At Torquay Coast Primary School the student will be at the centre and purpose of all that we do. Our teachers and support staff work will work hard to provide a teaching pedagogy reflective of 21st Century designs including ICT rich environments and Personalised Learning for all students. This innovative, rich and rigorous curriculum will be delivered in a positive, stimulating and challenging learning environment where every student experiences success and develops a love of life-long learning. Our students will be encouraged to explore their world through inquiry learning to become thinking, informed, resilient and self-directed learners who are able to be the best they can be and contribute actively to their community.
Teachers and students will work collaboratively in Professional Learning Communities, to create adaptive teaching options to cater for the individual needs of all students. All teachers will commit to having shared responsibility for all students.
We are guided by the Victorian Curriculum F–10 which is the common set of knowledge and skills required by students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship. Our Professional Learning Teams have identified the Essential Learnings in the Victorian Curriculum F -10 and use a range of student data to provide our students with authentic learning experiences that are reflective of their individual needs and the Essential Learnings. PLTs plan collaboratively taking into consideration the learning needs of all students in their year level to ensure consistency in each class.
Proficiency Scales are a set of levelled statements that clearly describe exactly what skills and knowledge students need to be able to demonstrate in order to be deemed ‘proficient’ in each of the Essential Learnings. The scales also contains descriptions of skills and knowledge above and below what is deemed to be ‘proficient’. Proficiency scales allow students to actively set goals, providing them with greater ownership and understanding of the continuum of their learning.
We recognise the importance of literacy as being central to the learning and development of all students, in all areas of the curriculum and place a strong emphasis on developing the academic vocabulary of our students.
Torquay Coast Primary School teaches spelling using the SMART spelling program. Students are provided with a range of instructional practices including shared and guided reading and writing sessions focusing on the explicit teaching of individual learning goals. Independent reading is integral to our reading and viewing programs. Our students are involved in the selection of texts from their classroom libraries and take home reading and are offered texts that they are interested in, encouraging a love a reading.
Our students are provided with Mathematics lessons that draw on the knowledge and skills required in Number & Algebra, Measurement & Geometry and Statistics & Probability to enable them to be successful in their personal and work lives. We focus on providing our students with hands on learning experiences using a wide variety of resources to support and develop their understanding of key concepts in Mathematics. Real life situations are integral in our units of work and in enabling our students to apply the proficiencies of understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning across all areas of Mathematics.
Inquiry units of work develop students understanding of science, humanities, sustainability, health and wellbeing and design and technology. These units of work also focus on teaching students the capabilities (critical and creative thinking, ethical, intercultural and personal and social) and are embedded across all areas of the curriculum.
Inquiry at Torquay coast Primary School is based on a whole school approach. Each term has an Inquiry and sustainability theme.
We are committed to being an inclusive, safe and positive community where students are empowered to achieve learning and life success.