Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta students had the opportunity to shine when the Captivate performing and creative arts program recently hosted its 10th Anniversary Showcase at Quaycentre, Sydney Olympic Park.
The show combined a spectacular musical ensemble of 165 students, backed up by the 1000-student primary choir and 190-student secondary choir singing songs such as One Dream, Come Back to the Sea, Keep your Lamps Trimmed and Burning and River Run Free.
This was complemented by a dance ensemble of 382 dancers who kept audiences enraptured. There was also a secondary drama ensemble of 90 students and a student ‘spoken word choir’ comprising 80 students from four primary schools.
One of the highlights of the performance was the use of puppetry and props to reflect the showcase’s storyline. The impact of the puppets was dramatic, guiding the audience through show’s theme of ‘creativity’: from the igniting of the creative spark, through to creative play, creative block, creative flow, and finally creative genius. The show’s finale was a stunning performance of Rihanna’s Diamonds in the Sky.
Captivate director Mark Hopkins said that for many students involved, it was their first major public performance.
“Others were consolidating many years of practice, rehearsal and performing, honing their skills for HSC practical examinations in the coming weeks or auditions for specialist post school arts study pathways in the coming months.
“Captivate is the program by which all students, regardless of prior experience or the location of their school, can access specialist learning in the arts.
“With a constant stream of research documenting evidence of the cognitive and social benefits of arts participation and learning, it is vital that such learning is part of each child’s education.”
St Andrew’s Primary, Marayong acting Principal Kim McDonald described the show as a rewarding experience for all those involved.
“Students have been rehearsing since February, both during recess and lunch breaks and also at formal off-site rehearsals with other students in the Diocese as well as during the school holidays,’’ Mrs McDonald said.
“This level of collaboration and creativity has provided opportunities for students to express themselves in a unique way. We are so proud of the students and thank them for their commitment, enthusiasm and persistence over such a long period of time.”
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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10 Nov 2026
From Facebook
🏎️🔬 Ready, Set, Move! 🔬🏎️ Our Kindergarten scientists were busy putting things into motion during their excursion to Lizard Log with Ranger Jamie! From experimenting with a go-kart to testing their strength in a game of tug-of-war, students explored how pushing and pulling forces make things move. There was plenty of teamwork, laughter, and scientific discovery as they learnt by doing, testing, and having a go! Who knew exploring forces could be so much fun? 🌿💚💛 #KindergartenScience #PushAndPull #HandsOnLearning #LizardLog #StPatricksParramatta #LearningIsFunAtStPats #BelongToSomethingGreater #cspd2026 #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #catholicschools #learningisfunatStPats #cspd09 Nov 2026
From Facebook
🚌🌿 Kindy's First Excursion! 🌿🚌 What an exciting milestone for our Kindergarten students as they headed off on their very first school excursion to Lizard Log with Ranger Jamie! Plenty of excitement filled the air as our youngest learners stepped outside the classroom for a day of discovery, experiments, and hands-on learning. Exploring how things move, students became little scientists, asking questions, testing ideas and discovering that learning can happen anywhere! What a wonderful first excursion and a special memory in their Kindergarten journey! 💚💛 #Kindergarten #FirstExcursion #LearningBeyondTheClassroom #StPatricksParramatta #LearningIsFunAtStPats #BelongToSomethingGreater #cspd2026 #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #catholicschools #learningisfunatStPats #cspd
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10 Nov 2026
From Facebook
🏎️🔬 Ready, Set, Move! 🔬🏎️ Our Kindergarten scientists were busy putting things into motion during their excursion to Lizard Log with Ranger Jamie! From experimenting with a go-kart to testing their strength in a game of tug-of-war, students explored how pushing and pulling forces make things move. There was plenty of teamwork, laughter, and scientific discovery as they learnt by doing, testing, and having a go! Who knew exploring forces could be so much fun? 🌿💚💛 #KindergartenScience #PushAndPull #HandsOnLearning #LizardLog #StPatricksParramatta #LearningIsFunAtStPats #BelongToSomethingGreater #cspd2026 #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #catholicschools #learningisfunatStPats #cspd
09 Nov 2026
From Facebook
🚌🌿 Kindy's First Excursion! 🌿🚌 What an exciting milestone for our Kindergarten students as they headed off on their very first school excursion to Lizard Log with Ranger Jamie! Plenty of excitement filled the air as our youngest learners stepped outside the classroom for a day of discovery, experiments, and hands-on learning. Exploring how things move, students became little scientists, asking questions, testing ideas and discovering that learning can happen anywhere! What a wonderful first excursion and a special memory in their Kindergarten journey! 💚💛 #Kindergarten #FirstExcursion #LearningBeyondTheClassroom #StPatricksParramatta #LearningIsFunAtStPats #BelongToSomethingGreater #cspd2026 #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #catholicschools #learningisfunatStPats #cspd
08 Nov 2026
From Facebook
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30 Oct 2026
From Facebook
💚💛 Happy World Teachers’ Day! 💛💚 Today, we celebrate and thank the dedicated educators who make St Patrick’s such a special place to learn and grow. Each of our teachers brings unique gifts, talents, knowledge, and passion to our school community. Together, they create classrooms where students feel valued, supported, challenged and inspired to be their best. While today is a day of celebration, the care, commitment, and dedication shown every day throughout the year truly make a difference in our students' lives. To our wonderful teachers, thank you for all that you give, the relationships you build and the difference you make, often in ways you may never fully realise. Happy World Teachers’ Day! We are so fortunate to have you as part of our St Patrick’s community. 🍎✨ #WorldTeachersDay #ThankYouTeachers #StPatricksParramatta #CatholicSchools #BelongToSomethingGreater #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #learningisfunatStPats #cspd
26 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🧶 Knitting Together with Love and Care ❤️ Our talented Knitting Club students have been busy putting their creativity and patience to work! Over the last two terms, they have come together each week to knit squares. Some students have continued this gift at home and have often been supported by their grandparents or aunts, who have also joined the fun. Ms Fabri shares her skills by joining the squares together to create beautiful blankets full of love. The blankets created will be passed on to the wider community to those in need. Through this wonderful initiative, students are putting Catholic Social Teaching into action by demonstrating solidarity, compassion, and a commitment to the common good. They are learning that even the smallest contributions, when brought together, can make a meaningful difference. For many students, knitting was a brand-new skill, but they can carry it with them for a lifetime! A heartfelt thank you to our dedicated students for their time, patience and efforts, and to Ms Fabri for sharing her skills and bringing all those squares together. One stitch at a time, our students are weaving kindness into something special! 🧶❤️
24 Oct 2026
From Facebook
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23 Oct 2026
From Facebook
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22 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🎨🐦 When Teachers Become the Learners! 🐦🎨 Our staff began Term 4 with a Professional Learning Day to explore the new Creative Arts K–6 Syllabus, which will be implemented in 2027. The day balanced unpacking the syllabus changes, exploring the four interrelated practices, and bringing the learning to life through Visual Arts. Inspired by Australian artist Brett Whiteley and his fascination with birds, our teachers became artists themselves! They investigated his work, experimented with sweeping lines, ink, watercolours, sponging and different tools before developing and creating their own bird-inspired artworks. 🖌️ Just as we encourage our students to do, our teachers explored, experimented, took creative risks and reflected on their artistic choices. A wonderful reminder that teachers are learners too, and that experiencing the learning ourselves helps us create rich and engaging opportunities for our students. We can't wait to see this creativity take flight in our classrooms next year! 💚💛 #CreativeArts #ProfessionalLearning #TeachersAsLearners #VisualArts #BrettWhiteley #StPatricksParramatta #LearningIsFunAtStPats
22 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🕰️💚 Way Back When Wednesday! 💛🕰️ It's time for another trip down memory lane as we dive into the St Patrick's archives! 📸 Can you guess the year? Here are a few clues... 🇦🇺 John Howard became Australia's Prime Minister. 🎶 The Macarena had everyone up and dancing! 🎬 Toy Story was delighting Australian cinema audiences, while Independence Day was a box-office hit. 🏅 The Olympic Games were held in Atlanta, with Australia bringing home nine gold medals. 🏉 The Manly Sea Eagles were celebrating an ARL premiership victory! Meanwhile, at St Patrick's, another generation of students was busy learning, laughing and making memories that would last a lifetime. 💚💛 Have you guessed the year? Yes, it is 1996. Do you recognise anyone in these photos, or were you part of the St Patrick's story back then? We'd love you to share your memories in the comments! #WayBackWhenWednesday #GuessTheYear #StPatricksParramatta #SchoolMemories #OurHistory #100YearsOfCatholicEducation #BelongToSomethingGreater #cspd2026 #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #catholicschools #cspd #learningisfunatStPats
20 Oct 2026
From Facebook
⚽🌍 World Cup Fever is Back at St Patrick’s! 🌍⚽ The ball hasn't even been kicked yet, but Season 2 of our Primary World Cup Soccer is already building excitement! Our Year 3 and 4 students have been gathering around the team announcements, eagerly discovering the new countries, checking out their teams and getting ready for another season of soccer fun. ⚽ Who will be the team to watch? Which country will rise to the top? And who will become our next World Cup stars? 🏆 One thing is certain: there will be plenty of teamwork, friendly competition, encouragement, and excitement! Let the games begin! 💚💛 #PrimaryWorldCup #Season2 #WorldCupFever #Stage2 #StPatricksParramatta #LearningIsFunAtStPats
19 Oct 2026
From Facebook
⚽🏆 Celebrating Our Season 1 World Cup Stars! 🏆⚽ Before we kick off Season 2, let's celebrate some wonderful achievements from our first Primary World Cup Soccer competition! Our players earned medals and special awards for their efforts on and off the field. 🏅 Golden Boot 🥅 Amazing Goalie ⭐ Most Consistent Player 🏆 Player of the Season 🛡️ Best Defence 👏 Encouraging Team Leader Congratulations to all our award recipients and every student who participated! These awards remind us that soccer is about much more than scoring goals. It's about teamwork, perseverance, encouragement, sportsmanship and giving your best. A huge thank you to Mrs Cadman for her enthusiasm and dedication in making Season 1 such a wonderful experience for our students. Now, bring on Season 2! ⚽💚💛 #PrimaryWorldCup #Season1 #CelebratingAchievement #Teamwork #StPatricksParramatta #learningisfunatstpats #BelongToSomethingGreater #cspd2026 #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #catholicschools #cspd #learningisfunatStPats
18 Oct 2026
From Facebook
💚💛 The Sound of St. Patrick’s is Back! 💛💚 There’s something special about the sound of a playground filled with laughter, chatter and the excitement of friends seeing each other again! After the quiet of the holidays, St. Patrick’s energy returned quickly on Tuesday. From happy reunions to friends greeting each other like they hadn’t seen each other in years, our playground was full of life again! 😊 We’re already a week into Term 4, and it's a wonderful reminder that the people make our school such a special place to belong. Welcome back, everyone! Here's to a fantastic final term of learning, friendship and making memories together. 💚💛 #WelcomeBack #Term4 #StPatricksParramatta #Belonging #learningisfunatstpats #BelongToSomethingGreater #cspd2026 #100yearsofcatholiceducation #learningisfunatstpatsparramatta #catholicschools #cspd