At our school, we have three primary classes: Prep-2, 3-5 and 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 at the beginning of each day that involves core literacy skills and knowledge based learning that enables students to develop their reading and writing skills.
We recognise the importance of developing students' understanding of how letters represent sounds to build words as well as learning how to decode and read them. Our primary staff are trained in Sounds Write, and students in Prep to Grade 2 undertake daily lessons in systematic synthetic phonics. From here, we focus on the other important elements of learning to read including oral language, 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. They have the opportunity to read them for themselves when they are ready.
We teach vocabulary by 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 various strategies, styles and sentence types that authors use. Students are explicitly taught writing skills and knowledge through the use of resources from a variety of research-based sources such as The Grammar Project and the Writing Revolution.
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. We have put 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 explicit teaching, 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 engage in hands-on practical activities like gardening to learn about where our food comes from, STEM activities to encourage scientific thinking and building skills through music. Students complete projects and get the opportunity to link their learning between subjects. For example, in 2024 the Grade 5/6 class designed and implemented an Indigenous garden alongside Hands on Learning and our First Nations students. This is an interactive space for our students and wider school community.
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 develop their hand eye coordination and gross motor skills while learning fun games and sports like 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, plan and make artworks that express a personal view.
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 Prep to Grade 6 have many experiences with spoken and written Mandarin Chinese learning through interactive games, written activities, quizzes, songs and cultural experiences in their lessons.
At our school, students are provided with opportunities to further 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 and the emotions of others. Primary classes will be involved in learning more about their six core emotions, how to identify, control and express their emotions through the Mindful Aus program – Healthier Hearts, Lighter Minds.
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 upper primary students.
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.
