The content of the Victorian F-10 includes both knowledge and skills. These are defined by learning areas and capabilities. Schools have considerable flexibility in the design of their teaching and learning programs.
Victorian Curriculum includes
- Literacy – reading and viewing, writing, speaking and listening
- Mathematics – number and algebra, measurement and geometry, statistics and probability
- Health and Physical Education
- Geography
- History
- Science
- Design and digital technologies
- Civics and citizenship
- Economics and business
- The Arts including visual arts, music, media arts, drama and dance
- Languages other than English – French
The cross curriculum capabilities include:
- Critical and creative thinking
- Intercultural capabilities
- Personal and social capabilities
- Ethical capabilities
Our focus is on giving all students a solid foundation in Literacy and Numeracy with specialist subjects in The Arts, Physical Education and LOTE. The other subjects areas are integrated into inquiry units of work based on the Big Ideas of.
- Identity
- Sustainability
- Change
- Community
- Social Justice
- History
Our Programs
We offer a range of programs at Toorloo Arm Primary School designed to support and enrich our students’ core education.
Language and Literacy
Language and literacy is in everything that we do in life. That is why we focus on the explicit and systematic teaching of literacy skills.
At TAPS, our structured literacy approach includes:
- Explicit teaching of phonological awareness and phonics;
- Guided instruction at individual student point of need;
- Rich language environment that focuses on expressive oral language (i.e. vocabulary, language structure) and listening comprehension; and
- Explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies
We aim to inspire a love of life-long reading and writing through the use of rich, mentor texts: “Learning together; succeeding together”.
Our reading programs is based on Scarborough’s Reading Rope(2021)
Our writing program is based on the 6+1 Traits of Writing
Our program delivery is structure around the RTI 3 tier of support model (Clarke, 2022).
Numeracy
Mathematics helps us to make sense of the world around us. As a whole school, teachers and teams at TAPS co-design and implement Learning Sequences that are driven by the learning needs and readiness of students and aligned with the Victorian Curriculum, purposefully selected big ideas, learning continuums, mathematical concepts and the mathematical proficiencies of fluency, reasoning, understanding and problem solving.
Teams make decisions and develop the Learning Sequences with scope for flexibility as students progress in their learning, providing multiple exposures and opportunities to engage in concepts and contexts, making smart links to connnected mathematical concepts, strands and wider curriculum contexts with their students’ needs at the forefront.
Physical Education and Sport
All children participate on a weekly basis in a full program of physical activity conducted by Mrs Barb Plant. The students also participate in our own athletics, swimming, cross country and a winter sports program. Students who achieve high results then go on to compete at the district and regional levels in these events.
Swimming
Students are involved in swimming lessons at the Lakes Aquadome.
The School holds its own Swimming Carnival grade 3 – 6 in Term one
Library
We have a very well resourced Library with a range of reading material for all students to enjoy and develop a love of books.
Visual Art
Mr Jobi Laybourne takes each grade for a specialist art lesson. This allows all students to develop skills, techniques and knowledge through which they can create individual art pieces.
Cultural Studies
Children are introduced and study the cultures of their own country and other lands
Camps
Grade 2
- 3 day camp locally
Grade 3/4
- Healesville – Even Year linked to the Sustainability Unit
- Gelantipy – Odd Year linked to Personal and Social Capabilities
Grade 5/6
- Ballarat – Even Year linked to History Unit
- Canberra – Odd year linked to Civics and Citizenship Unit
Excursions
Excursions are arranged at reasonable intervals during the year to enable children to have first-hand contact with a variety of experiences. Parents can expect to be notified, in writing, well in advance of any proposed excursions and should understand that no child can be taken on an excursion unless written permission and authority to take emergency action in case of illness is received from that child’s parent.
