Programs and Clubs
Craft Club
Our craft club is held every Tuesday and Thursday in the library at lunch time. It is coordinated by our Librarian Tania and Jenny Hodgson who kindly donates her time to do craft activities with the students.
Robotics Club
Larissa Waghorn our Science teacher runs Robotics Club weekly on a Tuesday and Thursday after school for an hour. At STPS we run two after school robotics clubs. These students participate in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL). FLL introduces science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to children through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Students gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics program, helping today's students and teachers build a better future together. FLL inspires youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics. These clubs are provided free of charge to our students. We have a number of our teachers who volunteer their time to run the sessions and the costs are covered by grants or fundraising.
Our first club is for students in Years 3 and 4. This club runs on Tuesday afternoons in Terms 2 & 3. Our Junior Robotics students participate in the Explore Division of FLL, culminating in an Exhibition held at the school for parents, families, staff, our school board members and other interested members of the community. During the Exhibition the students showcase their creations, demonstrate the coding they have written to get the LEGO robot to control one part of the creation and talk about what they have learnt.
Our second club is for students in Years 5 and 6. This club runs on Thursday afternoons in Terms 3 & 4. Our Senior Robotics students participate in the Challenge Division of FLL. In Challenge LEGO and a mat is sent out to make a set of challenges that are made in the same way all around the world. The students then have a couple of months to design and code a LEGO robot to complete as many of these challenges as possible. They also complete an Innovation Project. In this project, students identify a problem relating to the theme and design a solution. They need to research this and speak to experts about it. This division culminates in a competition held in late November against other schools, both public and private, and both primary and high school. On the day they complete 3 Robot Rounds and participate in a Judging Session where they present their project to a panel of judges. The competition day is an amazing experience for all involved, with fierce competition in an incredibly supportive atmosphere. Our students have managed to bring home 4 fabulous LEGO trophies that are proudly displayed in our school's front office.