Dynamic & Engaged

Dynamic & Engaged
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES CREATE CHALLENGE & EXCITEMENT

WE TEACH AT THE POINT OF NEED

At St Luke’s, we have a Vision for Instruction. We share this vision for 2030, established by Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools ( MACS) to ensure we embed ‘the benchmark for excellence in teaching and learning, through a coherently integrated, academically competitive and distinctively Catholic educational offering’ (MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World).

Cognitive science research shows that most students need formal instruction to learn what’s called ‘biologically secondary knowledge’, such as reading, writing and maths.

Explicit instruction breaks new information into manageable parts. Effective teachers design lessons that begin with teacher-guided instruction and gradually shift responsibility to students through modelling and guided practice. This approach ensures that students achieve independent practice only after foundational knowledge is firmly established. Knowledge is like mental Velcro – new knowledge ‘sticks’ to prior knowledge, building understanding from one year level to the next.

Vision for Instruction:

• offers a focused and structured approach to gaining knowledge and developing skills

• ensures clear guidance, reducing uncertainty and helping students understand expectations

• presents key information and knowledge before independent activities

• enables immediate feedback through effective questioning and frequent checks for understanding (Parents Guide to Vision for Instruction, 2023)

TARGETED TEACHING BASED ON DATA DRIVEN PRACTICES

Literacy

‘Literacy is the jump-off point from which all of life’s successes take flight’.

- Lauri Fortino

At St Luke’s, our children become engaged, responsive and vital members of our world by learning to be active listeners, readers, writers and communicators. At St Luke’s we provide rich, purposeful opportunities for children to build their literacy skills so that all areas of the curriculum become accessible, dynamic and engaging.

Our targeted teaching, based on data driven practices, engage children in purposeful learning to develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing. Children engage in authentic and meaningful encounters with print, they read and write with intent and are supported through explicit, systematic and direct instruction. This approach maximises each child’s outcomes, ensuring they achieve success.

DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Maths

“This is how Mathematics works. Mathematicians notice. They play. They wonder.

And Mathematicians talk with one another and compare their ideas. In real life, Math is a very social game.”

- Lauri Fortino

At St Luke’s, Mathematics is a crucial component of the curriculum and we have developed programs that align with the latest Victorian Curriculum. Our teachers regularly analyse data to identify the needs of each child and create tasks that cater to their individual requirements.

Our children are encouraged to use various strategies to solve mathematical problems and to articulate and evaluate these strategies. By doing so, they develop critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Our ultimate goal is to help all children become confident and competent mathematical thinkers who are well equipped for life beyond the classroom.

“The only way to learn Mathematics is to do Mathematics.”

- Paul Halmos

INCORPORATING STEM AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Inquiry

“We need a curriculum of big questions…and focused on the magic of children’s innate quest for information and understanding”’.

- Sugata Mitra

At St. Luke’s we use an inquiry based approach to engage in a love of learning and curiosity. We build our children's capacity to be great communicators, thinkers, collaborators and researchers who manage themselves effectively and are invested in the ownership and success of their learning.

Our Inquiry units enable our children to develop a deep sense of the world around them and ignite their passions. Our units of work are rich, real and relevant and allow the children to deepen their knowledge and understandings. We use a rich question to drive their learning. There is always an ’action’ that helps to consolidate children’s understanding and broaden their awareness of their place in the world.

Specialist Classes

EXTENDING STUDENTS' LITERACY REPERTORIES

LOTE - Italian

Learning languages in addition to English extends students' literacy repertoires and their capacity to communicate. It strengthens students’ understanding of the nature of language, culture, and the processes of communication.

At St Luke’s, our children engage in a rich program that teaches conversational, functional language. Along with this is an opportunity to explore Italian culture and history. The children continue to use a variety of resources and digital tools that ensures the language they learn is within a context of how faith, culture and story supports our sense of diversity within our St Luke’s community and our view of the world.

PROMOTING HEALTH, SAFETY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Physical Education (PE)

Our PE program focuses on children enhancing their own and others’ health, safety, wellbeing and physical activity participation in varied and changing contexts. It offers our children an experiential curriculum that is contemporary, relevant, challenging, enjoyable and physically active.

In PE, children develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to strengthen their sense of self, and build and manage satisfying relationships. The curriculum helps them to be resilient, and to make decisions and take actions to promote their health, safety and physical activity participation. (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.)

Our PE program extends itself to special event days like Twilight Sports Day, Footy Colours Day, Interschool Sports carnivals, Hooptime, interschool Cross Country and Division Athletic days among others. We pride ourselves on offering children an opportunity to be active, happy and healthy young people.

Part of the PE program at St Luke’s is to provide a range of clinics where children can learn solid skill-sets and the rules of the game. These clinics include soccer, AFL, table tennis, hockey, tennis to name a few. Team sports are valued at St Luke’s because whilst the skill and rules are necessary, the building of team work, developing a personal sense of sportsmanship and building problem solving skills are essential.

Camps:

Prep: Camp Games afternoon sees our youngest learners stay at school to enjoy the fun of eating afternoon tea and play some games

Junior School (Year 1-2): Games around the Campfire sees our junior school children return to school late afternoon for games, dinner and camp stories before heading home to the comfort of their own beds.

Middle School (Year 3-4): Our Middle school children embark on a two day-one night camp alternating each year between a city camp experience and a rural camp location. This works perfectly to introduce children to being away from home for just one night, experiencing time spent with friends, different routines to home and experiencing an enormous sense of achievement and pride.

Senior School (Year 5-6): Our Senior school children engage in a three day-two night camp alternating between a coastal camp and a rural camp. One is often an adventure- outdoor ed camp with hut building, camp cooking, flying foxes, ropes courses and beginners abseiling for kids as some of the many activities on offer. The other has activities that lend themselves to the local environment and can include beach initiatives, bike riding, orienteering courses, team building initiatives and the like. Once again, camp prepares children for the outdoor experiences secondary schools offer and continue to build personal confidence, resilience and friendships.

EXCITING THE IMAGINATION

Performing Arts

Performing Arts is the expression and exploration of personal, cultural and social worlds through role and situation that engages, entertains and challenges. Students create meaning as drama makers, performers and audiences as they enjoy and analyse their own and others’ stories and points of view. Like all art forms, drama has the capacity to engage, inspire and enrich all students, excite the imagination and encourage students to reach their creative and expressive potential. (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.)

Our Performing Arts program allows for children to develop different ways to express their uniqueness, their understanding and response to the world and to build personal confidence in how they perceive and express themselves in response to our world. We take joy in preparing for and presenting a school production bi-annually. Our Performing Arts specialist also works with children to create a Dance Club that performs at the bi-annual fete.

Our bi-annual school production is one of the highlights of the school year and allows children to showcase their individual talents as performers.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & MATHEMATICS

STEM

STEM (Science, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics) education comprises the specific knowledge, understandings and skills in each of these learning areas as well as the interrelationship between each of them. STEM education acknowledges that there are opportunities for learning to be delivered in an integrated manner that facilitates greater engagement in each of these learning areas. This approach enables skills such as critical and creative thinking, collaboration and communication to be deployed in a rich and authentic way (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.)

Whilst we are in the early years of having a STEM specialist work with our children, it is an exciting opportunity for children to respond to the ever-changing world they live in. With the use of imagination, purpose and knowledge, children are encouraged to dream, explore, design, build and implement ideas using concepts and understandings developed from the more conventional curriculum areas. After all, we have emerging young leaders of the world here at St Luke’s.

Extra Curricula

We encourage all students to fully utilise their time at school by engaging in all activities and opportunities on offer. We also inspire students to become actively involved in the school and the wider community. These activities are offered to further enhance our regular school program.

OSCH- Kelly Club
Kelly Sports
Dance Club- recess or lunchtime
Lunchtime Clubs: We have a variety of clubs we rotate through over the year including Chess, Art and Craft, Life size Games, Garden, Dance Club
Music Bus
Rosellas Netball
Bully Busters
Instrumental Music Lessons (keyboard, singing, drums or ukulele lessons with an external provider)
Social Justice Program
Confirmation retreat day
Sacramental preparation
Altar service
Christian Meditation
Choir
Learning Expos
Student Technology Conferences
Maths Olympiad
Book week activities
Excursions/Incursions
Camps (yrs. 5-6)
Swimming
Cross Country
Athletics
Interschool sport (Winter)
Representative sport
Days of Joy each term
Transition Program
Bully Prevention
Resilience Program
Positive School Wide Behaviours
House token system
Art Show (bi-annual)
School Production (bi-annual)
School Carols (annual)
Family Welcome Picnic
Family Thanksgiving Picnic
Mother’s Day celebration
Father’s Day celebration
Grandparent’s Day celebration

Market Week - last week of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and Week 8 of Term 4: when children arrange with the principal to hold their own market stall to sell their arts and crafts. Building entrepreneurial skills and a sense of community, children donate a small portion of sales to a worthy cause.

CAMP curriculum: see ‘Specialist’ section

Prep: Camp Games afternoon
Junior School (Year 1-2): Games around the Campfire
Middle School (Year 3-4): two day-one night camp
Senior School (Year 5-6): three day- two night camp

Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is an important part of all learning across the curriculum and is integrated into daily classroom teaching through the Personal and Social Capability Curriculum, supporting children to develop skills in Self-Awareness and Management and Social Awareness and Management.

A key component of our school’s approach to mental health and wellbeing is the ‘Smiling Mind’ program, a mindfulness-based social and emotional learning curriculum which equips children with the skills they need to thrive in life, by building healthy minds and engaged classrooms. Weekly lessons are taught in every classroom.

All members of our community are called to be Respectful, Responsible and Safe and we work together to promote positive behaviour in all areas of the school. Positive behaviour is explicitly taught and reinforced and prevention approaches are emphasised. This Positive Behaviour for Learning framework has been embedded throughout all aspects of school life.

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Our Learning & Play Spaces

We feel proud of our Learning and Play spaces. With a newly refurbished Prep to Year 2 learning hub, our children are greeted each day with open, bright rooms that allow for children to learn and work together. Our Year 3 to Year 6 students enjoy classrooms that look out onto the beautiful outdoor spaces that include a sports court, sensory garden and oval.

We maintain contemporary, flexible areas that lend themselves optimal learning opportunities and engagement.

The Middle yard hosts a wonderful hill where the children gather before recess and lunch to eat together as friends. It provides a quieter space for children to relax in and is where lunchtime clubs run.