At Mater Dei Catholic Primary school, Physical Education (PE) is valued as an essential part of every child's growth and wellbeing. Our program supports the development of the whole person - physically, socially and emotionally - while fostering confidence, teamwork and a life long love of being active.
Physical Education at Mater Dei is grounded in the Australian Curriculum's Health and Physical Education subject area. While sport is an important aspect of our school life, it represents just one component of our broader Physical Education program. Our aim is to help students build fundamental movement skills, develop healthy habits, and experience joy in physical activity.
Specialist-Led PE Lessons
All classes participate in weekly lessons taught by a qualified Physical Education specialist teacher. Through a carefully structured program (using Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education), students explore a wide range of skills across each term - improving co-ordination, balance, movement, teamwork and personal fitness.
We encourage all students to approach physical activity with:
- positivity
- fair play
- commitment
- a healthy attitude toward participation and competition
Our PE teacher also provides opportunities for our students to experience a variety of different sporting activities by inviting experts in their fields to visit Mater Dei for targetted lessons. Our students have enjoyed learning baseball, hockey, cricket, gymnastics, tennis and Ausbikes by professionals in their fields. They also experienced playing basketball with Sporting Wheelies and played blind soccer with Vision impaired athletics.
Sporting Pathways and Opportunities
Mater Dei offers a rich variety of opportunities for students to participate in sport, develop their talents, and represent the school with pride.
All students can be involved in:
- the Mater Dei Run Club (a new school and PFG initiative being introduced at the beginning of 2026 school year)
- A variety of before school sport activities offered by Go Sports. (Sports include, tennis, soccer, netball, cricket)
- Children have the opportunity to represent the school in a wide range of sporting competitions. Children from Years 3-6 have the opportunity to take part in School sports, Catholic Zone sports, Gala Sports and District and State carnivals. Sports offered include Swimming, Athletics, Cross Country, Netball, AFL, Soccer, and Touch Football.
Students in Years 3-6 can be involved in:
- Catholic Zone Sport
- Gala Days (AFL, Soccer, cricket, Touch football)
- District and MetNorth Carnivals
- QCup Netball
Sports and events offered at Mater Dei include:
- Swimming
- Athletics
- Cross Country
These pathways allow students to develop teamwork skills, challenge themselves. and celebrate personal and team achievements in a supportive school community.
The Sports uniform is worn on Wednesdays and Fridays for all students.
Swimming
All children from Prep to Year 6 access swimming lessons as part of the school’s Physical Education program. Years 1 to 6 swim during Terms 1 and 4 with Prep joining the activity in Term 4 only. The children attend Aquatic Achiever's Swim School, Arana Hills and are transported with staff to and from the pool by bus. The costs incurred are covered in the Student Levy.