Visible Learning
St. Joseph’s Primary is an accredited Visible Learning School. We believe visible learners have high expectations of themselves within their learning. Learners are not afraid to ask questions or make mistakes and are guided to self-regulate their learning. At St. Joseph’s we believe that
learners are capable of reaching beyond their current reality through the use of effective feedback in an environment of support and trust. At St. Joseph’s we believe in the celebration of learning progress. We are
influenced by collaborative and reflective practices. School leaders guide the school climate and focus on the quality and impact of learning and teaching within the school.
Learning Attitudes
Students are introduced to learning attitudes from their enrollment in Foundation to guide them in becoming Assessment Capable Learners. These attitudes are lived by students, staff and families. These include being a Persistent Possum, Risk Taker Turtle, Creative Kangaroo, Independent Echidna and Cooperative Kookaburra.
St Joseph’s Primary School utilises Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The values that underpin and guide student behaviour, expectation and behavioural education are known as the ‘3 B’s’:
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Be Safe
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Be Respectful
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Be Responsible
Persistent Possum
Risk Taking Turtle
Creative Kangaroo
Independent Echidna
Cooperative Kookaburra
Catholic Identity
At St Joseph’s, we enjoy the experience of gathering together in Prayer and worship through regular school Masses and Liturgies. We warmly welcome families to attend these special occasions.
All students who have been baptised have the opportunity to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation from Year 3 onwards.
Preparation for the Sacraments takes the form of Religious Education classes, Commitment Masses and Family Faith Nights lead by our Catholic Identity Leader. Catholic students who attend government or private schools in the local area are welcomed into the program.
Literacy
At St Joseph’s, we have a firm belief that all students can reach their full potential in Literacy through the use of explicit and systematic instruction. Drawing on the Science of Reading, our goal is to equip students with the skills necessary to master the English language in both the written and spoken form.
The instructional approach in Reading focuses on the Six Essential Components of Effective Instruction, targeting students' development in Oral Language, Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Comprehension through explicitly planned lessons tailored to all student needs.
The Literacy block incorporates daily Sounds-Write lessons to equip students with the necessary skills for accurate reading and spelling.
Sounds-Write is an evidence-based, systematic and explicit approach to teaching reading and spelling. We start by breaking down words into phonemes to build strong decoding and spelling skills. Students progress through the structured lessons, incorporating activities for phonemic awareness, blending, segmenting, and reading.
In the domain of Writing, evidence-based strategies are employed to create engaging and authentic writing experiences, with students participating in sentence-level writing activities before applying their skills to extended pieces across various genres through planning, composing, editing, and publishing.
Numeracy
At St. Joseph’s Primary School, Numeracy focuses primarily on building students' conceptual understanding of Number from the early stages of Foundation. Sessions involve a lot of hands-on learning using concrete materials, open ended, rich tasks that build problem solving and reasoning skills, targeted small and whole group explicit instruction, and building student mathematical vocabulary through the use of daily keywords.
Teachers use various assessment methods, such as an online Essential Assessment platform, NAPLAN, ACER, student work samples and classroom observations to make sure data is triangulated and accurate to gain a deeper insight into students' mathematical understanding.
Inquiry
Inquiry learning is a student-centred and creative approach that emphasises ownership of learning. The Victorian Curriculum is employed to seamlessly integrate different learning areas into each inquiry. Students engage in collaborative groups, utilising technology to explore real-world issues within the context of their school, family, local community, and beyond.
Digital Technology
St. Joseph’s use of technology in teaching and learning aims to expand the learning environment beyond the walls of the classroom, to give students the capacity to collaborate, share information and experiences and take control of their learning in ways not previously possible.
St Joseph’s provides every student access to his or her own Apple iPad in a wireless environment. Students participate in an extensive, ‘Digital Citizenship’ program that ensures students are educated in acceptable, respectful and safe usage of technology.
Parents are offered the opportunity to participate in school information evenings led by ICT Cyber Safety experts to support and educate parents with technology in the home environment. All classrooms are equipped with Apple Wireless portable TV’s to enhance learning and collaboration.
Visual Arts
Visual Arts supports students to view the world through various lenses and contexts. Students learn and experiment with various techniques and develop understanding of world cultures and their responsibilities as global citizens. Students develop plans and create pieces of textured art, incorporating a range of materials. You will see examples of student work throughout our school buildings showcasing the many forms of Art experienced by our students.. St Joseph’s offers Visual Arts as a specialist subject, with all students receiving one session per week from our Specialist Art Teacher.
Performing Arts
St. Joseph’s offers a specialised Performing Arts program that focuses on Drama and Music. Each year our students perform in either a School Production or Concert. Each semester the school offers children from Grade 3 onwards, the opportunity to join the St. Joseph’s school choir. This group actively performs in our special Masses and events throughout the year.
Private guitar lessons are conducted at school. Please ask at the office for more information.
Japanese
St. Joseph’s offers Japanese as a secondary language for students from Foundation to Grade 6, which includes many cultural experiences and understanding of the Japanese language, Hiragana. Each year students have the opportunity to participate in the Japanese speech competition. Incursions are organised throughout the year to allow students to gain a visual and interactive experience of Japanese culture.
Physical Education
Physical Education focuses on explicitly developing the movement skills and concepts that students require to participate in physical activities with competence and confidence. The knowledge, understanding, skills and dispositions students develop through movement in Physical Education leads to positive health outcomes. Through focused, weekly sessions led by our specialist teacher students participate in a curriculum that is wide, relevant, challenging, enjoyable and physically active. Our students have opportunities to participate in numerous inter-school competitions, such as District Athletics, District Swimming, Cross Country, inter-school netball, inter-school football, District Soccer etc.
Assessment & Reporting
At St. Joseph's we believe that:
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Assessment and reporting must be meaningful, purposeful and relevant to the parents, students and teachers.
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Assessment and reporting should reflect the uniqueness and giftedness of the whole person. -
Assessment and reporting is a continual and developmental process.
At St. Joseph's we aim to:
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Ensure planning for assessment and reporting is part of the planning of Teaching and Learning.
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Ensure assessment and reporting is relevant to children's learning.
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Ensure that the parents and where appropriate, the student, understand the reporting of the student learning.
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Ensure the feedback from parents and students about reporting processes is actively sought.
Term 1
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A questionnaire is sent home to parents asking parents "Tell me about your child". This information is a way of getting to know the individual needs of each of the students.
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Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet Meetings are held early in the term to enable parents and the teacher to exchange information about the child.
Term 2
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Mid Year reports are available online (towards the end of the term). Parents access these on the Parent Access Module (PAM) using the SIMON app.
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Learning Conversations are held shortly after the parents have seen the student reports.
Term 3
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Parent/Teacher Interviews are held at the request of either the parents or the classroom teacher on a needs basis.
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PSG (Program Support Group) meetings are held each semester, alternate to Parent Teacher Conversations.
Term 4
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End of Year reports are available online (towards the end of the term). Parents access these on the Parent Access Module (PAM) using the SIMON app.
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Learning Conversations are held shortly after the parents have seen the students' reports.
Learning Diversity
‘Learning Diversity’ refers to the infinite variety of life experiences and attributes a child brings to their formal learning at school. All students with diverse learning needs have a right to access a full and engaging education on the same basis as their peers.’
CECV Horizons of Hope Foundation Statement: Learning Diversity in Catholic Schools, 2017.
At St Joseph’s we recognise that sometimes a student’s academic, physical or social and emotional learning needs can be very different from those of their peers. We value a collaborative approach to student learning and seek effective ways to meet the needs of all learners. We differentiate the curriculum in each classroom to ensure that we cater to the individual needs of students and know that some students need additional support to experience success with their learning.
We work collaboratively with parents and allied health specialists to provide support academically, physically, socially or emotionally to students. We draw upon a suite of evidence based intervention programs to support Reading, Writing, Spelling, Mathematics and Social Skill development.
At St Joseph’s, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive school of all learners. A range of tiered support and programs are offered for students of all abilities. The St Joseph’s Learning Diversity Leader is available to answer any questions in regards to the support available to the diverse learners in our school community.
