Bairnsdale West Primary School provides a series of Extension Programs in the Academic, Visual Arts, Performing Arts and Sport endeavours. This enables those students talented in a particular area to develop that talent and increase their skill levels.
Awareness of the importance of confidence, persistence, organisation and social responsibility is promoted and enhanced through these programs. Students may be nominated by their parents, teachers or themselves to participate in one of these programs.
Academic Extension Program
This program is designed to accommodate the needs of children who are performing in the top range of their age group. They are encouraged to develop their ideas and viewpoints and to identify their own ways of learning which include the strategies of planning, monitoring, evaluating and choosing what to learn. They participate in learning experiences that take into account their talents, interests and abilities, which also challenge and extend their current capabilities.
Performing Arts Extension Program
In Performing Arts Extension students undertake activities including Public Speaking, Character Development, Voice Projection, Dance (performance and choreography) Theatre Appreciation, Improvisation, and writing, refining, and performing short plays.
During the year, students work in small groups, pairs and individually. They evaluate their own and each other’s performances, using constructive feedback to improve skill levels.
Visual Arts Extension Program
The Visual Arts Extension Program offers extension activities for those students who have a special ability in this area and who demonstrate an interest in Art outside the school curriculum.
The program offers opportunities to further develop skills through various challenges in visual perception and representation as well as extended media exploration. Students also have the opportunity to work with specialist artists, participate in art competitions and exhibitions and visit a local art gallery.
Physical Education Extension Program
The Physical Education Extension Program at BWPS is designed to give our gifted athletes an opportunity to participate in different sports with extensive instruction from qualified coaches.
Students participate in activities such as golf, lawn bowls, tennis and cricket. They are graded on their improvement throughout the unit and their ability to progress using technical feedback given by their peers, teacher or coach.
The chance to interact with other gifted athletes is one of the strengths of the program. The students use each other to trial and explore different strategies and ideas that they come up with. Using the visual aid of seeing their peers perform has been an effective teaching tool.