technologies, including cross-curricular capabilities such as ethical, critical and creative thinking. 

At St. Angela’s STEM involves;

• asking questions
• working together
• thinking creatively
• solving problems
• exploring and taking calculated risks
• testing solutions to problems
• discovering new ways of doing things.

In STEM, students have access to an extensive range of technology resources, including iPads, Chromebooks, Beebots, Blue bots and Lego. Students across all levels participate in coding and robotics lessons, which further enhances their knowledge and engagement in the area of STEM.