Curriculum
Keilor Views Primary School fosters a culture of collaboration amongst teachers. At KVPS we run straight year level grades from Foundation - Year 6. Our educators regularly meet in year level teams to look at assessment and discuss observations to plan lessons and units of work that are engaging and targeted at students’ individual level of need. There is daily explicit teaching and learning in every classroom for every session. Our educators employ a range of whole class, small group and individual instructional practices based on the needs of their students.
English
At KVPS we use a structured literacy approach in Foundation and Year One. Our Literacy program is supported by evidence based research and includes, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
We teach using Little Learners Love Literacy (LLLL)- which is a systematic, synthetics phonics approach (SSP) for teaching children how to read, write and spell with confidence. It is carefully sequenced in seven stages to teach the 44 sounds of the English language and the principles of the alphabetic code. Each stage is sequentially taught so that children can learn, practise and apply new skills whilst continuously consolidating their developing skills – working towards mastery.
In conjunction with LLLL, we incorporate Heggerty Phonemic Awareness which are quick and fast-paced beginnings to literacy lessons in order to provide students with opportunities to build awareness and proficiency. The lessons include opportunities to make phoneme-grapheme connections and matching the sounds we hear to letters in print.
We also include the teaching of handwriting skills as an integral part of literacy learning. The teaching of handwriting includes letter formation, pencil grip, starting position and sequence.
Mathematics
The Mathematics Curriculum at Keilor Views encompasses three strands of learning: Number & Algebra, Measurement & Geometry and Statistics & Probability.
Our goal is to ensure that, through carefully scoped learning progressions, our students are highly numerate and engaged as learners. In all year levels the pedagogical release flows from concrete materials and manipulatives, to modelling, abstract and finally transference to real life situations. This sets the scene for depth of learning in numeracy.
In addition, we do place emphasis on refining basic numerical skills and computation, especially in the early years, where this foundation knowledge is critical to build for the years to come.
Themes
In addition to the core subjects of English and Mathematics, all year levels at Keilor Views participate in Theme Studies each day. Our Themes comprise curriculum areas like Science, Humanities, Technologies and Personal and Social Capabilities.
The various themes that each year level learn are also strategically linked with English and Mathematics units, to ensure cross-curriculum priorities are met and students see the link between learning and the real world.
Physical Education
The Health and Physical Education program at Keilor Views is imperative to our students development. We value the importance of establishing the skills, understanding and knowledge that students need to be healthy, active and safe individuals. Physical education and sport are timetabled and are part of every student’s learning at the school.
From Tuesday to Friday, the Year 1 - Year 6 students also take part in the Fitness Program, spending twenty minutes engaging in movement activities with their grades, including skipping, aerobics and relays, to name a few.
Increased physical activity and fitness enhances students’ mental and social development.
As well as increasing activity levels, physical education and school sport classes are shown to develop children's sense of fair play, self-confidence and their capacity for teamwork.
The Arts
The Arts is a specialist subject area that each grade participates in for one session each week. The subject immerses students in rich, dynamic and interactive learning, allowing each individual to become creative and expressive in their own way.
Students are immersed in a Visual Arts program during Semester 1 that helps the students develop sensitivity to the visual, spatial and tactile world, and provides for aesthetic experience. It helps the students express ideas, feelings and experiences in visual and tactile form. The students enjoy purposeful experiences of different art media and have opportunities to explore, experiment, imagine, design, invent and communicate with different art materials.
In Semester 2, students engage in Performing Arts involving Music, Dance and Drama. In Music, students use their imagination and creativity to explore pitch, rhythm/time and form, dynamics and tempo using voice, movement and instruments. In Dance, students use choreographic devices to organise dance sequences and take part in practising body actions and technical skills. In Drama, students participate in devised and scripted drama that develops narrative and use performance styles and design elements to engage an audience.
STEM
The development of STEM proficient students begins in primary schools, where students apply the rigor of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics content and the STEM Standards of Practice while engaged in learning activities that investigate the natural world.
STEM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. Students can begin or build on their STEM interests by engaging in hands-on projects. It's these skills that kids must adopt in order to stay relevant in today's tech-centric world.
LOTE
At KVPS, students participate in Italian classes from Prep to Year 6 for one lesson per week. Students are immersed in Italian language and culture. We adopt a communicative based approach in our language teaching and use authentic experiences to incorporate language practice, making classes engaging and meaningful to students.
Students participate in weekly classes where they can explore the language through a variety of activities; including stories, songs, drama, music, and games, that focus on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Students are encouraged to use Italian as much as possible during classroom interactions with their teacher and peers.
Being in the emerging stage of introducing the language, we plan to hold Italian celebration days involving students in a range of cultural activities including those related to food, art, music and dance.
Library
All children from Prep to Year Six attend the school library and have the opportunity to borrow books.
Our Librarian maintains our library and school resources as well as being involved in the planning of special events, eg: Book Clubs, Book Fairs, Book Week and other educational programs throughout the school.
As you walk through our classrooms you will notice a classroom library taking pride of place in every room, with books in abundance that students can access. The displays and anchor charts fill the room and allow students to make connections between all elements of the English Curriculum.