All students at St. Mark's Primary School, from Foundation/Grade Prep to Grade 6, are involved in the LANGUAGES Program. The target language taught at St. Mark's is Italian, and each class receives a lesson per week of this discipline-based learning. The dual focus is to enhance the development of students' overall communication skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking through 'immersing' them in the Italian language as much as possible; and to foster a greater awareness, understanding and appreciation of the Italian culture through a range of meaningful activities with an emphasis on history and traditions.

In addition to engaging in the celebrations of 'Italian Day' - an annual highlight of the LANGUAGES Program - students also regularly experience Italian stories, performances, songs, music, dances, games and art during their weekly Italian sessions. Opportunities are provided each year for students to take part in Victoria-wide poster and multimedia competitions run by respected organizations such as the Dante Alighieri Society of Melbourne and the Victorian Association of Teachers of Italian (VATI) which actively promote the diffusion of the language and culture of Italy. Each year also, Grade 5 and 6 students participate in the Italian Poetry Recital Competition, established by Penola Secondary College, which involves numerous schools in the vicinity. As well as being a source of linguistic and cultural enrichment, the various competitions have resulted in frequent and significant success for students of St. Mark's.