Our Learning
At St Michael’s, we believe our intention is to provide learning and teaching that responds to the educational, personal and spiritual needs of each child. Our high expectations along with happy, positive and engaging learning spaces provide opportunities for students to achieve success along the continuum of learning, informed by the Victorian Curriculum, ensuring that connectedness to our world is a priority. We encourage students to be risk takers and to understand that learning from our mistakes is important to our growth as a learner. Our learning dispositions prepare students to live within a rapidly changing world.
Education in Faith
At St Michael’s we strive to build a more just world, in response to our Gospel values and the Catholic Social Teaching Principles. We aim to foster a Christian environment which pervades all aspects of school life, and we bear witness to the love of God for all people. We draw on the rich tapestry of our multi-faith community, preparing students to live harmoniously in our multi-faith world. We provide opportunities to live and express our Catholic tradition, making times and spaces for the development of spiritual growth for all members of our school family.
Mathematics
At St. Michael’s, we believe that Mathematics is an integral part of everyday life. Number, Space and Measurement and Probability are common aspects of people's mathematical experience in everyday situations.
Our main aims for essential learning in Mathematics are for students to
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demonstrate useful mathematical and numeracy skills to be successfully numerate
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develop an appreciation and curiosity of mathematics
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develop a range of strategies to become mathematical problem solvers
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develop speed and accuracy in computational skills consistent with their age and stages of development
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acquire the mathematical knowledge, ways of thinking and confidence to apply mathematics in real and abstract situations.
English
At St. Michael’s, English is at the core to all learning. This is how we come to understand, interpret and respond to our world. All students are explicitly taught English skills and strategies in Reading, Writing and Oral Language.
Our main aims for essential learning in English are for students to
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read with understanding (multimodal texts)
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develop a passion for reading
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speak with fluency, expression and confidence
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be active listeners
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develop and expand their vocabulary
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communicate their ideas through writing for different social purposes.
Discovery
Discovery-based learning values and acknowledges students’ interests, experiences and the prior knowledge that they bring with them to school. We incorporate these interests and experiences, as well as ‘planting seeds’ to build new experiences in order to extend children’s learning, interest and curiosity.
St Michael’s believes that this approach to learning is crucial for our Prep to Year 2 students. Spaces in the classrooms are developed and co-constructed for students to initiate their own or teacher led inquiries to examine and learn. It is through their students continue to develop the learner dispositions of collaboration, creativity, persistence, problem solving and persistence.
“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.”
O.Fred Donaldson
At St Michael’s, we believe that students use technology with an awareness that contemporary tools are constantly evolving. Technology is embedded into the students' learning throughout the Curriculum in an authentic context on a daily basis. Student and Parent information sessions regarding Cyber Safety are also offered to our community. St Michael's uses G-Suite for Education as a day to day e-Learning tool and Dojo to share student learning with parents and families. Students in Prep to Year 2, have access to one device between two, and in Years 3 to 6 they each have their own device. Each learning area has access to interactive screens to support learning.
Our main aims for essential learning in Digital Technology are for students to:
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be guided and supported to use online resources safely both in school and during home learning tasks
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be supported to be discerning in choosing reputable websites
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utilise a range of educational Apps to support and extend classroom learning on Ipads in Prep and Year 1
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utilise the tools of ‘G Suite for Education’ in Years 2-6 using Chromebooks.
Make, Know, Do - Student Led Learning
Student led Inquiry in Years 3 to 6, is known as ‘Make, Know, Do, Act’. It is an educational approach driven by students' curiosity about the world in which they live. Students make proposals to create projects and teachers guide appropriate ways of demonstrating learning to ensure the focus is on ‘process’ rather than ‘product’. Student led Inquiry ensures that our learning dispositions and social capabilities are explicitly embedded within the learning process.
“The meaning of ‘knowing’ has shifted from being able to remember and repeat information to being able to find and use it.” (National Research Council, 2007)
Specialist Programs
Physical Education
Japanese
Arts
Music
St Michael’s provides Specialist programs in Japanese, Physical Education/Sport, Visual Arts and Music at all levels.