Mt Carmel senior students played an integral part in showcasing many aspects of their school life to prospective new families on Wednesday night who are considering enrolling their child.
Principal Michael Green said in addition to providing the usual information for prospective parents, there were about 30 students from the school leadership team in years 5 and 6 who volunteered to help showcase their learning.
Allowing parents to see what social and academic skills students at Mt Carmel can develop and achieve over their time with the Mt Carmel community with an emphasis on building respectful relationships.
There were displays showcasing STEM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), well-being and pastoral care, the Japanese language program, sports, literacy and numeracy, creative and performing arts, religious education, and Mini Vinnies.
Michael said Mt Carmel is part of the K – 12 pathways to Trinity Catholic College.
“We are the local Catholic school with a very caring and loving community and well supported by highly professional staff.”
“We’ve got a deep sense of community and commitment to the families in our town,” he said.
“We’re a very inclusive, welcoming and friendly school.”
In particular, Michael mentioned Mt Carmel’s popular Japanese program which sees students begin learning about the language and culture from kindergarten.
“It’s a favourite of the students, they really enjoy learning Japanese.”
Every student in the school from kindergarten to Year 6 has a Japanese lesson each week with a qualified primary school teacher who is fluent in Japanese and completed tertiary studies of the language.
“We’ve got a classroom decked out for Japanese with tatami mats on the floor,” he said.
“When the students come, they take off their shoes outside and sit on the tatami and low tables on the floor to do their work.”
There are kimonos available to try on and one week each term is dedicated to cooking Japanese foods in the school’s kitchen classroom.
“All the kids love cooking Japanese food,” Michael said.
“That’s always a real favourite for everybody.”
“They get to do some cooking and try new foods, but they love doing it.”
Year 6 student Georgina Burke said her class has learnt the numbers 1 to 100 in Japanese and is currently learning about describing the weather.
“I just like learning knowing about different languages, how their country works, and what the differences and similarities are.”
She added that the students use VR (Virtual Reality) headsets to see different places in Japan.
Fellow student Chloe Pearce described the VR experiences as a whole different world.
“It’s a completely different perspective and everything’s all in Japan, and it’s all in their writing and it’s really cool,” Chloe said.
The students are looking forward to cooking week soon and Chloe said they make a range of delicious goods.
“We cook sushi, little dumplings, sticky rice, noodles, and okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes).”
Brianna O’Rourke