Teaching & Learning

At Peace Lutheran Primary School we aim to develop each individual student as a unique creation of God with unique gifts, talents and needs. Using the Australian Curriculum, the LEA Vision for Learners and Learning, and the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration, Peace strives to deliver a quality education that nurtures the hearts and minds of our students and prepares them to be confident and creative individuals, successful lifelong learners and active and informed members of the community.

At Peace we believe that:

  • Each child is an individual, created by God with unique strengths and abilities
  • Learning is a developmental process; children learn at different rates and times
  • The building of relationships is central to effective teaching and learning

Curriculum at Peace:

At Peace we use the Australian Curriculum as the foundation for our educational program and implement the following key learning areas within our school to ensure we meet the educational needs of our students.

 

 

  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Christian Studies
  • Science
  • HASS – including Geography, History, Civics & Citizenship, Economics & Business
  • Health and Physical Education
  • The Arts
  • Technologies
  • Languages – Auslan (Years 4-6)

As a Christian school our Christian Studies Curriculum forms the basis for the education and pastoral care of our students. It forms a vital part of the whole school Christian education along with activities such as school worship and devotions. The Christian Studies Curriculum Framework (CSCF) provides a structure for Christian Studies in which students can explore a range of religious and non- religious perspectives set in the context of the whole Christian education experience of the school.

INITIALIT

InitiaLit is a three-year, whole-class evidence-based literacy program. In 2021 and 2022, we introduced the InitiaLit Program into Prep and Year 1 consecutively. This year will see us continue with our implementation plan to progress InitiaLit into Year 2 as our first cohort through the program transitions to Year 2. InitiaLit is aligned to the Australian Curriculum and provides students with explicit instruction in reading, spelling and related skills, building the foundations for students to become successful readers and writers.

Leadership

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.

Buddy Program

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.

Resource Centre

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.

Specialist Arts Lessons

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

BYOD at Peace

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.

Education Support & Short Courses

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.

Sporting Program

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.

Project Based Learning

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 & Excursions

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.

Agile Learning Environments

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.

Reading Intervention Programs

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.

Social and Emotional Development and Well-Being

The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration demonstrates a commitment to supporting all students to become confident and creative individuals who are resilient and able to manage their own well-being. At Peace we focus on developing the whole child – mind, body and soul and value each student as an individual.

The Australian Curriculum, specifically the Personal and Social Capability, also addresses the need for schools to provide opportunities for students to develop in this area as they learn to understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships, lives, work and learning more effectively. The Personal and Social Capability involves students practicing a range of skills including recognising and regulating emotions, developing empathy for others and understanding relationships, establishing and building positive relationships, making responsible decisions, working effectively in teams, handling challenging situations constructively and developing leadership skills.

Therefore, as part of our curriculum we maintain a focus on the social and emotional development and well-being of our students using the following social/emotional programs:

 

Play is the Way

Play is the Way (PITW) is a whole school behaviour education program that is implemented across all year levels at Peace Lutheran Primary School. This program incorporates social and emotional learning, which is an extremely important skill set that children require to develop skills such as resilience, perseverance, self-control, empathy and collaboration.

Play is the Way provides students with the opportunity to learn skills to manage themselves, relate to others, develop resilience and a sense of self-worth, resolve conflict, engage in teamwork, and feel positive about themselves and the world around them, through playing purposefully created games. Discussions and reflections form a significant part of the Play is the Way process, allowing students to face difficulty, problem-solve and even fail, and learn the skills to cope with these feelings and how to grow from these experiences.

The five Play is the Way ‘life rafts’ that we teach students at Peace are:

  • Treat others as you would like them to treat you (If someone is unlike you, seek to understand them).
  • Have reasons for the things you say and do (If you don’t know why you’re doing something then don’t do it because it’s most likely wrong).
  • Be brave – Participate to progress (School is about stepping bravely into the unknown. The unknown is often uncomfortable. The braver you are, the more you learn).
  • It takes great strength to be sensible (We do the right thing because it’s the best thing to do).
  • Pursue your personal best no matter who you work with (We don’t come to school to be better than others. We come to school to better ourselves by being able to work with others).

Teachers use the language from these five life rafts with all students throughout the day, and this language is also used when working restoratively with students to restore relationships. The aim of this program is to educate students to become independent, self-managing, self-motivated, empathetic, life-long learners.

 

Growth Mindset Lessons

Students will participate in lessons across the year focusing on developing a growth mindset and building a culture of growth mindset within the classroom.  Students with a growth mindset are more resilient towards challenges in their learning and are more likely to develop strong work habits and experiences success.

 

Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation framework assists students with emotional and sensory self-management by teaching students to recognise their emotional “zone” as well as strategies to support their own emotional regulation. At Peace, teachers may use the Zones of Regulation with students.

Leadership

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.

Student leadership roles challenge individuals to develop their personal and social capability as outlined in the Australian Curriculum. Student leaders will display well-developed social and emotional skills with the ability to manage themselves, relate to others, develop resilience and a sense of self-worth, resolve conflict, engage in teamwork and feel positive about themselves and the world around them. The development of personal and social capability is a foundation for learning and for citizenship. Our student leaders will set the example for all others to follow.

The primary leadership roles at Peace Lutheran Primary School are School Captains, Vice Captains and House Captains. All senior students are required to serve throughout a variety of areas within the school on a roster basis.

Peace Lutheran Primary School leaders will reflect and demonstrate the school’s values of:

Courage

Compassion

Relationships

Learning