TEACHING & LEARNING
ST JOSEPH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL BLACK ROCK
At St Joseph’s, our purpose is to provide learning and teaching which responds to the unique educational needs of each child. A calm, happy and purposeful atmosphere is fostered within a caring community. An active partnership is encouraged between children, parents, governors and teachers. High standards are promoted by expecting pupils to work hard and to persevere in all areas of the curriculum. Our intention will be to help each pupil realise his or her maximum potential in terms of
personal, social and educational development.
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EDUCATION IN FAITH
Morning Prayer & Meditation
Each morning, each class gathers for prayer and meditation. Meditation connects students to their spiritual self, develops awareness, improves concentration, wellbeing and sense of self. Prayer connects students to God through intentions and silent reflection.
School Masses, Liturgies & Sacramental Program
Class masses and liturgies throughout the year provide members of our school community with the opportunity to live and express our Catholic tradition. The role of the Parish and school community is to support and formalise the faith formation of students that is nurtured in the home.
Sacramental Program
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Reconciliation: Grade 3
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First Eucharist: Grade 4
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Confirmation: Grade 5/6 (every second year)
St Joseph’s Catholic Identity is deepened as we work towards a more just and fair world because we believe it is a necessary response to the Gospel values and a matter of justice. We work together as a community to fulfil the core mission of giving prominence to the Gospel and person of Jesus Christ as well as Catholic Social Teaching principles.
Aims of Religious Education
The aims of Religious Education at St Joseph’s Primary School Black Rock are to develop an awareness of, an understanding of, a response to and a celebration of the life of:
God The Father,
our Creator, whose very being is Truth and Love and who communicates with us and calls us into relationships of love and life.
Jesus The Christ,
the Son of God, who is 'the way, the truth and the life' (John14:6) who leads us to intimate communion with him and to reconciliation and unity with all of humanity.
The Holy Spirit,
God's gift, the third divine person of the Trinity, who leads us to an understanding of God's presence in our lives, who assists us to develop Christian values and attitudes, and who is actively present in the Church, guiding and renewing its mission.
The Church;
the community of believers, founded on Jesus' life and message, within which we experience and celebrate being members of God's family.
The Wider World;
where in we come to an appreciation of God's creation, an awareness of the needs of other people, and make a response of Christian service, justice, compassion and love in helping to build up and renew this world.
The Goals for Religious Education at St Joseph’s Primary School Black Rock are to:
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foster a Christian environment which permeates all aspects of school life;
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bear witness to the love of God for all people;
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draw on students' life experiences, thus providing a meaningful context for faith development;
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provide opportunities for the spiritual growth and development of each member of the school community
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work in partnership with the parish community and with parents.
ENGLISH
English is a core component of each day for every child from Foundation-6. Teaching in this area is well informed by a variety of assessment activities and teacher professional learning on a weekly basis. We are fortunate to have many excellent physical and digital resources to support student learning.
The study of English is central to the learning and development of all children. It is important for students to be actively involved in reading and viewing, writing, and speaking and listening to texts. By making and comparing and talking about a wide range of texts; fictional, factual, non-print and multimodal texts and to use them to understand how language functions, and how to explore ideas and think critically. By understanding and working with texts, students acquire the knowledge, skills and personal qualities that enable them to read, view and listen critically and to think, speak and write clearly and confidently as lifelong learners.
The English program aims to develop in students:
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the ability to speak, listen, read and write effectively with confidence, purpose and enjoyment.
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a knowledge of listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing, creating and reflecting on, increasingly complex and sophisticated spoken, written and multimodal texts across a growing range of contexts with accuracy, fluency and purpose.
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a knowledge of the ways in which language varies according to context, purpose, audience, content and the capacity to apply this knowledge.
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a broad knowledge of a range of texts and a capacity to relate this to aspects of contemporary society and personal experience.
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the capacity to discuss and analyse texts and language critically.
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appreciation, enjoyment and use of the English language in all its variations: to develop a sense of its richness and power to evoke feelings, convey information, form ideas, facilitate interactions with others, entertain, persuade and argue.
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to understand how Standard Australian English works in its spoken and written forms and in combination with non-linguistic forms of communication to create meaning
English at St Joseph’s Primary School is well supported through a variety of programs:
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CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanded vocabulary) for the years 3 & 4 - centred around individual conferencing when reading with the teacher, small guided teaching reading groups, individually assigning reading goals and self-monitoring through teacher guidance
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Seven Steps to Successful Writing (an approach that chunks the writing into seven main techniques, planning, sizzling starts, tightening tension, dynamic dialogue, show- don’t tell, ban the boring & exciting endings
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SMART Spelling is a whole-school approach to teaching spelling. It’s emphasis is on meaning and vocabulary development including sounds and letters, syllables and the most useful spelling rules. The acronym stands for Say Meaning Analyse Remember Teach
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Chromebooks 1:1 for Years 3-6
Success in this area is strongly supported by an approach to effectively ‘target’ learning activities to meet individual student’s needs. The ‘targeted learning' initiative is supported through assessments provided by ACER (Progressive Achievement Tests) and the University of Melbourne (Progression of Reading Development Assessments). The staff at St Joseph’s Primary School are committed to working collaboratively to achieve high outcomes for students.
MATHEMATICS
Through the teaching of Mathematics, we endeavour to enhance our students’ natural curiosity about the world around them and develop and preserve an interest in, and enjoyment of, mathematics, as well as develop the fundamentals on which mathematical specialties and professional applications of mathematics are built.
We enable all students to achieve success in an environment of high expectations and continuous improvement. This begins with the fundamental assumption of equity - the belief that all students can learn and should be given rich and challenging opportunities to do so. Therefore, teaching Mathematics with high expectations for all students ensures greater understanding for every student.
At St Joseph’s Primary School all children are encouraged and assisted to:
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Develop an appreciation, curiosity and enjoyment of mathematics.
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Acquire the mathematical knowledge, ways of thinking and confidence to apply mathematics in real and abstract situations.
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Develop speed and accuracy in computational skills consistent with their age and stages of development
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Develop a range of strategies to become mathematical problem solvers.
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Be risk-takers and embrace mistakes as part of their learning
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Appreciate that mathematics can be used creatively in many different forms.
STEM
STEAM learning has become an important part of the learning landscape at St Joseph’s Primary School. STEM is the integration of skills from Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, applied to problem solving for real world challenges. These challenges require our students to be creative, innovative, enterprising and adaptable, with the motivation, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking purposefully.
Students at St Joseph’s Primary School have access to a broad range of technology that assists them in developing creative solutions for these problems, which allows them to be innovative and forward thinking. By equipping our students with the necessary skills to work with these challenges, it is our hope that we’re also developing the skills that will be required in many 21st century occupations.
INQUIRY
Throughout our Inquiry learning, we endeavour to engage the learner in the contemporary world by developing deep understanding about the self, others and the world, building relationships and contributing to the community, through a Catholic lense. Students engage with Technologies and Digital Learning tools and we provide opportunities for students to become reflective thinkers and develop an understanding of themselves as a learner. Our inquiry is guided by the Victorian Curriculum Capabilities: Critical & Creative Thinking, Personal & Social Capability, Ethical Understanding and Intercultural Understanding.
SPECIALIST SUBJECTS
Physical Education
Students at St Joseph’s Primary School have many opportunities to engage in physical activity and organised sports. Each week the children participate in a specialist Physical Education lesson. Each year we hold a Sports Gala Day for all students. Year 3-6 students participate in the district athletics, cross country, basketball and cricket. The Grade 5 & 6 classes participate in Inter-school sports such as football, soccer and netball. Our year 5 and 6 students participate in a Life saving senior program each year.
Environmental Science
St Joseph’s Primary School is committed to educating students that they can make a difference locally and globally, to be caretakers of the earth. Environmental Science is part of the teaching and learning that occurs throughout the curriculum. Our students have a weekly lesson where students can be involved in hands on learning about growing plants and vegetables, propagating plants, planting , composting, and associated scientific concepts
Indonesian/ Visual Arts (CLIL)
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
This is the new approach that we are taking this year in teaching Indonesian and Visual Arts. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) was launched during 1994 by University of Melbourne. In simple terms, CLIL integrates both Content Learning and Language Learning. CLIL, students learn one of their school subjects in a targeted language. They learn Indonesian at the same time as they learn visual arts.
With CLIL, learning the content and learning the language are equally important. Both are important curriculum subjects for the students, and they are developed and integrated slowly but steadily. In the long term, students learn both the content and the new language as well as, if not better than, students who study content and language in separate classes.
CLIL, then, is designed to prepare young people for the future.
