At our school, we have three primary classes - Prep - 2, 3/4 and 5/6 who are taught by our passionate and experienced teachers. One of the benefits of a P-12 school is that primary students also get to learn and work with our secondary students across various classes.
Students at our school have a two-period literacy block, learning reading and writing every day. We recognise the importance of developing students' understanding of how letters represent sounds to build words and learning how to decode and read them. Our primary staff are trained in Sounds Write, and students in Prep to Grade 2 undertake lessons in systematic synthetic phonics. From here, we focus on the other important elements of learning to read including developing oral language, building vocabulary, reading fluency and comprehension. Students are exposed to rich vocabulary through picture books and novels read aloud to them by their teachers and in the library, and have the opportunity to read them for themselves when they are ready.
We teach vocabulary looking at word parts (morphology) and how language changes over time (etymology). Grammar is taught in the context of writing and sentence building, and we use mentor texts to share great writing with students so they can learn the strategies, styles and sentence types that authors use. Students are also explicitly taught writing skills and knowledge through the use of the VCOP and Big Write program and 6+1 Traits. Students complete a regular Big Write to practise what they have been learning and a Cold Write each term so their teacher can assess the progress they have made.
Over the last two years, two of our primary teachers have undertaken professional learning to become trained maths specialists with a focus on developing students' numeracy skills and maths confidence. They have been learning about and putting into practice new methods for teaching numeracy that involve rich tasks that bring maths off the page and into the real world. There is a strong focus on problem-solving and students explaining and justifying their thinking. We believe that ‘Everyone can do Maths; it’s creative, exciting and useful!’
In integrated studies, students learn about the world through lessons in history, geography, civics, science and technology. Students get to do hands-on practical activities like gardening to learn about where our food comes from, STEM activities to encourage scientific thinking and sing songs to learn First Nations languages. Students complete projects and get the opportunity to link their learning between subjects. For example, in 2022 the Grade 5/6 class hosted a fabulous charity fundraiser, developing stall ideas to raise money based on their learning inside and outside of class time.
In weekly library periods, students get to engage with all of the fabulous resources our library has to offer. They read picture books, do art and craft activities, play chess, dance, listen to audiobooks and have the opportunity to borrow books to bring home to read with family members.
In PE, students practise their hand eye coordination, learn fun games and sports such as basketball, cricket, netball and football.
In the lower primary years students make artworks in different forms to express their ideas, observations and imagination, using different techniques and processes. As they mature and go through the middle primary years, they describe and discuss similarities and differences between artworks they make, present and view. Students collaborate to plan and make artworks that are inspired by artworks they experience. They use visual techniques and processes to communicate their ideas and to express a personal view in their artworks. They demonstrate different techniques and processes in planning and making artworks. All students from Foundation (Prep) to Grade 6 have two visual art lessons per week.
The LOTE program at Hawkesdale P12 College assists students to understand that many cultures and languages contribute to our community and broader society within Australia. Students from Foundation to Grade 6 have many experiences with spoken and written Mandarin Chinese learning through interactive games, written activities, quizzes, songs and cultural experiences in two lessons per week.
At our school, students develop their personal and interpersonal skills, such as learning about how to behave appropriately at school, how to be a good friend, fairness, respect and how to recognise and react to their emotions. Puberty and sexual education is taught from Grade 5 to 6 and students learn about consent and respectful relationships in age-appropriate ways from Prep. We also have a student mentoring Buddies program between students in Prep-2 and Grade 5/6.
Students learn about cyber safety and how to use the technologies we have access to at school, including class sets of netbooks and iPads provided by the school. They use a variety of software programs, including Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and Teams.
In Grade 5 and 6, students get the opportunity to undertake Food Technology where they practise basic cooking skills. Product Design and Technology classes enable students to work with a wide range of materials to come up with some fun design challenges before creating a project.
