St Therese’s curriculum is taken from the Victorian Curriculum. The Victorian Curriculum F-10 sets out what every student should learn during their first eleven years of schooling. There are eight learning areas and four capability strands.
| Learning Areas | Capabilities |
| English
Mathematics Health & Physical Education Science Humanities Technologies Languages – Indonesian The Arts |
Personal and Social
Creative & Critical Thinking Ethical Intercultural |
Religious Education
As St. Therese’s is a Catholic School and within the Sandhurst Diocese, we have a planned a detailed Religious Education curriculum. This curriculum follows the Sandhurst Curriculum Religious Education Framework that is called ‘Source of Life’. The Source of Life curriculum provides students the opportunities to hear, experience and witness the Good News and to respond to the person and message of Jesus. Within the context of school life, students have a variety of opportunities to experience and participate in liturgy and prayer.
English
At St Therese’s, we are committed to providing an evidence-based and knowledge-rich English curriculum using two highly effective programs: InitiaLit and Ochre English. Aligned to the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, these programs guide all learning in reading and writing.
InitiaLit – Foundation – Grade 2:
InitiaLit is an evidence-based literacy program designed specifically for learners in Foundation to Grade 2. It provides fundamental skills and behaviours in reading and writing, setting learners up for success in future school years.
The program encompasses the Five Big Ideas of Reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. By addressing each of these key areas, InitiaLit ensures that learners are supported in becoming competent and confident readers with a lasting love for reading. InitiaLit offers a consistent approach to literacy development across the early years, ensuring all learners progress incrementally from Foundation to Grade 2.
Ochre English – Grades 3-6:
Ochre is a national non-profit organisation committed to enhancing student outcomes through high-quality, evidence-based curriculum resources. As a part of Magnify Sandhurst’s Learning and Teaching Model, all Grade 3-6 teachers and students access Ochre’s low-variance, knowledge-rich curriculum resources for English. Each Ochre Iesson is divided into three core components; a Daily Review, a Language & Literacy Block and a Literature Studies Block. The program is designed to help learners develop essential reading and writing skills through engaging and effective pedagogical practices.
Ochre English ensures learners are supported in all key areas of literacy development, including:
- Phonics – helping learners understand the relationship between letters and sounds.
- Fluency – encouraging fluent and confident reading.
- Comprehension – developing the ability to understand and think critically about texts
- Vocabulary – expanding learners’ word knowledge to enhance reading and writing.
Mathematics
At St Therese’s, we are committed to developing confident, proficient, effective and adaptive users of mathematics. Our Mathematics curriculum is guided by the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, ensuring that learners develop proficiency with mathematical concepts, skills, procedures and processes, and use them to demonstrate mastery in mathematics as they pose and solve problems, and reason with number, algebra, measurement, space, statistics and probability.
Through the Magnify Sandhurst, we embrace Ochre Education in Mathematics from Foundation to Grade 6. As a part of this approach, learners participate in evidence-based Mathematics lessons four times a week. These sessions are designed to build confidence, fluency and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.
Mathematics provides opportunities for students to apply their mathematical knowledge creatively and efficiently, sharpen their sense of discovery and develop an appreciation of structure. It enables teachers to help students to become self-motivated, confident learners through practice, inquiry and active participation in relevant and challenging experiences.
Library
Each class visits the library once a week, in this session they are given the opportunity to read and borrow books. The library is also each break time for children to use.
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships is a program that was developed in light of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. In the primary schools years the program focuses on teaching children to treat everyone with respect and dignity.
Outdoor Education: Excursions & Camps
Children in all grades are involved in Camping and Outdoor Education Programs. This aims to encourage independence and develop personal relationships in an informal setting.
Implementation:
- Foundation/1/2/3/4 – Incursions & Excursions
- Year 5 – Two day camp
- Year 6 – Three day camp
And More…
There are additional programs that we offer and we encourage you to come for a visit to the school to see them in action.