Our School Curriculum

At the start of each new year, students work with teachers to establish positive practices and protocols for working in the classroom and yard with peers and adults. Students learn our Values, our Code of Conduct, our positive behaviours and our high expectations at Albany Rise. We celebrate all this learning through our special ‘Quality Beginnings Celebration Morning’.

English

Our comprehensive approach to teaching English includes reading, writing, spelling and speaking and listening. Teachers cater for the needs of their young learners in small focus teaching groups of students with similar needs. Students work in a supportive environment where they are challenged to extend and use their English knowledge and skills in interesting, meaningful ways. A wide range of contexts are used to present a range of engaging and challenging tasks, including computer based tasks, that build on students’ prior knowledge and different learning styles.

    S.T.E.M

    At Albany Rise Primary School we strongly promote and resource learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) across all year levels. Our Year 6 students’ classrooms are based in our school STEM centre. Here students can utilise our robotics equipment, undertake engineering and science experiments, use our virtual reality devices, be creative in design, work in teams to complete hands on tasks and constructions, and learn from use a broad range of information and communications technologies. Deeper learning occurs when a cross-disciplinary approach is adopted that exposes students to a range of thinking processes, skills, content, and applications. STEM can provide students with the chance to develop their critical thinking, creativity, communication and self-direction.

    Visual Arts

    Visual arts is  powerful tool to enhance children’s learning across the curriculum. By engaging in visual arts, students can develop their literacy, numeracy, science, social studies, and other skills in a creative and meaningful way. Visual arts allows students to represent their thoughts and skills creatively and explose their imaginative power. It helps to improve fine motor skills, social skills, descision-making abilities, critical thinking skills, and logical thinking skills. 

    Physical Education

    In Health and Physical Education, students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to strengthen their sense of self, and build and manage satisfying relationships. The curriculum helps them to be resilient, and to make decisions and take actions to promote their health, safety and physical activity participation. As students mature, they develop and use critical inquiry skills to research and analyse the knowledge of the field and to understand the influences on their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing. They also learn to use resources for the benefit of themselves and for the communities with which they identify and to which they belong.

    Language Other Than English    (L.O.T.E) Mandarin

    At Albany Rise Primary School, all students from Foundation to Year six study LOTE – Languages Other Than English. Our primary language is Chinese – Mandarin and the children learn to recognise the characters, reproducing them by tracing, copying and writing them in formal calligraphy.

    Students learn about China and its place in South East Asia and the world, fostering an appreciation and respect for a different culture. The LOTE program includes the celebration of China’s festivals, demonstrations of traditional dancing, the reading of folk talks and participation in songs and games.

    Mathematics

    Mathematical thinking, skills and knowledge develop through the teaching of Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, Statistics and Probability. Small focus groups form the basis for teaching in each class and an emphasis is placed on relating Mathematics to real life and developing a range of mathematical tools to problem solve. Mathematics is an integral part of the curriculum and includes computer based learning activities, games and regular counting and place value activities as a part of daily lessons. We recognise Mathematics is a skill for life and encourage a hands-on and challenging program that caters for the needs of all students.

    Inquiry Learning

    Inquiry learning is a learner centred approach in which students actively investigate significant questions and issues about how the world works, usually focussing on the areas of health, civics, science and the humanities. Inquiry learning provides us with a framework through which we encourage children to pose and investigate questions, solve problems and be risk takers in their educational journey. We utilise the knowledge of experts from our school and the broader community at incursions, excursions and camps to enhance the learning opportunities of our students.

    Performing Arts and Music

    Performing Arts enables students to imagine and participate in exploration of their worlds, individually and collaboratively. Students actively use body, gesture, movement, voice and language, taking on roles to explore and depict real and imagined worlds. They create, rehearse, perform and respond using the elements and conventions of drama and emerging and existing technologies available to them. Students develop a movement vocabulary with which to explore and refine imaginative ways of moving both individually and collaboratively. They choreograph, perform and appreciate as they engage with dance practice and practitioners in their own and others’ cultures and communities.

    Music exists distinctively in every culture and is a basic expression of human experience. Students’ active participation in music fosters understanding of other times, places, cultures and contexts. Through continuous and sequential music learning, students listen to, compose and perform with increasing depth and complexity. Through performing, composing and listening with intent to music, students have access to knowledge, skills and understanding, which can be gained in no other way. Learning in Music is aurally based and can be understood without any recourse to notation. Learning to read and write music in traditional and graphic forms enables students to access a wide range of music as independent learners.

    Monitoring of a Students Curriculum Progress

    Reporting and Assessment

    Every student receives two reports each year (distributed in June and December). The teachers indicate the students progress and level of performance. Teachers also write comprehensive comments about students achievements and identify areas of improvements.

    Parent/Teacher Interviews

    We commence each year by inviting all parents to attend our Level information nights to learn about the classroom routines and programs. Following our information nights parents and are invited to a ‘Meet and Greet’ evening to meet the classroom teacher and share information about their child.During the year parents are welcome to make an appointment to meet with teachers before or after school. Parent/teacher interviews or 3- way conferences (student/parent/teacher) occur soon after mid year reports. Parents of students with Individual Learning Plan’s participate in regular support meetings with the classroom teacher. Students in Levels 3-6 participate in a 3-way conference. This allows each student to show their parents their work and their learning with teacher support.

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