Extra Curricular

Additional Opportunities

A range of activities or programs are offered to enhance students experiences at school.

Some of the extra-curricular activities include, but are not limited to:

  • Buddies Program
  • Camping Program (Year 3-6 camps)
  • Chess Club
  • Chinese Dance Club
  • Choir
  • Coding Club (Lunchtime and before school)
  • Dance Club (Kelly Sports lunchtime)
  • EAL (English As Another Language) Program
  • Fizz Kids Science (After School)

  • Kelly Sports (After School)

  • Knitting Club

 

  • Library Lunchtime
  • Literacy Intervention (MiniLit)
  • Pre-school Connections – StoryTime and Patch to Plate
  • Scholastic BookClub
  • Somers Camp
  • Swimming Program
  • Sustainability Program
  • Tennis Lessons (Before School)
  • Year Six Captains

BPS Band

The Band Program is an incredible opportunity for BPS students to hone their musical talents alongside a community of like-minded musicians and taught by experts in their field. Taking part in an award winning ensemble of this scale in a Primary School is an incredibly unique experience and we are lucky to offer this opportunity to our students from Grades 3 to 6. Students have an individual lesson each week on their instrument and attend a band rehearsal or ensemble session. Band rehearsals are held before school and lessons during the school day on a rotating timetable so students do not miss the same subject each week.

Through their lessons, students learn a variety of music for soloists or small groups and many undertake Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) exams. Our bands perform several times across the school year at school events and concerts, and OXFAM Concert and Victorian School Music Festival. Students in the program also showcase their talents at many of our whole school special events and notable celebrations. Our Band has a prestigious past as is 100 years strong.

The Band Program is a user pays system, and all students must provide their own instrument. Entry into the program takes place after the annual Band Recruitment Evening held in February each year: all Grade 3 and above students are invited to attend this event. We look forward to seeing you there.

Available Instruments include:

  • Flute
  • Clarinet
  • Saxophone
  • Trumpet
  • Trombone
  • Euphonium
  • Bass Guitar
  • Percussion
  • Guitar

Chaplaincy Program

 

Blackburn Primary School welcomes Carly Cassidy to the team as the School Chaplain. 

Chaplaincy services aim to support the emotional wellbeing of students by providing pastoral care services and strategies that support the emotional wellbeing of the broader school community. Pastoral care means looking after the wellbeing and personal needs of students, not just their academic needs. Information about chaplaincy services in Victoria can be found at:

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/health/mentalhealth/Pages/nscpchaplaincy.aspx

 Chaplaincy services may be provided in any of the following forms:

(a) On an individual basis (one on one discussions with a student)

(b) In a group setting (discussions with groups of students)

(c) or a combination of both (a) and (b)

If you would like your student to access the Chaplaincy program at Blackburn Primary School, please talk to your child’s teacher. You will then be asked to fill out a form to consent to your child receiving the chaplaincy services. You may also be asked to fill out a referral form. This form contains relevant information to be provided to the chaplain so that he/she can provide appropriate services to the student. 

If you need any assistance or clarification please do not hesitate to contact the school.

 

姊妹学校 China Sister School

Blackburn Primary School is currently working closely with two sister schools from China. These schools are Beijing FCD International Yuan Yang Primary School and Nanjing Fuxing Primary School.

We established a sister school partnership with Nanjing Fuxing Primary School in 2011 and with Beijing FCD International Yuan Yang Primary School in 2015. Our sister school partnership is based on the principles of mutual benefit and cooperation in promoting Chinese & English language learning and in-depth exchanges in the fields of Sports, Art, Science and other subjects. Over the past nine years, we have created and promoted a strong bond with two sister schools. B.P.S. has planned and implemented seven successful China Study Tours and many sister school visits. The aim of establishing the sister school partnership, is to allow future reciprocal visits and to encourage our students and teachers to exchange information about schools, lifestyles and cultures. This partnership aims to encourage our Chinese friends to learn better English and motivate us to work hard on improving our Mandarin speaking skills. The sister school program enriches our learning experiences, broadens our students’ perspectives and develops their intercultural understanding. The project positively contributes and builds teacher and student communication, learning and collaboration.

We as the Blackburn Primary Community, look forward to the excitement of our sister school visits and our Chinese friends being a part of our school life. We also enjoy hosting our Chinese visitors in home stay. Our students gain a great insight into school life in China when we visit our Sister schools. The partnership brings an enormous amount of pleasure and cultural enrichment for our Chinese friends and our students here at Blackburn Primary School.

中国行 China Study Tour

From 2011 to 2018, Blackburn Primary School has organized seven successful China Study Tours. More than fifty B.P.S. families and nine teachers have participated in these Tours in the past seven years. The aim of our China Study Tour is to give students and teachers a comprehensive experience immersed in Chinese language and culture. We hope to develop the student and teachers cross-cultural communication and build school-to-school links between Victoria and China.

In 2018, a group of nineteen participants including eight students from Years four to six, eight parents and three teachers had the privilege of going to China on the BPS China Study Tour. The trip went for fourteen days. The China Study Tour exposed students to modern Chinese society and culture through exploring a variety of themes that intersect past and present China. We uncovered the mysteries and marvels of China on our journey through Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai and immersed ourselves in the languages, the art and the history.

An important part of the Tour is spending time with both of our sister schools and experiencing daily school life in China. School visits were definitely one of the most memorable highlights of the tour. These visits gave us an opportunity to participate in all kinds of school activities at Chinese school and gained us a better understanding of Chinese lifestyle, language and culture. These fascinating visits also strengthened the sister school partnership. When on tour, our students became cultural and educational ambassadors for Victoria. We are always proud of how our B.P.S. students leave such a positive impression with our Sister schools In 2020, we will organize our eighth China Study Tour. We are looking forward to this meaningful, enlightening, fun, real-life trip to China.

The Patch

The Patch Program is a kitchen garden program with a difference. We include all students in the program from Foundation to Grade 6. Our aim is to bring integrated studies to life by engaging students in various kinds of investigations both in the natural environment and in the classroom. Students learn to plant, care for, harvest fruit and vegetables and prepare, cook and eat food from their own garden. We are fortunate to have a large sustainable garden accessed by the entire school. Students have built the garden themselves using recyclable materials.

Students enjoy:

  • learning about indigenous cultures through growing and eating bush tucker foods;
  • practising recycling through caring for worm farms and composting food scraps;
  • bringing history into the present through cooking and gardening experiences; and
  • applying literacy and numeracy skills in gardening projects and scientific explorations.

We have our very own kitchen/garden teacher that collaborates with classroom teachers to create lessons that link to the curriculum and allow students to experience hands on learning in a natural setting.