Learning

At our school, we teach the NSW curriculum and offer many different subjects to support each student’s learning. We know that development of skills in literacy and numeracy are the building blocks for learning and for everyday life. Our teachers use effective teaching strategies to help students achieve their goals.

Education - Teacher and Parents Coming Together

Reports

School reports are completed twice yearly. Reports are sent home at the end of Term 2 & 4 via the Sentral Parent Portal.

Parent Meet-and-Greet

The school holds a Meet and Greet afternoon at the beginning of each school year. This is an informal afternoon where parents and carers can meet their child’s teacher.

Interviews

Parents are most welcome to discuss their child's progress with school staff at any time during the school year. Appointments should always be made via the school office where a convenient time can be made. Formal interviews are also held at the end of Term 2 each year. Teachers may request an interview with parents if they feel it is in the educational interest of any child. Teachers or School Counsellors may request that a parent come to the school to discuss a child’s progress or conduct. In these cases, a day and time will be suggested for the interview, but if these are unsuitable, alterations can usually be made by telephone.

Open Days

Throughout the year there are several occasions when the school community are invited to the school. These are organised to provide opportunities for you to see firsthand some school activities. All parents are urged to come along whenever possible to join in activities with their child. For the safety of our students please enter via the Rawson Street gate (Hall gate).

Assessment

Students are assessed continually throughout the year by their teachers. External standardised tests, as well as school-based testing, form part of student overall progress of learning. NAPLAN online testing is conducted in Semester 1 for students in years 3 and 5 with results available to parents later in the year. Additionally, all students in years 3 to 6 complete online Reading and Numeracy Check-In Assessments twice a year to measure progress and growth in these areas. These results can be obtained by contacting classroom teachers.

Curriculum

The curriculum presented at Kurri Kurri Public School is aligned with the requirements of the NSW Department of Education syllabus and the documents of the Board of Studies. It includes all content with each key learning area.

What students learn

Find out more about what your child will learn at our school.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is responsible for the curriculum, Kindergarten to Year 12, for all NSW schools.

For the primary years, NESA develops syllabuses for all subjects in 6 key learning areas:

• Creative arts
• English
• Human society and its environment (HSIE)
• Mathematics
• Personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE)
• Science and technology.

NSW public schools offer special religious education and special education in ethics, delivered by approved providers wherever available.

During enrolment, you can choose a special religious education option for your child from the school’s available approved providers. You can withdraw your child from special religious education by selecting alternative meaningful activities, or special education in ethics if it’s available.

You can update your preference by writing to the school or through the  online form  available at our school.

The approved providers in this combined arrangement are:

· Australian Christian Churches NSW /ACT (ACC)

· Anglican Diocese of Newcastle

· NSW & ACT Baptist Association

· Fellowship of Congregational Churches

· Baptists Churches NSW /ACT

· Presbyterian Churches NSW

· Uniting Church in Australia

· Catholic Diocese of Newcastle & Maitland

· All Christian SRE teachers are authorised and trained by an approved provider.

· The Christian SRE curriculum is approved for use in all NSW Public schools

·   And link to Curriculum GODSPACE for your viewing is here

·  Godspace.pdf

To learn more about curriculum in NSW, visit:

• NSW Department of Education – key learning areas

• NESA’s Parent Guide – Schooling in NSW which provides information about learning stages, key learning areas and syllabuses

• NSW Department of Education policy – Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12.

  Stages of learning

  There are 6 stages of learning from Kindergarten to Year 12. Primary school covers Early Stage 1, or Kindergarten, to the end of Stage 3.

  • Stage 1 includes Kindergarten to Year 2 (Kindergarten is referred to as Early Stage 1).
  • Stage 2 includes Years 3 and 4.
  • Stage 3 includes Years 5 and 6

Our learning approach

Our school uses explicit teaching. This means we clearly tell students what they are learning, why it is important and how to do it step by step. Explicit teaching helps students understand new ideas by breaking them into smaller parts.

Learning at our school is student-centred, inclusive and practical. We are committed to equity and access. We support all learning styles and needs. Our teachers use proven teaching strategies. They take part in ongoing professional development to stay up to date with best teaching practice.

Our learning approach includes:

• Real-world learning: hands-on tasks, group work and exploring new ideas
• Technology: to help students learn and build digital skills
• Flexible teaching: the right support for each student, with a focus on wellbeing
• Community connections: through excursions and local programs.

Helping students progress

We support every student’s academic progress by:

• Checking their progress and giving clear and timely feedback
• Setting learning goals with each student
• Giving extra help with personalised plans and support from specialist staff
• Reporting on each student’s learning progress so parents and carers know how their child is doing

• Providing targeted literacy and numeracy support in small groups
• Making wellbeing part of everyday learning
• Working with families to support learning at home and school
• Helping students through transitions, like starting school or moving to a new stage of learning.

Learn more about additional learning support at our school.

Awards

Classroom Awards

As part of classroom management and organisation, teachers may use individual class awards for students who achieve a high standard in a once off situation or as an incentive. There are different reward systems in place in every classroom that teachers’ implement individually. They may use dojo points, marbles in a jar, whole class rewards, smiley faces on the board, star charts, etc.

K-6 School Awards

Awards at KKPS recognise student achievement and citizenship. The awards add up over the schooling of each student. Typically a student who works consistently to follow school expectations from Kindergarten to Year 6, receives their school medallion in Year 6.

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Gold Awards: Presented at assemblies to recognise a range of classroom behaviours eg: excellence in an academic area, consistency, improvement or citizenship. These awards are presented at Stage Assemblies.

Principal Awards: Received when a child has 5 Gold Awards. These awards are presented at the whole school assemblies.

School Medallions: Received when a child has 5 Principal’s Awards (Engraved medallion) School Medallions are presented at the end of year Presentation Day. Students are responsible for collecting these awards and present them to the school office when they have collected all 5.

At the end of each year, an assembly is held for the presentation of major class and school awards. Parents and Carers are encouraged to attend. Numerous awards are presented including class awards for academic progress, citizenship and school sport awards.

Want to know more about our subjects?

We can connect you with the right teacher or staff member.

Contact us