Live, Love & Learn
Our Curriculum
Holy Saviour Primary School
At Holy Saviour Parish Primary School learning is personalised and all students are supported and challenged to maximise their potential. We seek to prepare our students for their future by teaching them to be critical and creative problem solvers, who can work collaboratively with others to achieve shared goals. Teachers plan, assess and report according to the standards of the Victorian Curriculum and adjust their teaching in order to ensure that all students enjoy access to the full curriculum.
The focus of learning for students is on Religious Education, English, Mathematics, The Arts, Health and Physical Education and the Personal and Social capabilities, with students having the opportunity to explore Science and the Humanities through an inquiry based approach.
Once a week students enjoy Specialist classes in the areas of Physical Education, LOTE (Mandarin), Performing Arts and STEAM as a means of providing a well rounded approach to the learning areas of the curriculum. Visual Arts is incorporated into weekly classroom learning.
We encourage the natural curiosity of our students and support them to become lifelong learners, equipped with the necessary skills to solve problems in a progressive world.
Religious Education
Religious Education underpins all our learning, teaching, relationships and interactions.
Using the Religious Education Curriculum Framework as a guide to planning, the teaching of RE is centered around the notion of ‘encountering’ others and God through open discussion. The curriculum is integrated with our units of Inquiry so that the children can make real-world connections to their faith.
All our students are invited and encouraged to participate fully in daily prayer, meditation, liturgies and celebrating Mass.
We aim to give the children a grounding in Christian faith and values, and help them to develop a personal relationship with God that will sustain them throughout their lives.
English
At Holy Saviour, English is central to all learning and our teachers are committed to each student's development in becoming confident communicators, imaginative and creative thinkers.
We understand that a student's acquisition of skills and knowledge in this learning area are essential. We also believe that through our strong English Curriculum our students will develop an enjoyment and a love of reading and writing.
All classes implement a daily two hour Literacy block dedicated to the explicit teaching of Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening. There is a whole school approach to teaching Literacy where you will see teachers use their comprehensive curriculum content knowledge and their broad range of teaching strategies to engage students in purposeful learning tasks.
The learning progress of all students is constantly monitored and our teachers use multiple, valid and reliable sources to differentiate instruction to ensure growth and progress regardless of a students starting point. This differentiation allows for teachers to adjust their practice to extend or to support a student where required.
Intervention to accelerate a student or to offer extra support in English is provided through a Reading Recovery Program and Levelled Literacy Intervention (LLI). These intensive programs are designed to offer additional support with a specialist literacy teacher.
Across all curriculum areas , literacy is evident and therefore at Holy Saviour our teachers provide good literature and quality resources ensuring learning is connected and meaningful. Our students enjoy a well resourced library for a scheduled opportunity to borrow books or they can use it as a quiet space to relax with a book.
Mathematics
Our goal at Holy Saviour is to inspire, educate and empower all students in mathematics, creating a positive growth mindset and engagement to all mathematical tasks. In line with the Victorian Curriculum. Holy Saviour Primary School is committed to developing numeracy skills. Students are explicitly taught and exposed to concepts from the three strands of Mathematics: Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability.
Opportunities to discuss, explore and reflect are encouraged to ensure a deep understanding and love of mathematics including each proficiency strand: understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning.
Learning Diversity - Intervention & Extension
At Holy Saviour, we work hard to ensure all students achieve success during their primary school journey. We identify all students who require additional intervention and adjustment to the Victorian Curriculum. When students are identified as requiring extra assistance or extension, a Personalised Learning Plan is used to target specific areas of achievement and to monitor children’s progress. Program Support Meetings are conducted with parents and support staff to ensure goals are set and achieved.
Some of the intervention programs and supports available to students include:
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Reading Recovery
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Targeted Literacy and Numeracy Interventions
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CEM Speech programs
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Learning Support Officers
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Access to counselling services through Minds That Matter Psychology
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Support from CEM allied health professionals and other external support agencies
Extension is provided for students who are achieving beyond their current grade level.
Some of the opportunities these students may have include:
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APSMO Maths Olympiads and Maths Games Program
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GATEWAYS
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Tournament Of Minds
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RoboGals
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Leadership opportunities
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WABIAD (Write a book in a day)
Inquiry
Inquiry-based learning is an approach to learning that emphasises the student’s role in the learning process. This allows them to build general and scientific knowledge through exploration, experience, and discussion. Holy Saviour teachers utilise the 5es approach to Inquiry guiding students using engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration and evaluation to develop skills and understanding.
S.T.E.A.M.
STEAM education is the integration of two or more of these areas into one learning experience. STEAM (often referred to as STEM) education has traditionally been about teaching subjects separately, e.g. Science class only, or Mathematics. There has also been less focus on Engineering and Technology within the curriculum.
At Holy Saviour, we value STEAM education and offer it as a specialist subject, whilst also providing many STEAM learning experiences with their daily classroom teacher. For example, teaching Science using an Engineering thinking process (design-based learning) or using Mathematics, Art and Engineering to plan, design and build a robotic prototype.
Quality integrated STEAM learning benefits include:
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Cross-disciplinary thinking — this is valuable for students to recognise how STEAM skills might be used in the ‘real world’ beyond school.
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Generating interest in a range of STEM ideas and processes.
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Increasing STEM knowledge and engagement.
Holy Saviour offers a variety of hands-on learning opportunities for students on a weekly basis that encourage creativity, design, persistence, problem solving, teamwork and reflection.
Students have access to a range of devices and equipment to further develop their learning.
Some of our STEAM resources include:
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3D Printer
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Chromebooks
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iPads
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Lego Mindstorm and WeDo robotics kits
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Beebots and Ozobots
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Science Experiment Kits
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Little Bits Electronics circuits
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Building Kits
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Circuit Drawing Kits
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Art supplies
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Cardboard construction kits
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A range of Mathematical tools and supplies
Each year, our students participate in the Robogals extension program, in collaboration with Monash University, and the STEM Making A Difference (MAD) showcase in collaboration with the Catholic Education Office. Our teams won awards at the STEAM MAD showcase in 2019 (Winner- Wellbeing category) and 2018 (Second Place Overall and Most Innovative Assistive Device).
Mandarin
At Holy Saviour the L.O.T.E. program is Mandarin which provides a practical experience for students to learn about Chinese culture and to become familiar with Mandarin, and Chinese society and tradition. The Foundation (Prep) to Year 6 program is based on a communicative approach which emphasizes every day language. It is an integrated course which sets out to communicate the skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing. The program is sequential, it recycles and builds on the language the children are learning from year to year.
Physical Education
Health and Physical Education plays an integral role in students’ development. Holy Saviour has undertaken the ‘Sporting Schools’ initiative which has provided the opportunity for all year levels to focus on and benefit from specialist training in a range of sports. Throughout the year students also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of clinics that include sports such as tennis, cricket, hockey, AFL, soccer and athletics.
Students in Prep to Year 6 enjoy an intensive swimming program to develop water safety skills and to learn to swim.
Students in Years 4 to 6 have the opportunity to be involved in the Waverley East Sport Association Athletics, Swimming and Cross-Country Competitions and all students from Prep to 6 attend our annual Sports Expo.
Performing Arts
Our Performing Arts program encourages creativity and allows opportunities for children to celebrate and participate in singing, dance and drama. Each student participates in a weekly class that includes movement, incorporating various dance styles, singing, percussion, mime, puppetry, script writing and developing acting skills.
Our students have the opportunity to attend private music tuition in keyboard, drums and guitar. These take place on the school premises during school hours.
Curriculum Highlights
At Holy Saviour Vermont South, it's about the little things we do for our students.
Spiritual
Class Masses
Parish based Sacramental program
Whole School Masses
Morning and afternoon prayer
Christian Meditation
Strong Parish connections
Social Justice Focus
Child & Adult Faith Nights
Academic
Excursions/Incursions
Maths Olympiads & Games
WABIAD
Simultaneous Story
Time
Tournament of the Minds
Yr 5/6 Camp
Sporting
Twilight Sports
Glen Waverley Bowls
Sporting Schools
Interschool Sports
School Swimming
District Cross Country
District Athletics
District Swimming
The
Arts
Choir
Visual Arts Show
School Production
Music Program
Book Week Activities
Student Voice/Leadership
School Captains
House Captains
Buddy Program
Leadership Opportunities
Student
Wellbeing
Transition Programs
Buddy Program
Lunchtime Activities
Wellbeing Hub
The Resilience Project
Bounce Back