A small school with big plans, St Mary’s Primary in Rushworth is always looking for ways to improve and with new additions to their specialist subjects, it cannot be denied.
To promote inclusiveness, St Mary’s Primary has branched out to offer Auslan as a specialist subject at the school.
“The Auslan is a real goer, the kids just love it,” principal Catherine Fraser said.
“They all sign to their teachers if they want to go the toilet or go out of the room.
“Everybody is signing now, so it’s great and that’s only six months in.”
Between sporting programs such as Bluearth and learning frameworks like Early Life Foundation’s Walker learning, St Mary’s is making sure its students are provided with the best-quality education.
St Mary’s is also a big supporter of promoting Indigenous cultures and taking part in reconciliation conversations.
“Every year we have a new group of children who are fire carriers,” Mrs Fraser said.
“Fire carriers promote the Indigenous cultures in our school. They have a message stick so whenever we have acknowledgement to country, prayer service or church service, the students carry the message stick for it.”
St Mary’s Primary will be doing education week a little differently from most this year. Instead of celebrating the week of May 23, it will be hosting its open day and education activities on June 17.
This date will see an open day take place with tours led by student leaders around the school where new and current parents can visit their child’s classroom to see what they’re learning.
During the day, the students will also participate in science-based activities with the Canberra based organisation Questacon with a sausage sizzle available for students, staff and visitors.