Extracurricular

Belair Public School is engaged with a vast amount of learning that extends beyond the classroom. Our students have plenty of opportunities to enrich their learning and follow individual areas of passion and interest. Some of the extracurricular activities at Belair include:

Dance Group

Belair has a Junior and Senior Dance Group that practise weekly. The Junior Dance Group rehearse Monday before school and the Senior Dance Group rehearse Wednesday before school. The Dance Groups perform at The Hunter Dance Festival each year and at various school events throughout the year. The Dance Group trials are held in Term 4.  

 

Starstruck

Each year Belair participates in Starstruck. Starstruck is a 'performing arts extravaganza' for public schools in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley. It allows student to sing, dance and perform for a large audience with other students from schools all throughout the region. Belair traditionally has groups in two different dances. Starstruck is open to all interested students in Year 5 and Year 6. Mrs Gibson organises and coordinates our Starstruck performers with rehearsals during lunchtime at school and final rehearsals at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. The final Starstruck performance is on in the second last weekend in June. 

The Belair Public School Band is open to students from Year 3 - Year 6. Students rehearse on Wednesday afternoons during school and Friday morning before school. The band is conducted by Mr Graham Lamond and Coordinated by Miss Loredo. Students in the band are required to take lessons for their chosen instrument with a tutor of their choosing, in their own time. The band participates in competitions such as Band Fest and at various school and community events. We are extremely proud of the dedication of our band members and the high quality of their musicianship

 

 

Chess

Belair has an active Chess program that runs during lunch each Thursday in the Library. During this time students play round robin chess games against each other. This competition is open to all students at Belair interested in learning to play or in playing against their peers. Our chess teams also represent the school in an external chess competition that allows them to compete against other schools throughout the Newcastle area. Belair students traditionally do quite well in these competitions. 

 

Junior and Senior Choir

As part of the active music program at Belair we have a Junior and Senior Choir. These choirs rehearse during school time and are led by Mrs Bale, Mrs Sutcliffe and Miss Byrnes.  Our choir participates in school events such as: Grandfriends Day, Book Week, NAIDOC Day, Variety Showcase and Presentation Day. The Senior Choir , led by Mrs Dolbel, represented Belair at the Sydney Opera House in 2015. 

 

Public Speaking

Belair participates in the Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition for Stage 2 and Stage 3 and the Inter-School Public Speaking Competition for Kindergarten - Year 6. The Multi-cultural Public Speaking Competition asks students to present a prepared speech that is taken from a list of topics provided by the Art Unit of the Department of Education. The prepared speech is 3-4mins long for Stage 2 and 4-5mins long for Stage 3.  Students also present an impromptu speech that they have 5 minutes to prepare a 1 minute speech. Belair has the pleasure of hosting the Zone Finals for this competition each year.

The Inter-School Public Speaking Competition is a local Public Speaking Competition that Belair participates in. All students at Belair from Kindergarten to Year 6 present a speech on any topic to their classmates. From each class a student is selected to represent at a Grade level and then from each Stage a student is chose to represent the Grade and the school. The topic for this speech can be on a subject of the students' own choice.

 

Debating

Belair participates in two round robin debating competitions. Year 5 students participate in the 'Train-on' Debating Competition, which is designed to give them time to develop the knowledge and skills to debate competitively in the Year 6 competition. Year 6 students participate in the 'Premiers Debating Competition' which is organised by the Arts Unit of the Department of Education. Both of these competitions involve a process where students receive their debate topic and are give 1 hour to prepare. They then present their case to an audience and an adjudicator. Debating is an excellent way for students to think critically and creatively, to problem solve and to develop the confidence to speak in front of an audience. Our debating teams work extremely hard and improve with each debate.

 

Drama Group

Belair has a senior and junior drama group who meet at lunchtimes once as week. The Junior Drama Group is coordinated by Mrs Zena Sutcliffe and the Senior Drama Group is coordinated by Ms Alison Loredo. The drama groups offer student who are interested in developing their skills the opportunity to do so, in a fun structured way. These groups often perform plays at assemblies and formal occasions such as Variety Showcase.

 

Newcastle Herald Newspaper Competition

The Newcastle Herald Newspaper Competition is run each year by the Newcastle Herald and funded by the Newcastle Permanent. The competition requires a group of approximately 10-15 students to creat a complete newspaper that contains articles concerning their local community. Students are required to write an editorial, 5 articles, to take photographs and create an advertisement. Belair has entered the competition in 2014 and 2015. In both years students from the newspaper team were in the top categories for their articles and were 'Highly Commended'. This competition is an excellent opportunity for students who enjoy writing, photography, research and investigation or those who are after an additional challenge.

Eleanor, Olivia, Sophie and Ella receiving their award in 2015

 

Lauren, Charlotte, Saskia and Libby receiving their award in 2014

 

Libby receiving an award for her photography in 2014

 

Code Club

Code Club is a new addition to our extra curricular activities. Code Club provides students with the opportunity to code through a structured program that is designed to cater to beginner coders and those that are more advanced. Coding is an important skill for students to develop to assist them to grow and thrive in an ever increasing digital world. Learning to code can teach you to program and may lead to students becoming developers. However, the goal of code club is to give students to opportunity to problem solve, think critically and be creative. Coding supports key subject areas such as mathematics, science and technology. Our Code Club runs one afternoon per week from 3-4pm, it is free and offered to students from Year 1 to Year 6.

Belair Kids Coding Engaged in their Coding!

 

Gifted and Talented Focus Days (GATS Days)

Belair has a strong culture of offering students the opportunity to engage in GATS Days. These days combine a number of local schools and focus on extending and enriching students learning in a variety of Key Learning Areas. Students who have identified strengths in specific subject areas are offered the chance to participate in these days. Examples include: Science Days @ The Newcastle Museum, Writing Workshops with Local Authors, Coding Days, Mathematics Problem Solving Days. This program is organised by Mrs Gibson and other teachers from local primary schools who are part of a GATS Group which meets regularly to discuss way that students who are gifted or talented in specific areas can be offered enriching experiences that will challenge and excite them.

 

Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition and ICAS

Belair offers students the opportunity to participate in a number of competitions such as The Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition and the ICAS Test. These competitions are opt in and come at a small cost to families, however the offer students with a passion, interest or strength in particular subject areas the opportunity to challenge themselves.

 

Premiers Reading Challenge

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. Belair participates in this competition each year to encourage students from Kinder to Year 6 to read for fun!
The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is available for all NSW students in Kindergarten to Year 6.

 

Premiers Sporting Challenge

The NSW Premier's Primary School Sport Challenge aims to engage young people in sport and physical activity and encourages them to lead healthy, active lifestyles.The Premier's Primary School Sport Challenge involves primary school classes participating in a 10 week sport and physical activity challenge.
A class may accumulate time spent in a broad range of sports and recreational pursuits during lunchtime, in school sport programs, class time, after school or in weekend physical activity.

 

Kidnect IT

Kidnect IT  is a new program offered in 2016. Kidnect IT is a STEM focused program that offers robot building experiences and programming experiences for kids aged between 5-99.

Kidnect IT is a great way to do this. The program is organised externally and located in the library. There is a cost involved for students to participate in the term long program.

 

Language Lessons

Belair offers students the opportunity to attend a variety of language lessons after school (e.g. French). For more information on the language courses available and dates and times please contact our school office on 49521735