After-school: Extra Curricular Activities and Tutoring programs
Being an Independent Public School allows Larrakeyah Primary to offer an extended range of specialty programs to our students.
Speciality programs give our students unique opportunities to extend their learning beyond the classroom and develop invaluable skills and experiences that will serve them in future schooling, work, and life.
Today, we explore two after-school programs available at Larrakeyah Primary School. The Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) program and the Tutoring program.
About the Extra Curricular Activities program
The ECA has seen tremendous growth since its beginning in 2015. Today, students participate in a variety of term-based after-school activities run by teachers, staff, and outside experts.
Activities change each term and fall into 3 broad categories: Knowledge, The Arts, and The Physical. From sports to STEAM and dance to engineering the gamut of activities offered over the past 5 years has provided a unique opportunity for students to try out new things.
This type of program is typically unavailable in other government schools. However, being an Independent Public School allows us to offer innovative programs such as the ECA to enhance student learning and experiences.
The ECA aligns with 21st Century learning and inquiry-based learning. Beyond traditional classroom learning, the ECA gives students the chance to develop skills in a real-world context.
In addition to the specific skills of the activity – such as tennis skills – participation in the ECA develops self-esteem, confidence, and essential life skills like:
- Problem solving
- Teamwork
- Leadership and public speaking
- Analytical and creative thinking
- Goal setting
In Term 2 of 2022 the ECA program includes activities such as:
- Mindful Art Club
- Lego Engineering
- Iron Beads
- Ice Skating
- Soccer
- STEAM Challenges
- Tennis
- Basketball
The ECA is offered to students in years 1 to 6 as a user pay system per term.
About the Tutoring program
After school tutoring is available to years 2 to 6 in the fields of literacy and numeracy.
Run by our teaching staff, the tutoring program offers tailored support in small groups.
We recognise that every student is different and the ability to access further instruction, support, or extension is vital in the core competencies of literacy and numeracy.
Groups are strictly between 2 and 5 students and allow the tutor to work with parents and classroom teachers to develop a focus and concentrate on developing specific areas or providing extended challenges in areas of strength.
External reviews and studies of tutoring programs and their effectiveness suggests the most significant gains occur when:
- the design and quality of the tutoring closely reflects classroom content
- close coordination with classroom teachers is available
- the tutors have extensive and ongoing training
- tutoring programs are well structured and student improvement can be monitored
- tutoring sessions are frequent
Being able to offer an in-school tutoring program means the program can closely follow and support the classroom curriculum and be run by highly trained and qualified teachers.
The tutoring program runs for the first 8 weeks of each term and is available on a user pay system that reflects the cost of the tutorors, materials, and resources.
Advantages of speciality programs
The speciality programs we are able to offer students provide unique opportunities to try new things, develop academically, and gain real world experiences that promote the 21st Century skills that will be vital throughout their schooling and work careers.
