Specialists

STEM

Curiosity, creativity, and wonder guide our STEM program at The Patch. Through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, students explore, question, and make meaningful connections to the world around them. Mathematics is embedded throughout the learning, helping students apply number sense, measurement, patterns, and problem-solving in real-world and nature-based contexts. Similarly, students learn to use tools, equipment, and technology safely and responsibly, applying practical skills alongside their scientific thinking. STEM at The Patch is about thinking like a scientist, posing meaningful questions, exploring, and making connections to our environment, to each other, and to other areas of learning like literacy and the arts. Our program aligns with the Victorian Science Curriculum 2.0, ensuring students develop the knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking expected in contemporary science education.

Each week, students spend an hour in our Eco Centre, a bright, busy space at the bottom of the school, nestled into the beautiful garden and right next to the Fern Gully. Here, they play, experiment, and test their ideas, learning through hands-on, nature-based experiences that connect them to the living world around them.

Inquiry is at the heart of STEM at The Patch. Students learn to formulate deep questions, gather and compare data, and think critically and creatively. They are encouraged to justify their thinking, revisit their ideas, and change their theories when they learn new information, developing flexible, scientific thinking.

Outside, students explore our amazing gardens, wetlands, Arboretum, creek garden, and vegetable patch, noticing the little things and investigating the amazing biodiversity that calls The Patch home. They plant gardens, cook with produce they’ve grown, design and create habitats, and care for our friendly pet blue tongue lizard. Students also tackle authentic problems in our school, such as managing the flooding of the Fern Gully and leading revegetation projects after recent construction works, becoming confident problem solvers as they investigate, design, and find real solutions. Through these projects and explorations, students develop an understanding of sustainability, learning how to care for their environment and make responsible, long-term choices.

Students are encouraged to draw on personal experiences and think about how they can use their learning at home and in their everyday lives. They also have many ways to demonstrate their understanding—through drawing, writing, building, presenting, and creating—showing their knowledge and discoveries in ways that suit them.

Our STEM program promotes respect for the environment we live in and integrates Indigenous perspectives, helping students understand and value the knowledge, culture, and connection to Country that has existed for thousands of years.

Through these experiences, students become problem solvers, critical thinkers, and curious, confident learners. STEM at The Patch inspires awe, encourages exploration, and fosters connection, courage, and kindness—our school values—while helping students develop the skills, curiosity, and respect needed to care for their world, past, present, and future.

Physical Education

Our school houses are:

Namin (water – blue)
Jelwick (fire – red)
Merwool (air – yellow)
Yetta (Earth – green)

At The Patch Primary School, we deeply value outdoor learning and recognise that Physical Education (PE) plays a vital role in our students’ physical, social, and emotional development.

Our PE program follows the District’s seasonal sports calendar while also introducing students to new and engaging activities that build fundamental motor skills, teamwork, and strategic thinking. Some of our alternate sports and challenges include orienteering, battle blocks, ultimate frisbee, and gymnastics.

At the beginning of each school year, we focus on athletics in preparation for our Whole School Athletics Carnival, followed by targeted training sessions for students who qualify for District Athletics.

Our Summer Sports Program prepares students to compete in cricket, tennis, T-ball, volleyball, and basketball, while the Winter Sports Program focuses on AFL, soccer, lacrosse, and badminton.

Our curriculum is differentiated between Lower Primary and Upper Primary levels to ensure developmental progression:

• Lower Primary: Students build and refine their fundamental motor skills through a variety of fun, skill-based games and movement challenges.
• Upper Primary: Students focus on applying and improving these skills in strategic, team-based games that encourage cooperation & resilience.

Through every stage of our PE program, we aim to foster a love of movement, confidence in physical ability, and the values of kindness, courage and connection—both on and off the field.

Art

At The Patch Primary School, we believe that every child is an artist. Creative learning experiences in the Visual Arts give students the skills, confidence, and imagination to express themselves and to participate fully in the arts throughout their lives.

Through artmaking, students learn to develop ideas by drawing on personal experiences, exploring feelings, observing the world, and researching new concepts. They build their understanding of the elements and principles of art, as well as the processes, techniques, and cultural influences that shape different art forms.

In responding to artworks, students learn to observe, analyse, and interpret. They consider how the visual arts are practised and valued across different cultures and times, and they reflect on the skills, intentions, and messages of artists. This helps them to form thoughtful personal responses to their own work and that of others.

Our Visual Arts program is deeply connected to nature-based learning and the environment that surrounds us. Students are encouraged to use natural materials found around our school grounds, linking their creativity to our school’s sustainability values and our appreciation for the beauty of the Dandenong Ranges.

Where possible, we integrate learning in the Visual Arts with other specialist areas, particularly STEM and Outdoor Education, to strengthen connections between creativity, problem-solving, and environmental understanding. These cross-curricular experiences allow students to explore the world through multiple lenses and to see how art, science, and nature intertwine.

We also connect art learning with classroom units and our vibrant school community events such as the Lantern Parade, NAIDOC Week, Reconciliation Week, PatchFest, and school productions. These experiences celebrate creativity, identity, and community connection.

Please ensure your child has an art smock or old shirt at school to protect their uniform during art sessions. Smocks are kept in classrooms to ensure students can participate fully and confidently in the program.

At The Patch, every child learns to see themselves as an artist and we remind them often:

‘I am an artist.’

Music

Music and Performing Arts at The Patch Primary School. Music and Performing arts have traditionally been an important part of school life at The Patch. There is a specialist music teacher three days a week and several visiting instrumental teachers. All grades attend a weekly music lesson in the music room where our instruments are kept. Music also plays a role in learning in many classroom and large numbers of students participate in extension activities or jam with friends at lunchtime.

The Orff Approach

Creative Music and Movement Education Music at The Patch Primary is based on the Orff Approach, a worldwide movement in music education based on the work of Carl Orff, composer of Carmina Burana. Orff and his colleague Gunild Keetman wrote five volumes entitled “Music for Children” and this approach is designed for ALL children. Orff lessons are designed so each child can contribute according to their ability, catering well for the range of different levels encountered in a typical class.

The approach uses speech, singing, movement and instrumental playing to teach the elements of music. The emphasis is on practical music making activities rather than theory. Children learn to create their own music before learning to read and write music. Improvisation, or spontaneously created music is also a key part of this approach and children are encouraged to play or sing ‘solos’ from an early age. Orff Schulwerk is a general artistic education and lends itself well to integration with other disciplines such as Art or Geography.

Performance Opportunities at Patch

Students at The Patch have many opportunities to share their musical talents with the school and wider community.

• Weekly assemblies
• End of term concerts term 2 and 4
• Annual Arts Night term 4
• Christmas Concert
• Showcase
• Annual Garden Festival