Choosing the right education for your child is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
As parents, carers, or grandparents you have a choice – and the right – to offer your child the best education available.
The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle proudly hosts some of the best schools in Newcastle, Maitland, the Hunter and Upper Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Manning regions.
Catholic schools offer a unique educational experience which forms the child or young person as a person of integrity, compassion, faith and wisdom. Catholic schools also work closely with their local parish to enhance in students a capacity to make sense of their world, to make judgements and to recognise the uniqueness of others within a faith community.
Each school has a supportive community of teachers, parents, carers, P&F committees, clergy, parishioners, and support staff who work together to focus on students; encouraging success, promoting discipline, supporting creativity and instilling compassion. This means that Catholic schools don’t just teach religious studies, they seek to develop spirit, mind, body and character and cultivate Gospel values that support lives filled with joy, endeavour and hope in the future.
Rosary Park has a commitment to focusing on each individual child’s ability, offering a unique array of educational, creative, sporting and formation opportunities for students.
Finally, Catholic schools offer peace of mind to parents; knowing they’ve made the right choice and the best investment for their child’s future. It is because of this and the many opportunities available to students that we believe choosing a Catholic education, is the right choice to make.
Why Families Choose Rosary Park Catholic School
Our Catholic Faith and Tradition
With a Catholic identity as its foundation, Rosary Park Catholic School, Branxton, is dedicated to creating an atmosphere permeated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and love. As a school community, we are challenged to respond to the invitation of Christ, to be His followers and carry out the Gospel values through all aspects of school life. It is the explicit aim of the school to provide a Catholic Christian education that will enable students to learn, grow, develop and achieve throughout their schooling years. We strive to provide an environment based on the school motto of ‘Built on Faith, Knowledge and Respect’.
In response to the needs of the Catholic community of Branxton, Greta and the surrounding districts, the first Catholic school was established in 1886 by the Sisters of Mercy, Singleton Congregation. These pioneers established learning environments that would ensure a lifetime of faith and Christian traditions.
We are a Modern School
Rosary Park is a Kindergarten to Year 6 School and one of the newest Catholic primary schools to be built in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, with the latest eight classrooms completed in 2020. Our school has a modern structure that has been architecturally designed to facilitate contemporary learning and teaching. The flexible and intentionally developed learning environments encourage innovative thinking and collaboration, allowing students to increase readiness for and engagement in learning.
Learning in a Technology-Rich Environment
Rosary Park has incorporated the use of technology across all key learning areas to meet the needs of contemporary learners in a 21st-century environment. Our 1:1 learning environment allows students to utilise tablet devices and other forms of technology to experience learning in an engaging and stimulating environment. We take time to program learning experiences that have technology embedded within them and endeavour to design lessons that include the contemporary dimensions of collaboration, real-world problem solving, innovation, self-regulation, skilful communication, knowledge construction and personalised learning. Rosary Park fosters student creativity through the development and implementation of Kindergarten to Year 6 initiatives, focusing on developmentally appropriate strategies to develop this.
We Make Creative and Critical Thinkers
Rosary Park provides a number of enrichment opportunities for students to extend their learning experiences, enabling them to reach their full individual potential. Through the use of technology, visible thinking routines and the integration of critical thinking skills within our programs, students are given opportunities to develop their core strengths and are encouraged to become lifelong learners. All students have the opportunity to experience STEM programs and to develop their skills with the use of the latest technologies. We focus on play-based education for the early years and have strong support systems in place for students with occupational, music and speech therapy needs. We value the development of all students in the core areas of literacy and numeracy. This encompasses gifted programs, support program for our students with additional needs, as well as ensuring the core population of our students receive effective and innovative learning experiences.
Creative Arts
Music at Rosary Park adds great richness and energy to our school community. We share a passionate commitment to not only engaging the students in a range of experiences and developing their talents, but also instilling in them a life-long appreciation for the arts and providing them with a balanced, well-rounded education. We offer a variety of opportunities to engage in musical groups and experiences. Students from Kinder to Year 6 are offered a comprehensive music program. All classes across the school have classroom music lessons; they are involved in activities where they perform, listen and organise sound. The class music program is further enriched by instruction in groups such as the Primary Concert Band. Private music lessons are offered on site by external educators in piano and guitar. The unique talents of our students are further celebrated through:
- An biannual whole school musical celebrating music, dance and drama
- Auditioning and performing in the yearly diocesan Aspire productions
- Year 5 and Year 6 attending the yearly diocesan high school performance DioSounds as well as Aspire at the Civic Theatre
The school conducts workshops based on embedding local Aboriginal knowledge by inviting guest speakers to share their knowledge through the art forms of dance, painting and storytelling. These workshops stem from the History and Geography units of work.
Social Justice Initiatives
Rosary Park has a strong focus on social justice and providing students with the opportunity to contribute to their local community through a wide range of events and activities. Visitation to local aged-care centres, participation in sacramental programs, attendance at community commemorative services and celebrations, involvement in mission days, Mini Vinnies group, and the Mercy group, ensures students develop a sense of belonging to and responsibility for their local community as citizens.