Specialist Innovations

Physical Education Innovation: 

Year 5- Basketball Innovation 

In Term 4, the Basketball Sports Innovation Program will give Year 5 students the chance to extend their skills and deepen their knowledge of the game. Across the program, students will participate in a range of engaging drills, challenges, and game-based activities to strengthen their dribbling, passing, shooting, and defensive techniques. They will also begin to explore tactical elements such as effective positioning and movement without the ball. Emphasis will be placed on collaboration and fair play, with students encouraged to communicate positively, support one another, and demonstrate respect for all participants. 

Music Innovation: 

Year 1 and 2 

In Term Three, Year One and Two students will continue developing their music skills through singing, playing, listening, and composing (creating). They will begin by consolidating their knowledge of steady beat through body percussion and percussion instruments. Students will then build their knowledge and understanding of rhythm, pitch, and be introduced to more complex dynamics by learning simple songs. Throughout the term, they will create soundscapes to match stories, using both their voices and classroom instruments. Students will also listen to music from different cultures and learn how instruments are grouped in families. Towards the end of the term, they will combine their knowledge to take part in a class performance, sharing songs and percussion patterns. 

LOTE Innovation: 

Year 3 and 4  

This term, Year 3 and 4 students will explore the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China—papermaking, printing, the compass, and gunpowder—investigating how these innovations shaped both Chinese and global history. They will discover traditional and modern Chinese leisure activities, including jianzi (shuttlecock), Chinese chess, calligraphy, and Tai Chi, practising their Chinese language skills while connecting with culture in a hands-on and interactive way. 

Year 5 and 6 

Year 5 and 6 students will be extending their learning by examining how these inventions influenced communication, navigation, and technology worldwide. Through hands-on projects, students will create models and visual explanations and engage in Chinese leisure activities. They will deepen their understanding of Chinese heritage while using their Chinese language skills in meaningful and creative ways. 

Art Innovation: 

Prep 

Students in Prep Innovation will explore the importance of visual arts for individuals and communities. They will specifically examine the significance and creation of cultural masks, focusing on African masks. By investigating the use of lines, shapes, and colours in these masks, students will gain new insights. They will then apply this knowledge to create their own African mask designs using mixed media. Students will experiment with different painting techniques such as dabbing, layering, and stippling. At the end of the unit, they will have the opportunity to share their work as artists in a gallery walk. During this event, they will practise using positive language to comment on the artworks, identifying features such as similarities and differences, and discussing the use of materials and art elements like line. 

Year 1  

This term, Year 1 students will hone their painting skills using acrylic paint while creating a landscape artwork. They will explore what landscapes are, why artists create them, and how landscapes are represented across cultures, including the symbols and meanings used in different countries. Students will discuss features such as the horizon line, foreground and middle ground. They will experiment and practise with a range of painting techniques to build confidence and control.  These will include blending for smooth finishes, dabbing and stippling for texture and layering to create depth. Students will then transfer all these skills into their own final landscape painting.