Specialist Programs (Prep – Year 6)

Every class from Prep to Year 6 leaves its classroom for six specialist lessons each week, taught by qualified specialist teachers in purpose-built spaces. Specialist lessons run for 50 minutes (Prep STEM is fortnightly for the first semester) and give classroom teachers their planning time. The timetable below tells you which day your child needs their sport uniform, art smock or library bag.

Weekly specialist timetable 2026 (Semester 2)

Sport uniform days: the timetabled PE day and Friday for every year level (Friday PMP or Fun Friday for Prep–2; NDPSA Interschool Sport for Years 3–6). Full school uniform is worn on all other days. Individual class times within each day are on the class page of the Parent Portal.

Physical Education – Mrs Jo Kaminski

PE is taught in the Sports Centre, on the Junior Oval and on the courts. Prep–Year 2 focus on fundamental movement skills (running, jumping, throwing, catching, balancing) and the Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) on Fridays, supported by parent volunteers. Years 3–6 develop game skills and tactics in the sports they play on Fridays, plus athletics in Term 3 and swimming and water safety in Term 4 (a two-week intensive at Wattle Creek Aquatic Centre in Weeks 4–5; permission and payment are included in the levy). Students need runners, a hat in Terms 1 and 4 and a drink bottle. See Friday Interschool Sport and Sport Overview.

Music – Mr Peter Halloran

The Junior Music Room is equipped with tuned percussion, ukuleles (Years 3–4), keyboards and a class set of recorders (Year 2). Lessons use Kodály and Orff approaches: singing, movement, reading notation and composing. Year 5 students learn a band instrument for a term as part of the "Try an Instrument" program, which leads many into the Junior Band (Years 4–6, Fridays 7:45am). The Junior Choir (Years 2–6) rehearses at Tuesday lunchtime and performs at Masses, the Spring Concert on Wednesday 16 September 2026 and Carols on the Green. Private instrumental lessons are available from Year 2 – see Instrumental Lessons and Ensembles.

Visual Arts – Ms Nadia Bassett

The Junior Art Room overlooks the Prep yard and has a kiln, drying racks and a wet area. Students work in drawing, painting, printmaking, clay, textiles and construction, studying artists from Australia and around the world including First Nations artists. A named art smock (an old adult shirt is ideal) is required for every lesson – see What to Bring and Stationery. Student work is exhibited at the Junior Art Show during the Spring Concert week and in the Junior Office foyer. See also Visual Arts for the whole-College program.

Italian – Signora Lucia Romano

Italian is the College's language from Prep to Year 8 (students may continue to VCE). Junior lessons are lively and oral: songs, games, stories, role-plays and cooking, with reading and writing introduced from Year 3. Each year level studies one Italian cultural celebration – Carnevale (Prep–2), Pasqua (Years 3–4) and Festa della Repubblica (Years 5–6) – and the whole Junior School celebrates Italian Day in Term 2 with a pizza lunch and dress-up. Years 5–6 exchange video letters with a partner school in Bergamo.

STEM – Mr Owen Blake

STEM lessons in the Junior STEM Lab (Room J20) integrate science, design and digital technologies through hands-on design challenges: Prep–2 explore materials, forces and simple coding with Bee-Bots; Years 3–4 build and program with LEGO SPIKE and design solutions to real problems; Years 5–6 work with micro:bits, 3D design and robotics, leading into the Robotics and STEM Club (Tuesdays 3:30pm, Years 5–9) and Tournament of Minds. Students in Years 3–6 need their own headphones for STEM and Library. See Robotics and STEM.

Library – Mrs Helen Brooks (Teacher-Librarian)

The Library is the heart of the Junior School and is open from 8:15am to 3:45pm every school day for borrowing, reading and quiet games. Weekly Library lessons cover literature appreciation, information skills, digital citizenship and research. Borrowing limits are two books (Prep–Year 2), three (Years 3–4) and four (Years 5–6) for one week, renewable. A named library bag is required to borrow. Overdue books are followed up by note; lost or damaged books are charged at replacement cost through the Portal. The Library also runs Book Week, the Premiers' Reading Challenge (Prep–Year 6, March to September) and Homework Club (Monday–Thursday 3:30pm – 4:30pm).

Specialist awards and reporting

Specialist teachers present awards at Friday Assembly on a rotating basis and report on achievement and effort in each semester report – see Reports and Assessment. Specialist teachers are available at Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences on a walk-up basis and can be emailed via the Junior Office.