FAITH & LEARNING
SPECIALIST LEARNING AREAS
Curriculum at St Vincent’s encompasses everything our students experience from the time they enter the school grounds in the morning until they exit the school at the end of the school day.
Whilst learning is mainly facilitated within the classroom and cluster settings, the following subjects are taught at St Vincent’s by a specialist teacher:
SCIENCE
Our school has a community garden where we grow produce to learn about the life cycle of fruits and vegetables, three worm farms where we collect the worm waste for fertiliser. Each class rotates throughout the semester to work with the Year 6 Stewardship Team in our garden.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Health and Physical Education provides students with an understanding of health issues and the skills needed for confident participation in sport and recreational activities. This enables students to make responsible decisions about health and physical activity and to promote their own and others’ health and well-being.
Children from Kindergarten to Year Six receive lessons from a specialist Physical Education teacher, which focus primarily on the development of fundamental movement and sports related skills. Our students have the opportunity to represent our school in various sports including swimming, athletics and cross-country.
AUSLAN
In 2022, St. Vincent’s began its journey to provide all students with the opportunity to learn AUSLAN through its LOTE program.
AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language) is the language of the Deaf community and is the main form of communication for people who are deaf or hearing-impaired residing in Australia. It uses visual forms of communication involving a mixture of hand, face and other bodily expressions to convey meaning.
Students engaged in the AUSLAN program will be immersed in a wide range of lessons that reflect the context of their local community and will incorporate students’ interests and enquiries. Throughout the school year, students will be engaging in sign language through exploration, problem-solving and play in another language.
Through the learning of AUSLAN as a second language, students will be:
- strengthening their memory retention, brain function, motion processing and educational development,
- stimulating their brain development and mental flexibility thereby strengthening their overall literacy skills,
- increasing their understanding and enjoyment in communication learning skills, and learning processes,
- facilitating their development of interpersonal skills,
- increasing their understanding of notions of diversity, inclusivity, community membership, and cultural identity
- provided with alternative ways of thinking regarding methods of communication
- supported to see deafness and disability in a positive light as in “different”, and the acquisition of AUSLAN as a valuable tool for communicating with those with a hearing disability, especially with deaf friends or family members
- integrating AUSLAN usage in other areas of learning and education.
Learning AUSLAN as a second language not only gives students a wonderful, lifelong skill, it also increases their ability to communicate with members of the Australian deaf community. The increased sense of belonging and community that may be associated with this holds the potential to increase enjoyment in communicating for both hearing and deaf/hearing impaired members of our community.
THE ARTS
The Arts are highly valued at St Vincent’s. Not only are they an avenue for children to express themselves they allow students to experience the full aesthetic of mind, body and spirit of creation.
We provide a unified programme across the school not only to provide students with the opportunity to grow in confidence and creativity, but also to develop skills in critical thinking, cultural awareness and collaboration.
It is understood that not all children are attracted to every aspect of the arts, so we provide opportunities for all students to explore their own avenue for expression and creativity.
Students from Kindergarten to Year Six participate in Visual and Performance Arts activities each week. From Year Four to Year Six students have the opportunity to our join Avanti Choir and Liturgical Dance troupe. The Arts are also integrated into classroom learning, across the school through different learning areas and whole school activities.
CHOIR
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
Digital Technologies is offered for students from Pre-Primary to Year Six and ‘enables students to become innovative creators of digital solutions, effective users of digital systems and critical consumers of information conveyed by digital systems’. K-10 Outline – School Curriculum and Standards Authority
The opportunities in this specialist area provide our students with a variety of opportunities to take control of their own learning, become content creators and enhance their learning outcomes. The knowledge, understanding, production skills and processes gained by all students are able to be linked across all curriculum areas to improve learning.
EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMME
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
Year Six Leadership comprises of four distinct teams with unique leadership priorities. These Teams are: Communications, Stewardship, Discipleship and Sport/Wellbeing
Each Year Six student is selected to lead the student community in one of these teams. Each team undertakes leadership opportunities aimed to further develop their leadership skills and encourage them to make a real and tangible difference for all.
In their final year at St Vincent’s, they are required to ensure their Leadership Team continues successfully and to up-skill the future leaders of our school.