At Canterbury Primary School, all classes participate in weekly, 50-minute specialist classes. Our specialist program comprises Art, Music, Physical Education and Mandarin.
The Visual Art program aims to develop students' understanding and knowledge of the Arts through a combination of explicit teaching of technical and creative skills, and the study and exploration of historical and contemporary artworks. Projects are delivered in a range of art mediums including textiles, ceramics, printmaking, collage, painting, drawing and construction. Students are encouraged and supported to apply problem-solving skills, take risks and enhance their understanding through experimentation with materials. All students are provided with a visual art diary to record their progress, document ideas and trial materials.
The Music program is taught through a ‘hands-on’ approach. Students are empowered when they learn to sing, to play ukulele, guitar, piano and drums, in our various workshops. Students learn basic theory, including notation and elements such as pitch, tempo, rhythm, form and dynamics. In addition to this, they learn about music history and various genres, from classical to popular, and explore music from different cultures, including Indigenous music. The program allows for creativity, through sessions on songwriting, using programs such as Chrome Music Lab and Garageband on devices, and by traditional manual methods (writing verses, choruses etc.).
The Physical Education program focuses on developing students' fundamental motor skills in sport and in areas of their locomotive skills, including running, jumping, skipping, hopping and leaping. The P.E program aims to improve students’ skills in an immense variety of sports including AFL, Soccer, Basketball, Cricket, Badminton, Volleyball, T-ball and many more. As a part of the program, an emphasis is placed on teamwork, respect, sportsmanship, resilience, integrity and safety while having fun at the same time.
In addition to weekly P.E lessons, we offer swimming and water safety lessons to students in Prep - Year 3, Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) in Prep and Year 1, Bike Education in Year 5 and Interschool Sport to students in Years 5 and 6. Annual carnivals for swimming, cross country and athletics are also delivered throughout the year, with opportunities for students to qualify for a position to represent our school in further stages of the competition.
The Mandarin program aims to develop students’ language skills in regard to listening, understanding and speaking, and to also understand and value cultural differences. Students learn weekly sentences and with teachers’ support, are encouraged to speak Mandarin with increasing confidence. Cultural knowledge and awareness is explored through short stories, imaginative texts, picture-based stories and plays. In addition to this, students engage in various cultural experiences such as preparing traditional cuisines in the Makerspace Kitchen, celebrating Chinese New Year, performing songs and participating in Lion dances. Students who already speak Mandarin are encouraged to focus on more advanced language skills including reading and writing Chinese hanzi and writing complex sentences.