All Xavier Catholic School students participate in a Religious Education Program. This program aims to foster an understanding and belief in the Catholic faith and build on each child’s experience of living in faith. Opportunities are also provided for students and their families to participate and be part of the wider parish community. Xavier Catholic School students:

• Are supported as they prepare for Holy Sacraments (Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation);
• Learn church hymns and psalms at Liturgical Singing;
• Are exposed to philanthropic activities such as fundraising at an early age to fuel their passion to help make a positive difference to their community; and
• Are offered the opportunity to be active members of their Parish through Altar Serving training and attending morning Prayer Services at St Francis Xavier Parish, Armadale.

Xavier Catholic School places a high priority on developing excellent literacy skills in each student. Our Literacy curriculum is linked directly to the Western Australian Curriculum and the SCASA judging standards. Literacy encompasses:

• the knowledge and skills students need to access, understand, analyse and evaluate information;
• make meaning;
• express thoughts and emotions;
• present ideas and opinions;
• interact with others; and
• participate in activities at school and in their lives beyond school.

Success in any learning area depends on being able to use the significant, identifiable and distinctive literacy that is important for learning and representative of the content of that learning area.
Students become literate as they develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions to interpret and use language confidently for learning and communicating in and out of school and for participating effectively in society. Literacy involves students listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating oral, print, visual and digital texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of contexts.
Literacy Support and the program MiniLiteracy are also offered to assist students with their Literacy development.

Developing students who are confident and foster a love for Mathematics is one of many desires here at Xavier Catholic School. Teachers educate the students, in line with the WA Curriculum and assess against the SCSA Judging Standards.
Students become numerate as they develop the knowledge and skills to use mathematics confidently across other learning areas at school and in their lives more broadly. Numeracy encompasses the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that students need to use mathematics in a wide range of situations. It involves students recognising and understanding the role of mathematics in the world and having the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills purposefully. When teachers identify numeracy demands across the curriculum, students have opportunities to transfer their mathematical knowledge and skills to contexts outside the mathematics classroom. These opportunities help students recognise the interconnected nature of mathematical knowledge, other learning areas and the wider world, and encourage them to use their mathematical skills broadly.

A typical Mathematics class at Xavier Catholic School will have a focus on either Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry or Statistics and Probability.
A Numeracy Support Program is also available to students, which aims to ‘bridge the gaps’ through hands on games and manipulative materials in a small group environment.

Humanities and Social Sciences (‘HASS’) is the study of human behaviour and our interaction with the world around us. At Xavier Catholic School our HASS curriculum focuses on developing the students’ natural curiosity and wonder, their ability to question, to think critically and to make decisions based on evidence.

The HASS curriculum is divided into four subjects: History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, and Economics and Business. At Xavier we pride ourselves on building the students’ understanding of the Aboriginal culture and also learning about sustainable practices for the future.

Science provides opportunities for students to develop an understanding of important science concepts and processes, the practices used to develop scientific knowledge, of science’s contribution to our culture and society, and its applications in our lives. The curriculum supports students to develop the scientific knowledge, understandings and skills to make informed decisions about local, national and global issues. The children engage in Biological, Chemical, Physical and Earth and Space Sciences.

The Arts includes five Arts subjects. These are Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts. The curriculum entitles all Xavier Catholic School students to engage with these five Arts subjects throughout their primary school years. We have a specialist teacher for our Music program with all our teachers delivering the other Arts subjects in their classroom teaching program.

The benefits of music education for children is well known. Children learning music are known to improve their memory skills, reading and comprehension skills, math skills, hand-eye coordination and fine-motor skills, as well as encourage responsibility, perseverance and discipline. We believe that for our students to fully obtain the cognitive benefits of a music class, they have to be actively engaged in the music to participate in the class. Students are exposed to using instruments such as African drums, ukulele and more.
If parents are looking to further their child’s music education, private lessons are available through Edu-Music who operate at Xavier Catholic School during school hours.

Health and Physical Education offers experiential learning, with a curriculum that is relevant, engaging, contemporary, physically active, enjoyable and developmentally appropriate. Integral to Health and Physical Education is the acquisition of movement skills, concepts and strategies that enable students to participate in a range of physical activities confidently and competently. Health and Physical Education at Xavier Catholic School aims to:

• assist students in developing the knowledge, understanding and skills to support them to be resilient;
• encourage and support. students in developing a strong sense of self,
• educate how to build and maintain satisfying relationships,
• teach students how to make health-enhancing decisions regarding their health and physical activity participation, and
• develop health literacy competencies to enhance their own and others’ health and wellbeing.

Technologies draw together the distinct but related subjects of Design and Technologies, and Digital Technologies. It ensures that all students benefit from learning about, and working with, traditional contemporary and emerging technologies that shape the world in which we live. In creating solutions, as well as responding to the designed world, students will contribute to sustainable patterns of living for themselves and others.

At Xavier Catholic School, we understand the need to adequately prepare our next generation for today’s digital revolution. Students from years Pre-Primary to Year 6 are taught digital skills through hands-on learning using iPads and robotics. Topics taught to Xavier Catholic School students include Coding, Robotics, Mobile Applications and Cyber Safety.

Students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 learn Japanese as a language. Learning a language in the primary school years provides students with the foundation for learning languages later in their schooling and into adulthood. Learning a language also exposes students to different cultural experiences.