2021 saw us introduce the InitiaLit Program into Prep. This year we will continue with our plan to progress InitiaLit into Year 1 as our first cohort through the program transitions to Year 1. InitiaLit is an evidence-based whole-class literacy program that is aligned to the Australian Curriculum which provides students with explicit instruction in reading, spelling and related skills, building the foundations for students to become successful readers and writers. InitiaLit is a three-year program which we will continue to roll out to Year 2 in 2023.

All students are encouraged and supported to develop the necessary skills to become a leader. We believe that students are not born leaders and that these skills require nurturing throughout their education at Peace. Through the curriculum and extra curricula activities, students are given opportunity to develop leadership skills. This ensures that all students view themselves as leaders and have equal opportunity to become leaders of Peace Lutheran Primary School.

At Peace each year level is allocated a Buddy class. Buddy classes spend time together building relationships. Some activities include eating lunch together, being creative with art and craft, playing games, reading together or doing something nice for each other. Year 5 have buddies at the Gatton Kindergarten allowing them to build friendships in preparation for when the younger students attend school. Our Year 6 students are ``buddied up`` with our Preppies enabling a smooth transition for the younger students as they begin their journey at Peace.

Our librarian and library assistant support children and teachers with research, resources and reading material. Organised lunch time activities encourage children to access the Resource Centre during breaks. Children are encouraged to borrow reading material from the library regularly as classes visit often for classroom and home borrowing. Our librarian also spends time engaging our younger classes in shared reading experiences to develop their love of literature.

Children at Peace participate in weekly Arts lessons conducted by our specialist Arts teacher. These lessons include Music, Drama, Dance and Media Arts.

Each year all classes participate in dance lessons with Footsteps. This culminates in a school dance showcase at the end of the program.

As new technologies continue to change the world in which we live, they also provide many new and positive educational benefits for classroom instruction. To encourage this growth, students in Years 5 and 6, and students in other year levels by negotiation, at Peace Lutheran Primary School may now bring their own iPad device to campus. With the introduction of the Technologies Curriculum Peace has embraced iPad’s as a tool for students to engage with and respond to learning within their classroom and home environments. Use of iPads at Peace enhances traditional teaching methods through alternative avenues of researching, exploring, developing and producing work in their classrooms. Peace continues to explore this new curriculum through Professional Development for teachers and continual review of our procedures and practices using iPads and devices in the classroom.

At Peace Lutheran Primary School, we believe that each student is unique and has the capacity to learn and understand that students have different learning styles and interests and may learn at a different pace or in a different way to their peers. With a diverse range of abilities within each year level, we recognise that some students have additional learning needs and require assistance to help them achieve success at a level suitable to them. Our Education Support Teacher works in partnership with all classroom teachers to carefully monitor and support student progress. Students with a disability, learning difficulty or learning difference are identified and the best form of support is developed. This may comprise of inclusive support in the classroom offered by one of the Education Support Teachers or a teacher aide, or individual or small groups of students being withdrawn from the class to participate in Short Course programs planned by the class teacher (usually focused on literacy and/or numeracy skills). We believe that collaboration between the Education Support Teacher, classroom teacher, parents and students is critical in ensuring a successful education. As such, all stakeholders work in partnership to support students’ progress.

Inclusive fees cover the cost of many sporting activities - dance fever, fees for buses to sporting activities, registration fees, swimming lessons and entry into the pool. All students participate in weekly Physical Education Lessons lead by the HPE Teacher and supplemented by the classroom teachers. In these lessons, students have the opportunity to learn and participate in a variety of sports such as lawn bowls, ten pin bowling, golf, gymnastics, bike safety, basketball, futsal, rugby league and Aussie rules just to name a few. Years 5 and 6 participate in interschool sporting opportunities such as soccer, cricket, netball and softball each term. After school sports practice is offered ‘in season’ and extra-curricular activities are offered through interested teachers and community members. Our sports houses – Amity (Peace), Creed (Faith) and Valour (Courage) – compete in swimming, athletics and cross county competitions. Age champion medals are awarded at the swimming, cross country and athletics carnivals to children in Years 3-6. Because the children in P-2 are still young and developing their skills, the sporting focus is based on non-competitive, fun activities where all children can participate and receive a sense of achievement.

Within each of our year levels teachers engage students in Project Based Learning. Through this teaching method, students investigate an interesting and complex question, problem or challenge that is relevant to their curriculum and then respond to this by creating a product. Project Based Learning helps to prepare our students for the future through meaningful, engaging, hands-on experiences that help to develop students’ soft skills of flexibility, deeper thinking, grit, perseverance, resilience, curiosity, collaboration, creativity and independence. An important part of the PBL process is exhibiting student products to an authentic audience, allowing students to explain their learning, answer questions and receive feedback. As such, Peace hosts a yearly whole school PBL Showcase as well as classes host their own individual showcases at other times during the year. Please view the video below of “What PBL looks like at Peace”.

Camps and excursions are an integral part of our curriculum program. Peace has an annual school camping/excursion programme that operates for all classes. Both camps and excursions have direct links to the curriculum and are planned to give children a wide cross section of experiences. Camps begin with a one-night sleep-over in Year 3. Students in Years 4, 5 and 6 spend 3 days and two nights at camp. Camps are scheduled to incorporate bush, beach and leadership experiences and are included in school fees meaning parents have no extra cost.

At Peace we boast agile learning environments across all of our classrooms from Prep to Year 6. The open design of our classrooms promotes student engagement and allows for flexibility so that our classrooms can be re-configured to suit different teaching and learning approaches. Our agile learning environments tie with our commitment to Project Based Learning as they cater for independent learners as well as collaboration in both small and whole group situations.

Intensive intervention programs from the MultiLit suite of programs are utilised within our school to provide literacy intervention for students who are struggling with reading. These programs include MiniLit Sage, MacqLit and Reading Tutor. Students who meet the program requirements complete these programs in a small group or one-on-one situations with staff who are specially trained to deliver the programs.