Specialist Subjects

At Upwey South Primary School, all students participate in five specialist classes per week.

Konnichiwa!

In 2023, students from Year Two- Year Six take part in weekly Japanese sessions.

Upwey South Primary School promotes the UDEC Japanese Language Program. In our Japanese program, our school, including our Japanese sister school (Mito Eiko Elementary School in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan) and other schools in Japan, work together to promote language and cultural appreciation. All students (Foundation-Grade 6) participate in fortnightly Japanese lessons and are immersed in the language and the culture through the classroom instructions and communication within and outside of the classroom.

Our yearly Japanese Day is a great opportunity to celebrate and further develop students’ interests in the language and the culture.

Auslan:

In 2023, Foundation- Year One students take part in weekly sessions of Australian Sign Language (Auslan).

Performing Arts

The Performing Arts program at Upwey South Primary School is rich in variety, creativity and fun. In accordance with the Victorian Curriculum, The Arts incorporates the disciplines of Drama, Dance and Music and contributes to the development of confident and creative individuals.

Students at our school are given the opportunity to explore, create and respond to a wide variety of art forms. In Drama, students explore stagecraft skills and the tools of the actor. They work with simple drama scripts and are given opportunities to write their own plays. Improvised drama activities are used to develop student’s creative imaginations and fast thinking skills. Our biannual whole school production is held at Burrinja Cultural Center and is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience performing in front of an audience. We can also provide opportunities for our students to talk on radio, as our next door neighbour happens to be the community radio station 3MDR!

In Dance, students learn about safe dance practise and the Elements of Dance, including energy, space and time. They create small group dances and experiment with moving their bodies in different ways using a variety of chorographic devices. Our classroom environment is a safe and supportive space for students to increase their performance confidence. Our students learn how to be respectful audience members and how to give thoughtful feedforward. We are all teachers and learners. Creators and responders.

In Music, students develop their understanding of beat and rhythm and are introduced to notated music. We use body percussion and percussion instruments to compose simple rhythmic patterns and we have 30 ukuleles that are introduced in Year 2. We are incredibly fortunate to have the instrumental team from ‘Groove Foundations’ come into our school every day to teach a variety of instruments to students (paid lessons). These include drums, guitar, piano, bass, violin and singing. Students are invited to perform twice a year at our instrumental concert.

Our school has participated in the Victorian State School’s Spectacular since 2013 (in both dance and choir). Some of our students have even gone on to perform as soloists as well as principal singers and dancers. We have also participated in the NEVR music concert at Hamer Hall. We have a junior and senior choir who enjoy performing at school assemblies and special community events. We celebrate the end of our year with an outdoor, whole school, Christmas concert as well as our own Upwey South’s Got Talent.

There is never a dull moment in Performing Arts and endless opportunities for students to find the ‘thing’ that sparks joy for them.

Visual Arts

We are very proud of our Visual Arts program which fires the imagination and creativity of children, while allowing students to express themselves and communicate with others. They learn to take risks, be imaginative, engage in arts criticism and appreciation, and develop, practise and refine visual arts techniques

Students in all year levels undertake tasks in the areas of sewing, drawing, painting, collage, modelling and sculpting. While undertake these tasks students are introduced to, explore and discuss a number of the Elements of Art. In Level 3-6 students undertake more challenging tasks such as using Modroc, embossing foil and dry felting.

Students present their work in a creative and interesting manner, and their art is very proudly displayed around our school, as well as being showcased in our fortnightly newsletter.

The Health and Physical Education Specialist Curriculum is rich in both technical and health learning opportunities. Students will participate in a vast range of physical activities developing their fundamental motor skills, goal-setting, sport specific skills, teamwork and strategy. In regards to the Health Curriculum, the students learn about the importance of a balanced lifestyle, feelings and emotions, diet and the significance the Indigenous Culture has playing in sport today.

At Upwey South we go beyond the norm and offer additional sporting opportunities for our students such as running club, swimming carnivals, winter and summer sport such as football, netball, volleyball and basketball, girl’s football, externally coached Sporting School Programs, Volleyball Victoria Cup participation and selected students can nominate to trial for the Victorian team in their particular sporting code. As a school we have been very successful in the yearly sporting carnivals reaching the Regional levels for Swimming, Cross-Country, Athletics, Volleyball and Football.

As the Health and P.E teacher I place a large significance on culture, which has a big focus on good sportsmanship and being a team player.

In 2023 our school commenced the delivery of Science as a separate specialist subject. The majority of classes are held in our puprose-built Science Lab, with students taking part in weekly sessions.

As this program develops more information will follow.