Curriculum

 

The Victorian Curriculum

The Victorian Curriculum is compulsory in all Victorian Government Schools, and outlines what every student should learn during their first 11 years of primary school. The curriculum is based on a common set of knowledge and skills required by students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship.

The Victorian Curriculum encompasses the Australian Curriculum, and tailors it to the priorities and standards expected in our State. The Victorian Curriculum F–10 sets out a single, coherent and comprehensive set of content descriptions and associated achievement standards to enable teachers to plan, monitor, assess and report on the learning achievement of every student. (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority)

At Amsleigh Park our expert teaching staff are skilled users of the Victorian Curriculum, and undertake a range of long and short term planning to implement the content at each year level. In the Victorian Curriculum learning is seen as a continuum, with skills and knowledge developed and built on each school year. Concepts are generally revisited each year, as children continue to grow and develop, and can build upon previous learning.

The Victorian Curriculum in Primary school encompasses the following learning areas:
English
Mathematics
Science
Technologies

  • Design and Technologies
  • Digital Technologies

The Arts

  • Dance
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Visual Arts

Health and Physical Education
The Humanities

  • Civics and Citizenship
  • Economics and Business
  • Geography
  • History

Languages

In addition to these learning areas there are also four capabilities that include-

  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Ethical
  • Intercultural
  • Personal and Social

The capabilities are included and taught through the eight learning areas, and are incorporated all throughout the learning program.

For detailed information about the Victorian Curriculum please visit the VCAA website located at:
https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/

Literacy

At Amsleigh Park Primary School our Literacy Program is one in which reading, writing, speaking and listening are integrated in a supportive and stimulating environment to foster independent, reflective and critical thinking.

Students in Prep, Grade 1 and 2 participate in a daily structured literacy block to enhance their phonological knowledge and language comprehension in line with the simple view of reading.

The simple view of Reading

Decoding x Language comprehension = Reading Comprehension

Our Structured Literacy approach is based on the Science of Reading Principles and includes focus on student oral language skills whilst targeting phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency comprehension and vocabulary. Part of our approach to structured literacy includes explicit teaching of a systematic synthetic phonics approach.

All Amsleigh Park PS Prep to Grade 2 teachers are trained Sounds-Write practitioners, so they are fully qualified to implement this program.  Sounds-Write provides teachers with a comprehensive system in which to teach reading, spelling and writing and offers students a highly structured, explicit, instructional approach. Students in P – 2 have access to the online resource, Nessy, to support their development of their reading skills at home and at school.

Focuses include the following:

  • Encoding & decoding: to support students to ‘crack the code’ of the alphabet by learning the specific speech sounds in English through blending and segmenting. Encoding allows students to hear sounds within a word and write the letter/code that they can hear. It also aids in building spelling skills.
  • Phonemic Awareness: during daily Literacy block to identify and manipulate sounds in words orally.
  • Multi-Sensory Activities: to build pathways in the brain in which all senses (seeing, hearing, touching and movement) are activated at the same time to promote learning.

In Grades 3 -6, word study continues with etymology and morphology (including prefixes and suffixes) and students continue to progress as they master the skills required. Our Education Support Staff provide Toe-by-Toe reading support for those in grades 3 – 6 who need additional assistance.

All students are exposed to high quality rich texts through class novels and class novel studies, shared text and literature circles.  Explicit instruction is provided for comprehension strategies and vocabulary, and to help tune in to author’s purpose and strategies used to engage the reader so students can see clear links between reading and writing.

Throughout P – 6 students learn to write different text types, such as narratives, persuasives, procedures, reports and explanations. The structure of writing genres is built throughout each year level to support student cognitive load and retrieval of skills. Teachers use a wide range of strategies dependent on student need including modelled, shared and guided writing and work with students to build an understanding of grammar and syntax to improve writing outcomes for all students. All students have a writer’s notebook in which they can plan and brainstorm ideas and practice strategies to support their writing efforts.

Each year we promote and celebrate our love of literacy with events such as; Premier’s Reading Challenge, National Book Week, Book Week, Author Visits, Poetry Competitions and Literacy Week activities. Students are also celebrated at assembly on a regular basis through our Reading Nights Award program with the aim of reading of for a minimum of 200 nights for the school year. We have a well-resourced and vibrant School Library that students visit each week with their teacher and can borrow books that they can enjoy at home with their families.

Teachers use the approaches and the strategies listed in the Department of Education’s Literacy Toolkit to develop a love for reading and writing. At Amsleigh Park, we provide purposeful, relevant and meaningful activities to support students lifelong learning of literacy and are proud to say that our students really are 21st century learners.

Mathematics

Mathematics Mathematics provides students with access to important mathematical ideas, knowledge and skills that they will draw on in their personal and work lives. The curriculum also provides students, as life-long learners, with the basis on which further study and research in mathematics and applications in many other fields are built. (Victorian Curriculum 2015)

Mathematics is core learning for all children at Amsleigh Park Primary School. Throughout their primary school education our students undertake an engaging and sequential Mathematics program based on the Victorian Curriculum. The Mathematics curriculum is organised by the three strands of Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability.

For detailed information about the Mathematics Curriculum you can visit:

http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/mathematics/introduction/rationale-and-aims

Consistent with the Victorian Curriculum, the Mathematics program at Amsleigh Park Primary School aims to ensure that students:

  • develop useful mathematical and numeracy skills for everyday life, work and as active and critical citizens in a technological world
  • see connections and apply mathematical concepts, skills and processes to pose and solve problems in mathematics and in other disciplines and contexts
  • acquire specialist knowledge and skills in mathematics that provide for further study in the discipline
  • appreciate mathematics as a discipline – its history, ideas, problems and applications, aesthetics and philosophy

At Amsleigh Park Primary School we recognise that developing vital knowledge and skills in Mathematics will enable our students to become highly competent in Numeracy both in understanding and skills.

Inquiry

Why Inquiry?

Amsleigh Park values student engagement and the fostering of inquiring minds. We approach this through Inquiry based learning. Inquiry Learning is a different way of teaching and learning that enables students to expand their minds in a creative and innovative way. It aims to create learners who are divergent thinkers, collaborative, self-directed and effective communicators and researchers. It aims to remove boundaries between subjects by structuring an Inquiry around a whole school concept and an Essential Question. It is within this framework, that our students explore several curriculum areas which are part of our current VELS Curriculum and the new National Curriculum. These areas, which are reflected within our 2 year Inquiry cycle include- history, economics, geography, science and civics and citizenship.

What are our Inquiry Concepts?

Each year there are 4 key concepts which are addressed at a whole school level – from Prep to Year 6.

Responsibility and Impact (for example- a science and civics and citizenship based Inquiry, where we conduct an environmental study of the impact of humans on our natural environment).

Change (for example- a historical investigation as to how our local, national and global societies have changed over time).

Function (for example, a science and technology based inquiry into the physical, chemical and biological changes that occur in a wide variety of settings).

Perspective (for example- an economical investigation into the rights of productivity in our nation and neighbouring ones).

 

Skills of Inquiry

As an addition to the curriculum areas which are focused upon, our students at Amsleigh Park Primary School foster many skills of Inquiry which help to scaffold their conceptual and individual learning.

These skills include-

  • We are Thinkers
  • We are Communicators
  • We are Researchers
  • We are Team Members
  • We are Self- Managers

These Essential Skills of Inquiry are not taught in isolation rather they are embedded throughout all areas of the curriculum, including, literacy and numeracy.

Physical Education

At Amsleigh Park Primary School we strongly promote healthy lifestyles and student participation in physical activity. Our Physical Education (PE) program aims to develop our students Fundamental Motor Skills and their ability to apply these skills to sport-specific situations. In PE sessions our students enjoy participating in a variety of sports and minor games, including gymnastics, athletics, court sports and field sports.

All students participate in a weekly specialist lesson taken by our Physical Education Teacher and one additional session with their classroom teacher. All Physical Education and sport sessions are inclusive of engaging programs that further enhance Fundamental Motor Skills and develop knowledge and understanding of minor and major games/sports.

We offer many opportunities for participation in sport including-

  • Interschool Sport Program: Our 5/6 students play organised matches against neighbouring schools in the Oakleigh District. Summer sports include- softball, basketball, rounders and cricket. Winter sports include- football, soccer, netball and Volleystars (modified volleyball). Students also compete in Gala days, a Basketball Round Robin, Cross Country and an Athletics Carnival. Interschool Sport provides a wonderful opportunity to practice skills, sportsmanship and game etiquette as well as meet students who could attend the same secondary school as some of our students in future years. Our 3/4 students also have some opportunities to compete against other schools in cross country, athletics, a Cricket Gala day and a Footy 9’s Gala day. As members of School Sport Victoria, successful teams and individuals have a pathway to State Championships.
  • Perceptual Motor Program (PMP): Our PMP program helps to promote balance, locomotion skills, hand/eye co-ordination, as well as body space awareness, auditory and visual memory. Our Prep students participate in this program with the support of their teacher and parents.
  • Bike Education: Our Grade 4 and 5 students complete a week long Bike Education course. The course aims to provide our students with the skills of becoming a competent bike rider as well giving them an appreciation for road awareness and safety. Bike Ed consists of a series of cycling activities and on-road simulations.
  • Swimming: Our students participate in a nine day intensive swimming program which operates at the Doug Ellis Swimming Pool at Monash University. Participation in the program not only teaches healthy living and the swim skills necessary for enjoyable leisure time activities around water, but also focuses on the essential water safety skills that may save their own or the life of another.

We also offer some amazing extra-curricular activities for those students who just can’t get enough sport.

  • Aerobics: Amsleigh Park has a very successful aerobics program. We have dedicated teachers who coach competitive teams and a development squad. Amsleigh Park teams compete in the ‘Schoolaerobics State Championships’ and are five-time National Finalists. In 2011, our ‘Primary Stage 2’ team won the Australian Championships in Tasmania and in 2015, our ‘Creative Stage’ team won the Australian Championships in Queensland. Students in Year 3 – 6 audition for a place in the competitive teams, which train after school. The Development Squad is open to anyone who is eager to learn. Our students train at lunchtimes and afterschool under the dedicated coaching of our staff.
  • Lunch time Tournaments: At different times throughout the year, students have the opportunity to participate in lunch time tournaments. Some competitions that run throughout the year include- The Amsleigh Open (a bat tennis tournament), The Amsleigh Cup (a soccer tournament) and a dodgeball tournament. Students can also volunteer to referee matches, enabling them to develop their confidence and knowledge of the rules and scoring systems.
  • Happy Feet Running Club: Participants can choose to jog, walk or run around the school 500m running track during recess. Laps are recorded so students can keep track of how far they have run. The club is an enjoyable way for students to keep fit and provides an opportunity for setting personal goals. Certificates are presented to students to recognise individual achievements.

At Amsleigh Park Primary School we love our Physical Education and Sport program and as a school community we are committed to promoting and upholding our school motto, ‘Our Best Always’ and school values in all sporting environments.

Arts

At Amsleigh Park Primary School our art teachers are very passionate and enthusiastic about what they do and engage the children in a broad range of art experiences. The students are provided with a variety of different materials to create and make 2 and 3 dimensional works in a well resourced arts space.

There is an emphasis within the program to develop conceptual understanding and to foster creative thinking and problem solving skills.

Our program focuses on the five elements of art- line, shape, colour, pattern and texture. These elements are taught through the media of painting, drawing, modelling, construction, threads and textiles, collage and mark making.

During their time at Amsleigh Park the children will experience two Art Shows where their works are show cased to the school community. Work is displayed around the school and we encourage parents to look at and enjoy the children’s works of art.

Performing Arts

At Amsleigh Park, we are determined to provide our students with the skills necessary to become confident, contributing and resourceful global citizens. For this reason, we have developed a comprehensive Performing Arts program. Research has demonstrated that children who participate in Arts based learning programs including visual and performing arts, not only develop skills which can support fundamental curriculum skills, but also develop the following attributes which are needed in their future lives such as; creativity, confidence, problem solving, perseverance, focus, non-verbal communication skills, ability to receive constructive feedback, collaboration, dedication and accountability.

Performing Arts is a structured program which is provided for all students from Prep to Grade 6. Students engage throughout the year in all aspects of Performing Arts, including Music, Drama and in the older years, Digital Technologies. The focus is on learning core concepts for music whilst also enjoying the opportunity to develop performance skills. Collaboration and confidence are both enhanced significantly through Performing Arts sessions. Singing is a fundamental component of the learning and a great favourite with our students.

Within music, students learn fundamental concepts including beat, rhythm, dynamics, pitch, composition, sound-scapes and singing. From Grade 3, students are introduced to a tuned musical instrument, with all children learning how to play the Soprano Descant Recorder. Through this, our students are able to develop their ability to correctly play the recorder while also learning how to read a basic musical score. Students also explore the use of technologies within music from composition and reconstruction using apps and programs such as Audacity, Garage Band and SuperDooper Music Looper.

Our Dramatic Arts program provides our students with an opportunity to develop confidence, problem solving skills and articulation. Students participate in role playing, drama games, improvising, miming and characterisations. Our senior students learn to work collaboratively with others in a group to rehearse and perform plays where the essential skills of volume, pace, characterisation, expression and articulation are explored and enhanced.

Performance is another essential component of our program. Over the year our students showcase different skills developed in both music and drama by performing to our assembly audiences. In recent performances, our Grade 5 and 6 students performed a Flash Mob and a cup percussion piece. Performing to a larger audience, particularly through our annual whole school production is also a highlight for all of our students.

We are very proud of our Performing Arts program here at Amsleigh Park Primary School and feel confident that we are providing the very best opportunities for our students to holistically develop their creativity, confidence, perseverance, collaboration and determination.

Languages – German

Our students at Amsleigh Park have the wonderful opportunity to learn German from Prep to Year 6. Each student has a 60 minute lesson each week. Our program focuses on offering our students the opportunity to learn aspects of the culture and the language spoken officially by more than 120 million people in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland and in parts of several other countries

The AusVels states that “In learning a language, students develop communication skills and knowledge and come to understand social, historical, familial relationships and other aspects of the specific language and culture of the speakers of the language they are studying. Learners are also provided with the tools, through comparison and reflection, to understand language, culture and humanity in a broad sense. In this way, language learning contributes to the development of interculturally aware citizens, of increasing importance at a time of rapid and deep globalisation”.

As a school member of the Association of German Teachers of Victoria (AGTV), Amsleigh Park receives support from the Goethe Institute Australia and from the AGTV in order to maximise students’ learning opportunities.

AGTV German Poetry Competition

APPS holds the annual Regional Finals of the AGTV German Poetry Competition and approximately 9 Primary and Secondary schools from our Network take part.

Each year some of our students represent Amsleigh Park and our Network at the State Finals at the Austrian Club.

STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics 

Anyone want to become a robot engineer or perhaps Rocket Scientist in future? Thinking about developing the next great computer game or App? Then maybe STEM learning is for you. All students from Prep to Grade 6 at Amsleigh Park undertake STEM learning through our specialist learning programs. 

With recent emphasis on the importance of learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), we have introduced this important learning into the Amsleigh Park Primary School Curriculum to complement our existing ICT learning program. Developing skills in STEM is vital for our students as it promotes problem solving, deep thinking and the development of logic. Learning in this area is also highly engaging, and may support our students in preparing for STEM related careers predicted to evolve over the next 10-20 years.

There are many excellent resources for learning about coding such as Scratch, Tynker and Lightbot. M-Bots, Sphero, B-Bots, Drones, Lego Mindstorm robots and Lego Technic are excellent resources for teaching STEM, and our students love using these learning materials. Mathematics Extension and participation in the Mathematics Olympiad and Mathematics games, and Tournament of the Minds also provide great opportunities for developing specific skills in Mathematics and Engineering challenges.

We are very excited by the possibilities in this area and have plans to continue developing further learning opportunities in this area as new resources and technological changes emerge. 

 

 

Extra Curriculum

Amsleigh Park Primary School offers a number of extra curriculum activities. These include-

  • Keyboard/piano
  • Guitar
  • Aerobics
  • Kelly Sports
  • Calisthenics
  • Chess Club
  • Soccer X
  • Leigh Club (Choir)
  • Class Support (additional education support)
  • School Wide transition program
  • Cyber Awareness Program
  • Leadership
  • Peer Support

International Student Program

CRICOS code – Department of Education & Training, 00861K

At Amsleigh Park Primary School we are committed to the promotion of international understanding and cultural respect within our school and in the wider community.

We offer an International Students program designed to provide a personalised educational for our students. We offer our students a highly supportive learning environment, EAL (English as an Additional Language) support and a secure and safe location.

We welcome students from around the world and are delighted to offer a study program to support their academic success and wellbeing whilst in Melbourne.

 

International Student Contact at Amsleigh Park Primary School

Name: Michael Cormick
Telephone Number: 03 9544 1553
Email: amsleigh.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au

 

Applying for a place at Amsleigh Park Primary School

Applications from international students are handled by the International Education Division of the Department. For information about the International Students Program in Victoria please refer to the following website:

www.study.vic.gov.au

Enquiries relating to Overseas Students should be directed to the International Education Division:

Telephone: +61 3 9637 2990
E-mail: international@edumail.vic.gov.au

Please visit the Department of Education and Training Website for any other information.

www.education.vic.gov.au

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