The students at Marayong have the opportunity to participate in extra- curricular activities that often expand on or enhance knowledge they have gained in class.
These activities are in addition to normal school work and students will often have to attempt a try out to make it onto the team or group.
Extra-curricular activities include:
- Science, technology. engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) team
- Performance groups
- Primary school sports association (PSSA)
- Muddi Bunna
- Academic competitions
- Blacktown Leaning Community
Science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) team
The Marayong Public School STEAM Team is a non-competitive, task-oriented program aimed at building student capacity in science and technology, engineering, arts and mathematics through construction, coding and robotics. The teams complete several robotics projects throughout the year that require students to work collaboratively and problem solve to meet all aspects of the challenges. These projects are then shared with students from neighbouring schools at the STEAM Team Expo to be held in November.
Marayong Public School has two teams consisting of a total of 22 students. To gain a position on the STEAM team, interested primary students had to work in collaborative groups to complete two different construction challenges. Students that demonstrated effective communication, problem solving skills, creative thinking, initiative and perseverance were selected.
The STEAM team is multidisciplinary and has strong connections across many curriculum areas. Students develop knowledge and skills in science and technology, particularly in the space of digital technologies, mathematics and creative arts.
This year students are designing and making projects using Makey Makey kits, Sphero robots and Hummingbird robotics kits.
3-6 Dance is a performance group that is catered to students from years 3 to 6. At the beginning of each school year, students are invited to come and audition over the course of 3 weeks. Once the group has been selected, students are asked to commit to rehearsals every Tuesday afternoon after school and during Thursday afternoon performance groups. The 3-6 dance are provided opportunities to perform throughout the year at various events including Education Week and Grandparents Day.
Dance is a fun way where students are able to express themselves through movement. It is directly linked to the curriculum through PDHPE and Creative and Performing Arts. Through participation in the 3-6 dance, students are able to further develop their fundamental movement skills, appreciate their own dance and perform in front of audiences.
K-2 Dance is a performance group that is catered to students from Kindergarten to Year 2. At the beginning of each school year, students are invited to come and audition. Years 1 and 2 audition one week and Kindergarten audition in the second week. The dance teacher then decides who will be selected. Those that are selected are then asked to commit to rehearsals on Thursday afternoon for 1 hour. Throughout the school year the K-2 dance are invited to perform for various occasions including education week.
Dance is part of the NSW curriculum in the Creative and Performing Arts syllabus and the PDHPE syllabus. Dance is a fun and exciting way for students to express themselves and perform simple dance sequences.
Marayong’s school choir is comprised of students from years 2-6. At the beginning of each year, students who are interested in singing and performing are invited to try out for the school choir. If selected, students will meet each week to learn a varied repertoire of challenging songs that are performed throughout the year at various events such as ANZAC Day, Open Day, and the Blacktown Festival of Performing Arts. Participation in the school choir reinforces concepts taught in the Creative Arts curriculum as students explore rhythm, duration, structure and pitch in music.
Recorder group meets weekly during school terms. In recorder group the students learn how to play the recorder, they learn about the different musical notes to play and they practice playing songs independently. Students have the opportunity to learn a number of songs including:
- Lucy Locket
- When the Saints go marching in
- Old McDonald had a farm
- Old Mother Witch.
The recorder group performs for the whole school when we have special days such as: Grandparents Day and Education Week open day.
Primary school sports association (PSSA)
Marayong fields teams in the Blacktown district PSSA summer and winter inter school sporting competitions. These sports included European handball, softball, T-ball, AFL, netball, NRL league tag, football (soccer) and rugby league.
To participate one of these teams students who are turning 8 or 8 years of age or older must attend a series of try outs. The coach of each sport will select their team based on these try outs, students will then participate in a PSSA game on Friday.
The PSSA competition runs for a series of weeks against schools in the Blacktown zone. Successful teams will compete in semi-finals and a grand final that is held after school on a Friday afternoon or evening.
Blacktown PSSA Sport
Marayong offers the opportunity for students try out for Blacktown PSSA Zone sporting teams. Teams include zone AFL, zone touch football, opens rugby league, eleven years rugby league, zone netball, zone softball and zone football (soccer).
What is Muddi Bunna?
Muddi Bunna (meaning ‘Little Emus’) is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education program that takes place weekly at Marayong Public School. The word Marayong means ‘emu’ or ‘place of cranes’ and comes from the Aboriginal word Marariang. Muddi Bunna is an opportunity for students to:
- Learn about traditional and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and histories.
- Increase their wellbeing through a sense of identity.
- Strengthen their connection with school, peers and the wider community.
Muddi Bunna students learn through storytelling, music and dance. Opportunities to share their culture are provided throughout the year during NAIDOC week celebrations and school assemblies.
Who can participate and why?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are invited to attend Muddi Bunna. On many occasions, Muddi Bunna students are able to invite a buddy as an opportunity to embrace cultural diversity.
What are the curriculum links?
Muddi Bunna strives to provide opportunities that develops the skills, experiences and knowledge of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. We are committed to matching the achievement levels of the broader student population and develop lifelong learners.
Stage 3 students at Marayong have the opportunity to join the Marayong debating team and compete in the Blacktown District Debating Competition. The students are selected by choosing a performance group to attend. Debaters are given a script to read to assess their aptitude for debating. They are also asked to perform a one minute impromptu speech on a given topic.
The debating team meets weekly to research and prepare their debates. The debaters compete against other schools in the Blacktown District. They usually prepare a debate and compete against another school once each month during terms 2 and 3. The schools who win the most debates compete in the semi-finals and finals which are held in term 4.
Students at Marayong Public School have the opportunity to compete academically against local and national schools in a number ways.
Premier’s Reading Challenge
This Premier’s Reading Challenge encourages students from Kindergarten to Year 9 to develop a love of reading and plays an important role in developing literacy.
International competitions and assessments for schools (ICAS)
ICAS is an independent skills based assessment that is run in schools throughout Australia.
Students at Marayong have the opportunity to compete in the ICAS assessments each year in the subject areas of digital technologies, English, mathematics, spelling, science and writing.
For more information visit the UNSW Global website about ICAS.
Blacktown learning community
Each year Marayong Public School participates in a Blacktown Learning Community initiative called SHARING. Teachers from the Blacktown Learning Community put together a course outline that is related to various areas of the curriculum. Courses can be based on coding, science experiments, cooking, geography, dance, sport etc. Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are nominated to participate in a SHARING course based on their interests and what courses are being run.
SHARING aims to cater for and provide quality learning experiences to students with a wide range of academic, social, physical and cultural experiences. It also allows teachers to share their skills and utilise their expertise. SHARING provides opportunities for students to meet with other students who share the same interests. It allows for students to engage in quality learning environments and build on their prior knowledge.
Parents/guardians of students who have been nominated are asked to take their child to the course on the day. Students also have to bring with them a note to be filled out by the parent/guardian outlining information for the course leader to know. SHARING is a great opportunity for students to take part in courses that peek their interest and also as a way to meet with students outside of Marayong.
Blacktown Learning Community schools that currently participate:
- Barnier Public School
- Blacktown West Public School
- Caddies Creek Public School
- Kings Langley Public School
- Marayong Public School
- Metella Road Public School
- Quakers Hill Public School
- Riverstone Public School
- Seven Hills North Public School
- The Meadows Public School