THE CURRICULUM
ENGLISH
A strong foundation in literacy is vital for every young person and underpins their ability to engage in education, reach their potential and participate fully in the community.
The Victorian Curriculum standards inform our teaching of literacy at Oatlands Primary School. The three strands of literacy learning are:
Writing
Reading and Viewing
Speaking and Listening
These strands form the foundation for learning across all curriculum areas and are embedded in integrated studies lessons.
The English as an Additional Language (EAL) curriculum supports students in their acquisition of the English language and works in parallel with these three strands. Oatlands Primary School also offers an extensive range of Literacy Intervention Programs, to support and extend students.
Classroom teachers utilise documentation from the Department of Education to continuously improve the teaching and learning of literacy skills. Our approach to teaching and learning is the Reading and Writing Workshop Model, where teachers focus on the learner; their strengths, interests and individual learning needs. Students are supported to see themselves as high achievers. They are thinkers, readers and authors.
Our students;
participate in daily Reading and Writing Workshops,
are exposed to rich and high quality texts, as examples of authentic writing,
make choices about their writing through writer’s notebooks,
discuss and respond thoughtfully to texts they read or hear,
participate in a systematic spelling program.
All students at Oatlands Primary School are provided with authentic opportunities to further their reading and writing skills by participating in events including The Premier’s Reading Challenge, Book Week and National Simultaneous Storytime.
MATHEMATICS
The Mathematics program at Oatlands Primary School is based on students developing appropriate skills and understandings and applying them in daily situations. Students are be exposed to a variety of Mathematical experiences that;
emphasise the use of skills, strategies and attitudes
are both positive and enjoyable
build confidence in Maths
promote investigation and problem solving skills
provide hands on learning experiences
develop students as lifelong Mathematicians.
Student needs are planned for via open-ended tasks that support and extend through every maths lesson. At Oatlands, 400-minutes a week are dedicated to the learning of Mathematics.
We provide a variety of activities through the year to ensure students are kept motivated and are enthusiastic about learning Mathematics. These include;
Mathletics (online maths program) that can be used at home as well as school (P - 6)
participation in a Maths Games Days competing against other schools (Gr 5 & 6)
Participation in an Online Problem Solving competition (Gr 3 - 6)
Offering the Students Excellence Program for select students
Annual Maths Enrichment opportunities for students
Maths Games Day Exhibition (P-1).
We aim to provide our students with rich experiences and maths investigation to develop and promote lifelong Mathematicians.
INTEGRATED STUDIES
As part of our efforts to ensure that every student gets the best possible education, we deliver our Integrated Studies Program across the whole school and our teachers implement the program using an inquiry based approach. Our Integrated Studies Program is delivered to students in addition to English and Maths. Currently our program covers the content and skills from the following areas of the Victorian Curriculum:
History
Geography
Civics and Citizenship
Economics and Business
Science
Critical and Creative Thinking
Ethical Understanding Capability
Personal and Social Capability
Intercultural Capability
Whilst also including logical integration of literacy, numeracy, and technologies, our program provides opportunities for students to explore content and skills through real world examples. Each term, we will deliver a learning sequence which is designed around one of the following concepts:
Community
Sustainability
Social Justice
Creativity
Identity
Change
Discovery
Connections
Over 8 terms (2 years), our students will investigate each of the concepts once. A single concept is investigated across the school simultaneously, with age appropriate content and skills being investigated at each year level. We believe this will promote rich conversations at home and encourage your child to ask meaningful questions about their world.
At Oatlands we have always maintained a strong focus on building your child’s capacity to develop questions and to plan and conduct their own inquiry. It aligns with our belief that, alongside the core literacy and numeracy skills, students in the 21st Century need to have opportunities to learn, question, wonder and create.
THE ARTS
Oatlands Primary School offers an innovative and creative Arts program encompassing both the Visual and Performing Arts.
In Visual Arts, students are given the opportunity to work with a wide variety of techniques including:
Colour theory and mixing
Printing
Clay-pich, slab and coil work.
Collage
Construction
Painting
Textiles
Each year we complete an Artist Study which involves learning about the work, style and expression of the selected artist. The students create their own unique piece inspired by the artist. Students have the opportunity to share their work in a variety of ways including:
Corridor displays
Art blog
Biannual Art Show
Extended art class is offered to selected Year Six students
Our Music Program involves a strong sense of musical appreciation. We sing, dance, mime, move to music, as well as incorporate drama too. We encourage participation in a variety of activities using non tuned percussion instruments. Students learn the difference between beat and rhythm and enjoy the whole experience of being in the MUSIC Room.
We offer a Keyboard and Guitar Instrumental Programme that is sourced for outside the school, but children attend lessons during school hours. PMI (Primary Music Institute) provide Instrumental teachers who visit Oatlands to teach children their chosen instrument. This is a user pays service.
LANGUAGES
At Oatlands, students learn either Japanese or Italian.
Students attend lessons once a week and not only do they consist of learning about the language, but students also learn about aspects of the culture, its people, and the geography of the country.
Language lessons engage students in a variety of ways, including learning through songs, videos, games, craft, and research tasks. Lessons also utilise Chromebooks and other digital platforms for student learning.
In Japanese, students learn one of the writing systems, hiragana. They begin by learning the sound of each hiragana character through a visual story. Students are soon able to read, write and recognise these hiragana characters, as well as put them together to form Japanese words. Students are also introduced to some basic kanji, which are Chinese symbols that represent different words or ideas. These are also taught through visual stories, and students are given many opportunities in class to read and write these so that they can understand and recognise them easily.
In Italian, students from Grade Prep to 6 are learning to speak basic conversational Italian through role plays, creative crafts activities and written tasks. They learn about some typical Italian foods. As food is a big part of Italian culture, students learn the names of different foods and in the higher grades, learn to order or buy food in a shop or market. Higher grade students explore some famous Italians and learn about the key geographical landmarks of Italy.
TECHNOLOGY
The Technology Program enables students to become confident and creative developers of digital solutions, through the application of various digital devices and systems, as well as specific ways of thinking about problem solving.
Students are exposed to a range of hands-on learning opportunities, engaging with real-world problems and tasks. The Technologies program has been designed to provide practical opportunities for students to explore the capacity of digital systems to systematically and innovatively transform data into digital solutions through the application of computational, design and systems thinking.
Our Program uses Digital Technologies to enhance teaching and learning, as well as promote creativity in a safe and supported space. Students from Prep to 6 engage in a variety of activities and use programs including Google Workspace Apps, Lego Robotics, 3D printing programs and online design programs, to enhance their learning, to become future digital citizens in our world, where technologies are ever changing.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
At Oatlands, the aim of the Physical Education Program is to instil a lifelong commitment to the overall health and wellbeing of our students.
Our program is inclusive and engaging and we provide students with the opportunity to experience a wide range of physical activities from small individual games to competitive team sports to performing in our annual dance production, which is the highlight of our school year. The emphasis of our program is to ensure that our students enjoy and benefit from their sports experience while building their individual skills and capabilities.
Our focus for our junior students is to practise and perform fundamental movement skills in a variety of movement sequences and situations and to participate and perform in games with and without equipment.
In addition to our curriculum our students in the middle and senior years are given the opportunity to participate in our House Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics competitions.The sport program presents students with options to be involved at both performance and participation levels. Students are given the opportunity to compete in a range of sport specific competitions at Interschool , District, Division, Regional, State and national level competitions.
At Oatlands we:
encourage a healthy and active lifestyle throughout the school body.
nurture sportsmanship in all aspects of competition.
widen each student's sporting experience and enjoyment.
create a passion for active recreation and sport.
assist students in reaching their physical potential in a variety of sporting environments.
We love Physical Education at Oatlands. It’s not just part of the curriculum, it plays an enormous role in our identity as a school and embodies and contributes to the Oatlands culture.