CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

At Tongala Primary School, we believe that every child can learn and reach their full potential. To do this we need a diverse, differentiated and dynamic curriculum. Our staff are ‘lifelong learners’ and are consistently updating their practise. We foster this mindset with our students as well.

At Tongala Primary School we follow the Victorian Curriculum for planning, assessment and reporting. Teachers are given a day to plan for the upcoming term and also given planning time weekly in their teams to develop a comprehensive curriculum that caters for all students and their learning styles and needs.

English

Students across all levels are given the opportunity to gain proficient skills in reading and comprehension. This is undertaken through guided reading sessions, conferencing and tailored activities to develop students reading skills at point of need. They are regularly assessed to ensure they are progressing in this vital life skill. Students that require intervention and support are well catered for with reading recovery being offered in the junior levels and Fountas and Pinnell levelled literacy intervention in all grades across the school. Tongala Primary School teachers have recently undertaken training in ‘7 Steps to Writing Success’ and ‘The Big Write’, which supports students to learn the fundamental skills of writing. It is a fun, dynamic, interactive way to learn all facets of becoming a confident writer. Students undertake a range of genres across the year and teacher’s track and moderate their writing development. Spelling is addressed through the SMART spelling program across all levels of the school. We are proud of our students as public speakers and you only have to attend an assembly, school run event or the Lions Club Speaking Competition to see that this is a real strength. Students at Tongala Primary School make a great audience and ask relevant questions. 



Mathematics 

Teachers use a differentiated approach model to structure lessons. Students are encouraged to have a deep understanding of number and teachers once again differentiate the curriculum to cater for all learners. We have adopted a range of varied resources, including online platforms, to assist our delivery of the mathematics curriculum. It is a comprehensive, challenging and thorough resource that assists our students to have a deep understanding of all areas of the mathematics curriculum.

Specialist / Integrated Curriculum

Students are offered Physical Education, Environmental Studies, Indonesian, Visual Arts, STEM and Library as part of their weekly program. We then integrate other areas of the curriculum, such as History, Geography and Science ‘themes’ or ‘integrated units’ into our weekly planning to ensure we are covering all aspects of the curriculum. Grades also participate in the Song Room.

Digital Technologies

Information and Communication Technologies are well supported through having Netbooks and iPads across all areas of the school and they are an important tool for learning. The implementation of the Grade 3-6 BYOD iPad program has further enhanced this.

Personal Development

At Tongala, we believe in developing the whole child and with programs catering for wellbeing and welfare such as Restorative Practices, Respectful Relationships, Mindfulness, Class Meetings, Values Education and a team of wellbeing professionals, we believe that we support every child to be able to learn.