Specialists Programs
Performing Arts Term 4 Overview
Prep
This term students will continue to explore the elements of music to further develop their understanding of the concept of sound. Identifying and comparing sounds in their own environment according to their volume and pitch. Through singing and playing instruments, students will have the opportunity to express their ideas, feelings and experiences in creative ways, while developing their rhythmic skills and pitch. Students will begin to explore ideas for characters and situations through dramatic play, retelling stories and creating their own. They will take on roles and rehearse using a script as they prepare for the Nativity Play, which will be performed at our Whole School Christmas Carols Concert on Thursday, 4 December.
Year 1/2
This term in Performing Arts, students will explore how people from different cultures and communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, experience music. They will develop listening skills and use musical elements to improvise and create, sharing their music and expressing their ideas with others in relaxed, informal settings. They will compare and contrast the volume and pitch of sounds around them and use their bodies and symbols to represent these differences. Students will participate in an incursion to further develop their dance skills and work together to choreograph and rehearse songs for their performances in the Whole School Christmas concert on Thursday, 4 December.
Year 3/4
This term in Performing Arts, students will explore where, when, why and how music is created and performed across cultures, places, and times, including how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples use music to express connection to Country and Place. They will develop listening skills and work with elements of music such as texture and timbre to create soundscapes using instruments, voice, body, and technology. Students will compose, rehearse, and perform music to communicate ideas and emotions. They will also participate in a dance incursion and collaborate to choreograph and rehearse songs for the Whole School Christmas concert on Thursday 4 December.
Year 5/6
This term, Years 5 and 6 will continue developing their skills in combining the elements of music using their voices, instruments, listening skills, and digital tools. A key focus will be on understanding timbre and texture — learning to describe different sounds and create music that is interesting and layered. Students will deepen their understanding of how music can express emotions or themes and apply this to their own compositions. Through individual and group tasks, they will use technology and musical elements to communicate ideas creatively. Students will build on their dance and drama skills as they help prepare for the Whole School Christmas Concert on Thursday 4 December, supporting junior classes with choreography and rehearsals, as well as contributing to scripts and simple stage design.
Amanda Hill ahill@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Visual Arts Term 4 Overview
Foundation
In Term 4, Foundation students will focus on bringing together the skills, techniques, and knowledge they have developed throughout the year to create more considered and expressive artworks. Students will revisit and refine core art-making techniques they have explored, including:collage, printing , line and pattern. Students will be encouraged to use these techniques in combination, making choices about what suits their ideas and materials best. This final term celebrates how far Foundation students have come in their artistic journey. Through purposeful making, revisiting favourite techniques, and expressing their own ideas, students will build pride in their work and finish the year with a strong sense that they are an artist.
Year 1 /2
In Visual Art this term, Year 1 and 2 students are exploring how to express their own ideas, experiences, observations, and imagination through the artworks they create. They are experimenting with a variety of materials, techniques, and processes to make art across different forms such as drawing, painting, printing, and collage. Students are developing their understanding of visual art elements, including line and shape, and are beginning to explore more complex concepts such as balance, space, depth, perspective, scale, and proportion to enhance their compositions. As part of their learning, students are also engaging with the work of well-known artists, including the Impressionists, and discovering how these artists used colour, light, and brushwork to capture movement and feeling. This term encourages students to think creatively, take risks with materials, and appreciate the power of visual storytelling in art.
Year 3/ 4
In Visual Art this term, Year 3 and 4 students are drawing inspiration from a range of artists, cultures, and historical art movements to inform their own creative practice. They are exploring how ideas and artworks from different times and places — including the work of the Impressionists and artists such as Paul Klee — can influence the way they express meaning through visual art. Students are developing their painting techniques, with a focus on composition, layering, proportion, and colour use, to create thoughtful and well-structured artworks. They are also learning how the way an artwork is displayed can affect how it is understood and experienced by an audience. Through both making and responding, students are encouraged to reflect on how artists communicate ideas and emotions, and how they themselves can use visual elements to share their own stories.
Year 5/ 6
In Visual Art this term, Year 5 and 6 students are building on their existing skills by selecting and applying visual conventions, techniques, and processes specific to different art forms. They are refining their use of materials such as watercolour, focusing on techniques including wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, and dry-on-wet application. Through careful exploration of blending, colour, and balance, students are learning how to create mood and depth in their artworks. They are encouraged to draw on the wide range of art skills they have developed over the years, combining them to produce more thoughtful and expressive pieces. This term also includes artist studies of Georgia O’Keeffe and Claude Monet, whose distinct approaches to nature and colour are inspiring students to explore their own interpretations of the world around them. Through both independent and guided projects, students are deepening their understanding of how to make artistic decisions with purpose and creativity.
Deirdre Cosgrave - Visual Arts Teacher
dcosgrave@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Chinese - Term 4 Overview
Prep
In Term 4 students will learn about food (食物) in Chinese. They will learn to apply these concepts to create sentences with a subject-verb-object structure, incorporating the learned topics. Through reading, writing, action songs, creative art and crafts, and interactive activities using ICT, students will be introduced to vocabulary related to targeted learning areas, sentence structures such as “I like/don’t like to eat/drink 我喜欢/不喜欢吃/喝”, as well as healthy eating habits and the food pyramid. Students will also have a hands-on experience making and tasting food with their classmates this term, bringing their learning to life as they reflect on and celebrate their language journey in 2025.
Year 1/2
In Term 4 the Year 1/2 students will learn about Chinese culture focussing on tradional food (食物) in Chinese. They will learn to apply these concepts to create sentences with a subject-verb-object structure, incorporating the learned topics. Through reading, writing, action songs, creative art and crafts, and interactive activities using ICT, students will be introduced to vocabulary related to targeted learning areas, sentence structures such as “I like/don’t like to eat/drink 我喜欢/不喜欢吃/喝”, as well as healthy eating habits and the food pyramid. Students will also have a hands-on experience making and tasting food with their classmates this term, bringing their learning to life as they reflect on and celebrate their language journey in 2025.
Year 3/4
In term 4 Year 3/4 students will explore the concept of time, gradually moving beyond Pinyin and challenging themselves to read and write more Hanzi characters during this term. They will be introduced to vocabulary related to calendars, which include terms like year, month, day, and day of the week. This vocabulary will encourage their participation in daily conversations with peers and teacher, enabling them to inquire about and discuss calendar items and other time-related topics using complete sentences. To conclude their exploration of time, students will conduct research and present an "Event Timeline" in class, deepening their understanding of using the right format to describe dates in Chinese.
Year 5/6
In term 4 the Year 5/6 students will explore the concept of time, to engage in more in Chinese conversation. They will gradually move beyond Pinyin and be challenged to read and write more Hanzi characters. They will be introduced to more complex vocabulary related to the year, month, days of the week. This vocabulary will encourage their participation in social conversations with peers and teachers, enabling them to inquire about and discuss calendar events and items and other time-related topics using complete sentences. To conclude their exploration of time, students will conduct research and present an "Event Timeline" in class, deepening their understanding of using the right format to describe dates in Chinese.
Mandy Jin
mjin@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Physical Education Term 4 Overview
Prep
In term 4, our prep students will be continuing with stick-based sports such as hockey and cricket, learning to hold the equipment with correct technique and use the equipment safely. Following this, the students will be focusing on team and partner games. The goal of these games will be learning to work together to achieve a goal by listening and cooperating with each other, working together and having fun with their teammates and following rules to ensure everyone is enjoying the game. The students will also have the opportunity to participate in the swimming program.
Grade 1/2
In term 4, our grade 1/2 students will be continuing with stick-based sports such as hockey and cricket, learning to hold the equipment with correct technique and use the equipment safely. Following this, the students will be focusing on team and partner games. The goal of these games will be learning to use appropriate encouraging language to support each other, co-constructing rules to make games more inclusive for everyone, and having fun with their teammates. The students will also have the opportunity to participate in the swimming program.
Grade 3/4
In term 4, our grade 3/4 students will begin with a continuation with stick-based activities, as we will play hockey, table tennis and badminton, as they refine their striking skills using a variety of equipment. We will also focus on control and scoring as we play lawn bowls.
Finishing off the term the students will play a number of team games where they will strategise with team members, and cooperate with each other when self-umpiring small-sided games, making decisions and accepting the decisions of others.
We wish the best of luck to our students still competing in the division athletics!
Grade 5/6
In term four, our Grade 5/6 students will be becoming the teacher and implementing many of the elements we practiced through term 3. Things such as warm-up and cool-down routines, and developing activities to make them fun and inclusive for all participants.
The sporting focus will continue with stick-based activities, as we will play hockey and badminton. We will also focus on control and scoring as we play lawn bowls. We will finish off the year with netball to prepare the students for the “Grade 6 vs Teachers” netball match.
We wish the best of luck to our students still competing in the division athletics and beyond!
Michael Van Rooy
mvanrooy@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au