St Gerard Majella School offers students a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.
Optiminds
Students have the opportunity to participate in the OptiMINDS team challenge.
Camps and Excursions
Teachers plan for ‘real life’ learning experiences beyond the school environment. These include excursions and when in Year 6, students experience a camp. Excursions and camps provide the students with rich and diverse learning opportunities as well as important life skills. They enable students to connect with each other and make life-long memories. All excursions and camps have a curriculum/learning focus and compliment the learning being done in the classroom.
Justice Squad
The Justice Squad has been an important part of the school since 2004. The members work tirelessly to raise funds and the social justice awareness of the school community. In the words of the members, “We formed because we care about the world and the people in it. We want to be part of solution not part of the problem.”
Sport
The school’s philosophy is to encourage the development of positive attitudes of good sportsmanship, fairness and a spirit of teamwork. Each student is assigned to a sporting team and participates in the annual Cross Country and Athletics Carnival. The school is a member of the Trinity Coast South Sport Association. The school also have a range of sporting teams which participate in inter-school competitions throughout the year.
Chess
Students have the opportunity to participate in the very popular school Chess Club. Teams of students are selected to compete in the interschool Chess Competition.
Instrumental Program
Instrumental tuition is available through a set program, co-ordinated and offered through St Mary’s Catholic College. Arrangements are made at the start of the new school year and the program caters for children from Years 2-6. Additional fees apply.
Garden Club
Students are encouraged to join the school’s Garden Club. This club exposes students to the benefits of growing their own produce, harvesting and selling what they grow at a school market stall. We currently have several small vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and native gardens. The Garden Club also has success at the local Cairns Show with various prizes in the junior horticulture sections.
The Story Dog Program
Looking to enhance the love and joy of reading, SGM pioneered the inclusion of the Story Dog Program into our school. It is a reading support program with a BIG difference. Our program uses trained and accredited dogs to create the magic. Our dogs have unconditional love and an eagerness to listen to the stories students read to them each week. Students gain confidence wanting to read in this relaxing environment.
