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Learning

Literacy

English at Thornbury Primary School: A Comprehensive Approach to Language Learning

At Thornbury Primary School, we understand the imperative of developing strong English skills, as they are crucial for accessing future educational opportunities. English proficiency is vital not just in our academic pursuits but also plays a significant role in our personal and social lives. It is the language through which we access all other forms of education, and thus, its mastery is of paramount importance.

Our English curriculum is intricately designed, incorporating three interrelated strands that support our students in their journey to understand and master Standard Australian English:

  1. Language: This strand focuses on building a robust knowledge of the English language and understanding its mechanics. It lays the groundwork for effective communication and language use.
  2. Literature: Here, students learn to appreciate and create literary texts, fostering a love for reading and writing. It encourages creative expression and critical thinking.
  3. Literacy: This strand is all about developing the ability to interpret and create texts for practical purposes, ensuring that our students can apply their language skills in real-world scenarios.

These strands are seamlessly integrated into all aspects of the English curriculum, including reading and viewing, writing, and speaking and listening, ensuring a holistic language learning experience.

Essential Features of English Learning

Join us at Thornbury Primary School, where we are dedicated to empowering our students with the English skills they need to excel in their educational endeavours and beyond.

Mathematics

Mathematics Vision Statement

At Thornbury Primary School students are curious and brave mathematicians who explain and show their thinking. They see mistakes as part of the learning journey and enjoy the challenge of solving real world maths problems.

Mathematics at Thornbury Primary School: A Structured and Engaging Approach

At Thornbury Primary School (TPS), we are committed to delivering a high-quality mathematics education through an evidence-based and structured approach. Our program aims to develop students' problem-solving, reasoning, fluency and understanding of the big ideas in number. Our instructional model, encompassing the stages of Review, Launch, Explore, Summarise, and Relaunch, ensures that students not only grasp but also retain mathematical concepts and skills that will prepare them well for their future.

Review: Building on Prior Knowledge

The Review stage is crucial for activating students’ prior knowledge and ensuring that previously learned information remains fresh and accessible. We believe that mathematical topics should not be taught in isolation or just once; instead, they are continually revisited and reinforced throughout the students' educational journey at TPS.

Launch: Introducing New Concepts

During the Launch stage, students are introduced to new mathematical tasks, setting the stage for exploration and discovery.

Explore: Encouraging Hands-On Learning

As students move into the Explore phase, they are encouraged to engage with concrete materials, utilise their prior knowledge, and collaborate with peers. Creativity is fostered, and different strategies and approaches to problem-solving are celebrated, creating a vibrant learning environment.

Summarise: Explicit Teaching and Application

The Summarise stage provides an opportunity for explicit teaching, allowing educators to target specific content areas. Students are then challenged to apply their newly acquired skills in a task, ensuring a deep understanding of the material.

Relaunch: Applying Learnings in New Contexts

In the Relaunch phase, students take their learnings to the next level, applying their skills in new and challenging activities, solidifying their understanding and proficiency.

A Curriculum Grounded in the Victorian Standards

Our approach to teaching mathematics is consistent across all year levels, with tasks that are rich, open-ended, and firmly grounded in the Victorian curriculum. We cover the content strands of Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability.

Fostering Proficiency and Understanding

We place a strong emphasis on developing the Proficiencies of Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, and Reasoning, ensuring that our students are not just learning mathematical procedures but truly comprehending and mastering the subject.

Join us at Thornbury Primary School, where mathematics is taught with passion, precision, and a deep commitment to student success. Discover the joy of numbers and the power of problem-solving with us!

Mainstream

At Thornbury Primary School we work towards a common goal of a differentiated learning approach as we recognise that all learners are individuals.

While Literacy and Numeracy are core aspects in the Victorian Curriculum, we also believe that learners should express creativity, through various means, towards life long learning experiences.

We are passionate about preparing students for life in the 21st century. To prepare our students for the unknowns of tomorrow, the most important thing is we teach, inspire and allow them to become great learners. The ability to learn is the most fundamental skill we must develop in our students. In our classes students have ownership of their work, set their own personal learning goals, receive feedback on their effort as well as their achievements, and they are challenged every day.

The Victorian Curriculum can be found at victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au

Steiner

Thornbury Primary School began its Steiner curriculum in 2006 after three years of preparation. We now have students from Foundation to Grade Six and have much to celebrate and be proud of. The clip below gives an overview of some aspects of the program.

The Steiner craft curriculum fosters in the child an artistic feeling that promotes harmonious rhythm and balance, and a sense of colour and aesthetics. The child develops a deep connection to the joy and satisfaction of making something with their own hands whilst developing their hand–eye coordination and manual dexterity. The child also develops a practical intelligence based on the will, discipline, cooperation, organisation and self-direction to complete a worthwhile task.

Our Steiner curriculum is within a State system and must adhere to the rules, regulations and laws of State education. Teachers in the Steiner program integrate the Victorian Curriculum, which can be found at victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au, with aspects of the national Steiner curriculum, which can be found at www.steinereducation.edu.au

To view our program in further detail please view ‘The Steiner Curriculum at Thornbury Primary School

Indigenous studies

Students at Thornbury Primary School have a wonderful opportunity to study one of the oldest living cultures in the world through the Koorie Language and Culture classes, taught by Terri Lee-Fitzpatrick.

Throughout the year, Terri teaches an Indigenous Studies program that links in with each class’ inquiry unit/main lesson, and provides an Indigenous perspective to what students are learning. The program also focuses on key Indigenous events throughout the year, such as Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC, as well as significant local and national Indigenous individuals or groups. Also covered in the program, and appropriate to curriculum requirements for each grade level, are any relevant historical and contemporary issues that are connected to these events and people.

Through acceptance of different cultures students grow more tolerant of each other. This program is unique to our school and is being monitored by other schools interested in Indigenous issues.

Terri also assists students to practice and consolidate aspects of the Woiwurrung language (spoken by the Wurundjeri people) that have been introduced at our school. It is hoped that she will be able to introduce new language in the near future, with the support of the Wurundjeri Council.