Extra-curricular activities

Creative and Performing Arts

The Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) program provides students with great opportunities across each discipline. At Peakhurst Public School, we offer four dance groups, a senior choir and two bands. We also audition for School Spectacular each year, after being successful in 2017. In 2018, we introduced an Art Club for up to fifteen students which is run at lunch times. Several teachers dedicate their time to these performing arts programs and provide students with the opportunity to participate in these wonderful opportunities.

Each of these performing arts participate in different performances across the year. One of our big performances is the St George Performing Arts Festival and the Twilight Concert of School School at the end of the year. The Twilight Concert and School Show alternate each year and are both school initiatives which provide students with an opportunity to showcase their talent at the end of the year.

There are currently three dance groups that are supported by, Nicole, a dance teacher from Studio Twenty-One. Nicole has successfully worked with our school for the past four years. The students love her routines and show great respect through their behaviour and commitment to dance rehearsals and performances. Students rehearse each week across three different days and in 2017, successfully performed at Rockdale Plaza for Education Week, the St George Performing Arts Festival and the Twilight Concert at the end of the year. The dance groups consist of girls from years 5-6, girls from years 3-4 and boys and girls from Stage One. Each group learns two dances and enthusiastically showcase their talent at each performance. Boys in Year 3-6 are also given the opportunity to be a part of a dance group, which was run by a dedicated teacher at the school. 

Band

Our Band Program continues to grow in student numbers across the performing and training bands. In 2017, the Performing Band performed at the Engadine Music Festival and received a Gold for their performance. They also performed during Education Week celebrations, at the School Show and during the Twilight Concert at the end of the year. The students displayed commitment and dedication and worked very hard to develop their music skills. Thank you to our dedicated Musical Director Niell who conducts both the training and performing bands over two days.

Sport

There are many opportunities presented to students at Peakhurst Public School from Years K-6. Not only are students regularly participating in physical activities in regular sport and fitness sessions to develop their fundamental movement skills, but they also learn how to develop a healthy life in personal development and health lessons. Each week students are actively participating in 150 minutes of exercise to encourage a healthy lifestyle and meet departmental requirements.

In 2018, Kindergarten and Year One students participate in a gymnastics program, where they build, their balance, strength, coordination and flexibility, while Year Two participate in a Learn To Swim program to learn survival skills in the water. These are both 10-week programs that the students thoroughly enjoy. We also offer a voluntary Learn to Swim program for our 3-6 students in Term 4.

Primary Schools Sports Association (PSSA)

On Fridays, our students in Years 3-6 participate in the Georges River PSSA competition. This is a program where students trial and are selected to represent their school. The school participates in three seasons of sport where we have been successful across several sports. The students who are not selected, participate in school sport, where a competition is run at school. In the first hour, students are given the opportunity to develop their skills for future PSSA seasons and in the second hour they play another school team sport. This is run as a round robin competition where students are given the opportunity to participate in a team in a safe and friendly environment.

Chess at Peakhurst Public School

As part of our commitment to gifted and talented education, Peakhurst Public School, in association with Sydney Academy of Chess, offer chess lessons during Semester One. Students learn complex chess strategies and analytical skills from an expert chess teacher. They have the opportunity to develop high-level decision-making, memory and problem-solving skills, as well as, developing their self-confidence, concentration and foresight in the art of chess. Chess lessons are offered to the Peakhurst Extension Group (P.E.G.) classes, as well as an elective extra-curricular lunchtime program. In addition the weekly tuition, each year we host an in-school chess championship where students play in a competition throughout the day to show the skills they have learnt.

At Peakhurst Public School we believe in the benefits of learning chess as stated below from the Sydney Academy of Chess:

Benefits of Chess

Concentration:

With the increase of fast-paced modern forms of entertainment such as computer games, television and internet technology, many educational experts are concerned over decreasing concentration levels in students, to the detriment of classroom learning and exam performance. Chess games, on the other hand, demand precise logical thinking and can be long, arduous and require consistent intense concentration - any lapse may forfeit the game. Thus when tested by various educational researchers, some studies have shown that chess-playing students show increased aptitude for concentration, patience and perseverance than their non-chess playing counterparts.

Problem solving:

Chess promotes efficient problem solving abilities, since success relies on the ability to quickly and completely assess a given game scenario, involving planning ahead (taking into account one’s own and anticipated opponent moves), and drawing upon a pool of experience to find the correct strategy. Strong analytical and logical skills are thus also required.

Decision making:

The ability to make thoughtfully considered, strategic decisions under pressure is crucial to success in chess. When a player feels he or she is losing, or the game is played under strict time restrictions, they must resist pressure to make a rash decision for ultimate success. Many people believe that this aptitude is essential for effective exam performance and studies have shown improved exam performance arising from learning chess. Additionally, advanced chess players demonstrate increased expertise in making difficult and abstract decisions, where there are many different factors to assess. (Seymour and Norwood 1993)

Responsibility:

Chess helps a child realise that he or she is responsible for his or her own actions and must accept their consequences. Ultimately it is up to the individual player to make decisions on the board, and if a player makes a mistake, then there is no one else to blame but themselves. Chess also teaches children to try their best to win, while accepting defeat with grace and good sportsmanship. In this way, chess can be a very effective tool for self-improvement and self-motivation (Sydney Academy of Chess, 2015).