Visual Arts

At Preston South Primary School our Visual Arts program is designed to nurture our students’ innate creative curiosities, whilst simultaneously building their artistic knowledge and practical capabilities. Students are encouraged to look at both art making and art appreciation. They are given opportunities to express their ideas and encouraged to form responses to their own and other people’s artwork. We focus on the joy of art by allowing students to explore a range of art elements, such as colour, shape, texture, and experiment with a variety of techniques and materials across a range of art areas, such as drawing, painting, construction, collage, sculpture, fibre crafts, and printmaking.

Students in Foundation and Year 1 are introduced to a variety of sensory rich experiences designed to encourage our students to play, explore, discover, imagine and create.

Students in Years 2- 6 build their technical and theoretical art skills through five key art forms: sculpture, drawing, painting, collage and mixed media. Students are encouraged to make, view, analyse, enjoy and respond to artworks with greater command of the genre of study.

The Art program aims to promote that each student takes care and pride in their artwork. An appreciation and an awareness of visual art will be encouraged through the mounting and displaying of students’ individual work within the school for a period of time before taking it home or kept in individual portfolios until the end of year.

performing arts

At Preston South Primary School, the Arts disciplines of Media Arts, Dance, Drama and Music are all explored through a carefully mapped Performing Arts teaching and learning program.

The music program explores essential musical knowledge and skills. The main aims are: aesthetic response, aesthetic investigation, skill development, music literature and social interaction.

The dance and drama program incorporates: games and exercises, movement, improvisation, script, mime, puppetry, dance and performance. We use Performing Arts to explore ways of successfully interacting with others through games and activities that require a range of social skills and are appropriate to individual year levels and groups. We aim to contribute to a happier, healthier and more successful school, inclusive of pupils who have greater confidence, developed social competencies and self-esteem.

physical education

At Preston South Primary School, Physical Education is a sequential program that addresses the development of motor skills, physical fitness components, skills and knowledge all within differentiated instruction.

As students’ progress along the curriculum’s learning continuum, they commence with a range of creative, challenging and enjoyable activities, which allow for the development of simple movement patterns. Students develop the language of ‘play’, considering others in games, co-operate and share equipment with safety always at the forefront of all lessons.

Movement sequences then begin to be developed which can be practiced and applied. Students will ultimately develop a set of skills and knowledge that will allow them to participate in a wide range of activities that allow them to further develop their fundamental motor skills.

It is hoped that students will transfer their learning, including the importance of being physically fit to a variety of sports and/or leisure pursuits both within the school and wider school community.

Years 5 & 6 provide students with the chance to experience team and individual opportunities in a competitive environment. Local, regional and state competitions are provided in cross-country, swimming, athletics, tennis, basketball, netball and volleyball.

Swimming Program:

The Swimming Program is held annually in Term Three. All students are invited to participate in an intensive Water Safety Program that targets student's individual swimming ability, with small groups and experienced swimming instructors.

language other than english: auslan

As part of our Language Other Than English (LOTE) program at Preston South Primary School, the students have the opportunity to learn Auslan. Auslan is short for Australian sign language, a language developed by, and for, Australians who are deaf or hearing impaired. It’s a visual form of communication that uses hand, arm and body movements to convey meaning. Auslan relies on a combination of hand shapes, movements and facial expressions to deliver messages.

At Preston South Primary School, we believe learning Auslan is a great way to enhance children’s educational and personal development, increase memory retention and motion processing, stimulate brain development and mental flexibility and increase enjoyment in communicating for both hearing and deaf children.

Auslan is not just a language; it's a bridge that connects individuals, transcending barriers and fostering communication. This program aims to empower our students with a valuable skill set, promoting inclusivity and understanding within our diverse community. The Auslan program will not only provide students with a unique and expressive language but also cultivate a deeper appreciation for diversity and cultural awareness.

science program

By participating in our Science program students at Preston South Primary School will gain the understanding, knowledge and skills through which they can develop a more scientific view of the world.

The Science teaching and learning program has been designed with experimental thinking and the use of technologies to enhance the students to be analytical thinkers and develop ‘persistent curiosity’.

On a weekly basis students participate in the explorations of topics such as: Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth and Space, and Physical Sciences.

Students typically work in teams and collaborate to conduct investigations and make observations as key expectations of all lessons. Targeted questioning and thinking prompts are also used to elevate the prior knowledge of students so it can be ‘unpacked’, ‘explored’, ‘refined’ and built upon within the specific scientific concept being taught.