Curriculum & Learning

We pride ourselves on getting to know each and every one of our students as an individual learner with their own needs and goals. We know that students have different interests and endeavour to provide learning that caters to developing the whole child. The Victorian Curriculum outlines what is important for all students to learn at different stages. We understand that students are at their own individual stage of learning. Our goal is to help every child achieve 12 months growth every year. 

Victorian Curriculum

The Victorian Curriculum outlines a common set of knowledge and skills required by students to be active, informed citizens with social skills and confidence to be a lifelong learner.

More information about the Victorian Curriculum can be found here.

Learning Areas

The Victorian Curriculum comprises learning areas and capabilities. 

• The Arts
  
  • Dance
  • Drama
  • Media Arts
  • Music
  • Visual Arts
  • Visual Communication Design
• English
• Health and Physical Education
• The Humanities
  • Civics and Citizenship
  • Economics and Business
  • Geography
  • History
• Languages
• Mathematics
• Science
• Technologies
  • Design and Technology
  • Digital Technology
• Critical and Creative Thinking
• Ethical Capability
• Intercultural Capability
• Personal and Social Capability

Learning at Upper Gully

Our students gain knowledge and skills through all areas of the curriculum. Our focus includes physical, personal and social growth, in all areas across the curriculum. We provided opportunity for students to apply their learning to new and different circumstances. 

The consistency of the approaches and resources at Upper Ferntree Gully Primary provides teachers with the knowledge to develop learning tasks that cater to all of our individual learners. Our teachers meet weekly to plan and discuss the learning of students in our school. They plan, assess and moderate to ensure that they are supporting all of their students learning. 

We use a variety of resources to support our teaching and learning across the curriculum. These resources provide a consistent approach and skills and strategies that support learning at all levels.

English

Talk For Writing

The Talk for Writing approach enables children to read and write independently for a variety of audiences and purposes within different subjects. A key feature is that children internalise the language structures needed to write through ‘talking the text’, as well as close reading. The approach moves from dependence towards independence, with the teacher using shared and guided teaching to develop the ability in children to write creatively and powerfully.

Schools underpin their English work by establishing a core reading spine of quality fiction, poetry and non-fiction that all children experience and draw upon. Imaginative units of work are developed to create a whole-school plan that is refined over the years, is well-resourced and documented to release teachers from planning and preparation so that they can focus on adapting their teaching for children’s learning.

Talk For Reading

Talk for Reading aims to develop children into efficient, effective, thoughtful and strategic readers who can learn about life, discover information and deepen their thinking through considering other people’s views and experiences with a critical mind.

Spelling

By growing and consolidating their phonological, orthographic and morphological knowledge, our spelling approach helps students make the right decisions when choosing how to spell words. This will benefit their writing in all curriculum areas.

Mathematics

We use the best practice approaches to teaching mathematics across our school.

Digital Learning

We utilise technology as a tool that can be used to support all types of learning. We believe that there is a balance between all types of learning including technology. We provide opportunities for students to work with robots and coding. We use Google Apps to support students and teach skills in Years 3 to 6. Apps are used to support literacy at home and school in our Junior years. Seesaw is an electronic learning journal where students can publish their work with photos and video for you to be able to see on your device. Logins and access to these are provided at the beginning of the school year.