Literacy
At South Bunbury Primary School we have fully implemented the Australian Curriculum from planning through to reporting on student achievement. We have embraced the philosophy of teaching English through quality literature and that is our priority with purchasing resources through our English budget. SBPS also has a strong emphasis on basic literacy skills. This begins in early childhood with a consistent focus on developing children’s oral language skills and appreciation of quality literature. Phonics, spelling, grammar and handwriting are an integral part of our English program and we regularly revise our NAPLAN data to look for areas of potential growth with our students. Our students are involved in the Accelerated Reader program which has proven to increase students’ engagement with reading. This program is computer based using the books from our well-resourced Library. A selected group of our senior students take part in the “Talented Young Writers” program run by The Literature Centre and attend workshops with popular authors every term. Spelling focus for 2015 includes the use of the resource “Words Their Way” across all years.
Numeracy
Learning mathematics creates opportunities for and enriches the lives of all Australians. The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics provides students with essential mathematical skills and knowledge in Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. It develops the numeracy capabilities that all students need in their personal, work and civic life, and provides the fundamentals on which mathematical specialties and professional applications of mathematics are built.
Content structure
The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics is organised around the interaction of three content strands and four proficiency strands.
The content strands are Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. They describe what is to be taught and learnt.
The proficiency strands are Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, and Reasoning. They describe how content is explored or developed, that is, the thinking and doing of mathematics. They provide the language to build in the developmental aspects of the learning of mathematics and have been incorporated into the content descriptions of the three content strands described above. This approach has been adopted to ensure students’ proficiency in mathematical skills develops throughout the curriculum and becomes increasingly sophisticated over the years of schooling.
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/mathematics/content-structure
