Curriculum Opportunities

We pride ourselves on a wide range of curriculum opportunites for our students

It’s not the curriculum that we offer that sets us apart, it’s the manner in which it’s delivered

Any school can teach a curriculum. Amazing schools like ours is full of teachers actively and passionately exploring the possibilities of making their teaching practice more innovative, engaging and fun at every turn. This is the single ingredient that drives the most growth in our students.

The success we attain is not only evidenced by the assessment data – but it’s seen through the smiles and joy we see on our student’s faces as a concept is grasped. This is the indefinable element that drives us as teachers to produce and grow our own teaching skills year in, year out.

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Student Wellbeing

Student well-being is at the heart of everything we do. Children are supported in many ways in order for them to feel safe and connected to their peers and the wider school community.

Educating the Whole Child

The whole child approach to learning focuses on the bigger picture. We recognise the responsibility to support the health and happiness of our students and not just their academic results

Literacy

At TVPS we recognise that reading is the most fundamental skill that students need to learn. Reading is an essential skill for participation in all areas of life.

Numeracy

Physical Education

Visual Arts

Performing Arts

The Performing Arts program at Templestowe Valley Primary School provides students with a creative, engaging and encouraging environment where they learn, perform and develop skills in all aspects of performance.

Languages (Mandarin)

At Templestowe Valley Primary School, the Mandarin Program provides learners with language skills, and also a cultural awareness of the Chinese speaking community.

Sustainability

At Templestowe Valley Primary School, our community is made up of energetic staff, students, parents and friends who have demonstrated a strong commitment to environmental education, sustainable living practices and empowering students to become future leaders.

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Student Wellbeing

Student well-being is at the heart of everything we do. Children are supported in many ways in order for them to feel safe and connected to their peers and the wider school community. Programs to support students’ well-being include:

– Flying Start (Kinder Transition)

– You Can Do It! Program

– Junior School Council (JSC)

– MAGIC Groups (whole school Multi-age well-being program)

– Restorative Practices and Zones of Regulation

– School Leaders Program

– Big Friends Little Friends (Year 6/Prep)

– The Reliance Project (Partner School)

We know that education is most successful when schools and families work together in partnership. We welcome parents and families to help in classrooms, in our gardens, on excursions and at sporting events.

Literacy

Reading

At TVPS we recognise that reading is the most fundamental skill that students need to learn. Reading is an essential skill for participation in all areas of life. Our core aim is for our students to become confident and independent readers who gain not only understanding, but also real pleasure from the reading activities and texts they engage with. Reading, listening to and talking about stories and non-fiction texts, develops students’ vocabulary, because they meet words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Understanding vocabulary is vital for comprehension and also for wider learning and progress across the entire curriculum.

We have a non-negotiable curriculum of ten hours of literacy (Reading & Viewing, Writing and Speaking & Listening) where students take part in Readers’ and Writers’ Workshops daily.

What does a reading session at Templestowe Valley look like?

At TVPS every student takes part in a daily one hour Reading session called Reader’s Workshop. During these sessions, the teacher introduces the lesson with a specific focus, identifying the learning intention and success criteria.

Students are taught specific reading strategies and skills. To develop reading fluency and accuracy, we explicitly teach synthetic phonics with a systematic approach. Once students have mastered the 44 phonemes in the English language, the focus changes to the teaching and exploration of morphemic and etymological knowledge. Comprehension and vocabulary skills are further developed utilising the CAFÉ Reading strategies.

During the introduction to each session, the whole class is explicitly taught the content by the teacher using a range of resources. One of the main resources utilised in P - 2 classrooms is the Little Learners Love Literacy Program which is a synthetic phonics program. Students are exposed in a systematic way to all the sounds and supported with decodable readers.

The main body of the lesson involves students applying the content taught by the teacher in pairs, independently or in teacher led small groups. Once students have read the text with their teacher, they are given the decodable text (P-2) to take home and re-read to consolidate their learning.

In the upper years, a significant part of the Reader’s Workshop is devoted to the students reading independently and practising reading strategies. Students take part in a weekly Guided or Shared (e.g. Book Club) sessions with their teacher to discuss a given text. Teachers conference with students individually to discuss and set reading goals. Students have an opportunity in Reader’s Workshop to respond to texts read and think about the reading they have done.

The final part of the lesson provides students an opportunity to discuss what they have learnt and share the work that has been completed. This allows students to feel a sense of pride and success in what they have achieved.

Supporting Reading at Home

Daily reading at home is vital to build on the knowledge students have been taught at school. In Prep – Year 2 students take home a mixture of texts, including decodable texts which have been read with the teacher in a small group throughout the week as well as Library books.

All students have access to a wide variety of texts both fiction and non-fiction through classroom libraries, ‘Take Home Readers’ and weekly Library visits.

Writing

We believe that all students learn differently and develop at different rates. Our students need to receive a consistent approach to teaching writing that is constantly reinforced as the students move from year to year.

The writing block is a rigorous learning session where children are actively involved in creating their own texts and are taking responsibility for their learning. The teacher builds on the current strengths of the student to promote further learning.

What does a writing session at Templestowe Valley look like?

In Writing, students take part in daily Writer’s Workshop. This builds student's fluency through continuous, repeated exposure to the process of writing.

Writing at TVPS follows a similar approach to Reading, with the beginning of each session being explicitly taught. The teacher either discusses a published author’s work using a mentor text or models a piece of writing for or with the students.

Teachers use a variety of writing strategies including;

Modelled writing – teacher speaks aloud about their writing as they write.
Shared writing – students and teachers combine ideas and teacher records writing for everyone to see
Guided writing – scaffolded support for groups of students with similar needs
Independent writing – students independently apply previously learnt writing processes, understandings and strategies to own texts.

Independent writing time provides the students with an opportunity to confer with the teacher to discuss and enhance their writing and set individual goals.

The act of writing consists of multiple processes, strategies and conventions. Students will be taught these during the writing block including authorial and secretarial features - different forms of writing (genres), spelling conventions, punctuation and grammar.

Students develop an understanding and work through the Stages of Writing used by successful writers: Planning, Composing, Recording, Revising, Editing and Publishing. Teachers use the Seven Steps Framework to develop the craft of writing in Narrative, Persuasive and Informative text types.

Concluding the session, students share their work on the ‘Author’s Chair’ and seek feedback from their teacher and peers.

Spelling

Spelling is taught explicitly to the students at the beginning of each week and then is incorporated within the Reading and Writing sessions throughout the week. We utilise the Little Learners Love Literacy sequence from P - 2 in conjunction with some multi-sensory techniques. In the upper years, students focus on the exploration of morphemic and etymological knowledge to further expand their knowledge of word origins and vocabulary.

Speaking & Listening

In Speaking and Listening, students are given ample opportunities to take part in whole class discussions, small group work and oral presentations each term. This enables students to develop their oral language in a variety of situations.

Students in Year 5 & 6 are given the opportunity to take part in Public Speaking Competitions across the Manningham network.

Speaking and Listening is incorporated across all subjects, in particular our Performing Arts Program, which incorporates our biennial Whole School Production where every student from Prep – Year 6 is on stage!

Numeracy

At Templestowe Valley Primary School we want all children to be confident problem solvers and enthusiastic Mathematicians. Students are given lots of opportunities to explore and investigate Mathematics in their everyday lives. They also learn the ‘language’ of Mathematics and how it applies across other learning areas at school and in their lives more broadly.

Maths is very ‘hands-on’ in the classroom. During Mathematics lessons students use materials, such as blocks, dice, playing cards, counters, Lego, Play-Doh and many other things to help them solve mathematical problems and reinforce their skills and learning. Students are taught specific strategies and skills, which enable them to work confidently and independently to solve problems, work towards finding an appropriate strategy and actively participate in the language of Mathematics.

The three strands of learning taught throughout the school are Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability in line with the Victorian Curriculum. Teachers use The Mathematics Workshop to guide the planning and implementation of the maths lesson. They begin with an introduction to establish the learning intention and success criteria, set the scene for student learning activities designed to allow students to learn and develop their skills and knowledge, as well as participate in a variety of hands on tasks. Explicit teaching of skills and strategies including problem solving skills are an integral part of learning. Teachers are regularly assessing students’ skills and understandings both informally and formally. Lessons conclude with a reflection. It is at this time that the student reflects on the learning intention and success criteria and how they have worked towards achieving success or questioning areas of concern.

Our web based computer resources, Matrific, Mathletics and Problemo allow students the opportunity to reinforce their mathematical skills both at home and at school. These provide support for students needing additional assistance and enable extension for gifted students. Open-ended tasks and problem solving opportunities are provided to extend students as well as participation in programs such as ICAS, Math Olympiad and Maths Games.

Physical Education

All students have 1 hour lesson of Physical Education per week. Students in Foundation – Year 2 focus on PMP and developing their Fundamental Motor Skills (run, jump, hop, skip, leap, one and two-handed strike) in fun and engaging games. Students in Years 3-6 learn Sport Specific Skills; tactics, umpiring and rules of most sports. All students participate in a 5 week Gymnastics Program delivered by BTYC Gymnastics in our school hall. Students use a variety of equipment, including parallel bars, single bar, beams, mini tramp, wedge mats and large crash mat for safe landing.

PE and Sport

At TVPS, students in Years 3-6 have the opportunity to compete in Swim Trials, Cross Country, Athletics Day and Hooptime Basketball. Students compete in the Doncaster District and progress through Division, Regional, State and even Pacific Championships.

All students in Years 5-6 compete in the Doncaster District Summer and Winter Sports. Students train with their team every Thursday and compete in 4 round-robin competition days in total. Students choose a sport from the following list:

Summer Sport

Ø Cricket

Ø Basketball

Ø Softball

Ø Hotshots Tennis

Ø Rounders

Winter Sports

Ø Netball

Ø AFL

Ø Soccer

Ø Tee Ball

Ø Volleyball

The Sport Program for Years 5-6 also provides opportunities for competitive Tennis (Term 1), Girls AFL (Term 2), T20 Cricket (Term 4). In Term 4, students participate in SEPEP (Sport Education for Physical Education Program). SEPEP is a student led sports competition whereby all students have a role in the competition. The roles include, umpire, coach, captain, first aid officer, sports board, tribunal officer, publicity officer, equipment manager and all students are players in their team. The competition usually consists of 8 weeks of competition and 2 weeks of finals.

Visual Arts

The Visual Arts program is held in a large and spacious classroom attended by each grade for one hour per week. The program consists of the various aspects of the curriculum including painting, drawing, collage, printing, modelling, construction, clay and textiles. The school has purchased a new kiln and has a designated kiln room where the students’ clay models can be fired. Art is frequently related to topics held in the classrooms such as producing a teddy bear to tie into the Foundation theme of “Teddy Bears Picnic”. Literature is also connected to Art with a special emphasis before and during the annual Children’s Book Week. Visual Arts is valued by T.V.P.S. with students’ work displayed about the school.

Performing Arts

Students undertake weekly one-hour specialist classes where the focus is on developing their skills and understanding in the three main elements of Performing Arts – Music, Dance and Drama. In these lessons, students are encouraged to take risks by trying new things.

In Drama, students are exposed to a range of dramatic styles to develop their performance skills including improvisation, mime, character work, puppetry, masks, role plays and script work. They use their imaginations to create original and scripted performances, as well as learning about stagecraft and design.

In Music, students learn about music theory and appreciation. Beginning in our Foundation year the skills of beat, pitch and rhythm are introduced, and these skills are continued through to our upper years where their knowledge is extended into the notes, more complex rhythmic patterns, as well as music history and appreciation. The students have multiple opportunities to play our musical percussion instruments to offer them a practical understanding of the skills they learn.

In Dance, the students have the opportunity to explore and learn a variety of dance styles including Hip-Hop, Tap, Jazz, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Contemporary. They will develop their co-ordination through learning these different styles and have the opportunity to choreograph their own dance performances.

Through all aspects of the Performing Arts, students are encouraged to perform as often as possible, whether it is in front of the class or a larger audience. This gives the students an opportunity to build their confidence and performance skill.

In our TVPS Performing Arts lessons, we strive to promote a love of performance through fun and engaging sessions!

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Valley Voices offers students an opportunity to be part of a choir. Students rehearse weekly and have opportunities to perform at school events as well as throughout the community.

Our TVPS Rock Band brings together those students who learn a musical instrument. They rehearse one lunch time each week and have the opportunity to perform at a variety of school and wider community events.

Private music lessons are offered at TVPS through our Instrumental Music Program. Instruments offered include drums, keyboard, violin, guitar and singing.

Languages (Mandarin)

At Templestowe Valley Primary School, the Mandarin Program provides learners with language skills, and also a cultural awareness of the Chinese speaking community.

Mandarin is delivered and practised through a variety of activities:

Role-plays
Practising their typing, speaking and listening skills with ICT tools
Research projects
Class discussions
Real-life language texts analysis
Language competitions
Singing songs and dances
Chants
Stories
Language games

This learning experience also introduces the metalinguistic skills and knowledge of how to learn an additional language.

Sustainability

We teach sustainability through classroom programs, daily practice and special events. Our integrated curriculum explores Biodiversity, Water, Energy & Waste across the year levels.

Parents, grandparents and extended family support the sustainability program in many ways at TVPS. We have parent assisted gardening, cooking and maintenance groups

Weekly lunchtime Gardening club with our teachers and parent volunteers allows the students to assist in the growth of our Sustainability area and the plants, fruit and vegetables we grow to share with our community.

Our Environment

Our school grounds are a valuable teaching and learning resource.

The Sustainability Area includes with fruit and olive orchard, working raised garden beds, a pond & a chook house. In 2018, we are looking forward to adding our chickens to the school community.

The Asian Garden forms a strong connection to our LOTE program.

And around the school you will find rain water tanks and native plants, with lorikeets and cockatoos frequenting them.

Environmental Captains

We have Foundation to Grade 6 environmental captains who monitor, initiate and promote sustainable practices.

Within this leadership role the students guide and support their classes in our weekly Nude Food day, liaise with our Sustainability Coordinator to assist and oversee our Sustainability area and make plans to action and improve our school environment.

Nude Food

What is Nude food you ask? It is simply food that is not wrapped in foil, plastic or commercial packaging. The best type of nude food consists mainly of fresh food, so that it is healthy and nutritious PLUS environmentally friendly.

On Tuesdays at TVPS we are completely Nude food, so that means we avoid foil, glad wrap and of course zip lock bags. The class with the least wrappers each week is announced at assembly and wins the golden lunchbox with special prizes to be won!

Garden to Plate

Using some of the produce from our Sustainability area and Asian Garden students are able to create their favourite healthy and nutritious recipes in our new Kitchen area.

Curriculum Opportunities

It’s not the curriculum that we offer that sets us apart, it’s the manner in which it’s delivered

Student Wellbeing

Educating the Whole Child

Literacy

Numeracy

Physical Education

Visual Arts

Performing Arts

Languages (Mandarin)

Sustainability

Take Our Online Tour

Book a School Tour

Isn't it time we got to know each other? Take our online VIDEO TOUR or book a SCHOOL TOUR!

Student Wellbeing

Literacy

Numeracy

Physical Education

Visual Arts

Performing Arts

Languages (Mandarin)

Sustainability

Isn't it time we got to know each other?
Take our online VIDEO TOUR or book a SCHOOL TOUR!