Extra Curricula
Festival of Music
The Festival of Music program has been an integral part of South Australian life and stands as an official State Icon. The program reaches thousands of primary and secondary students annually and allows students opportunities to perform at prestigious venues.There are Festival Choirs in over 300 schools across South Australia, as well as Orchestras and Performance Troupes in metropolitan Adelaide.
Choir
Primary students also have performance opportunities as soloists, hosts or as part of the South Australian Public Primary Schools (SAPPS) Choir, our showpiece choir which provides choral extension to auditioned students. Both primary and secondary students can also audition to participate in the Orchestra or to perform as a guest Artist.
Wakkakirri
Wakakirri is a non-profit that focuses on innovative educational programs for schools, using storytelling to connect with modern youth. “Wakakirri,” an Aboriginal term, translates to “dance,” reflecting its Australian identity. The Wakakirri Challenge engages students, promoting learning enthusiasm, emotional growth, physical expression, and community awareness. The program fosters inclusivity, teamwork, and empathy while providing a platform for creative expression. It delivers arts education, building creativity and understanding through Story-Dance, enriching students’ lives. This program is usually offered to our year 5/6 students and gives students an opportunity to express creativity and leadership in their final years.
Youth Environment Committee (YEC)
The Youth Environment Council (YEC) are a passionate and dedicated group of students who are motivated to make environmental change in our school community, and beyond. Students from all year levels may attend a weekly club which is supported by teachers who are passionate about student voice and the environment. In 2023 Parafield Gardens Primary School was recognised as a Sustainable School by Green Adelaide for our ongoing commitment to environmental change and education.
In recent years, the YEC students have been responsible for:
- Creating a beautiful native garden with a grant from Landcare in a barren part of the school grounds.
- Campaigning to remove foods containing palm oil from the school canteen.
- Lobbying for and implementing weekly Nude Food days to reduce waste.
- Coordinating whole school Clean up Australia events and educating students about the benefits of recycling.
- Educating peers about Earth Day, waste, climate change and native gardening through assembly presentations, social media, YouTube clips and quizzes.
- Purchasing and selecting locations for outdoor bins (both landfill waste and recycling).
- Fundraising to purchase trees for a cooler school yard in the summer months as part of the Climate Ready Schools project.
- Creating sustainable products to be sold at school market stalls.
Our older YEC students have been recognised for their environmental passion, representing our school at the State Youth Environmental Council since 2016. The State YEC offers students the opportunity to develop environmental knowledge and leadership skills, attend a camp at Arbury park with other students from around South Australia, engage in face-to-face and online gatherings and training and networking opportunities, before presenting their year’s work to other primary and secondary schools across the state.
Tournament or Minds
An International educational program ‘challenging the world’ to develop creative problem solving skills
Tournament of Minds (TOM) is a program for all primary and secondary students to year 10, providing the opportunity to solve authentic, open-ended challenges that foster creative, divergent thinking whilst developing collaborative enterprise, excellence and teamwork.
Challenges are set in the following disciplines: The Arts, Language Literature, Social Sciences and STEM.
