SPECIALIST PROGRAMS

HUMANITIES

Students are provided with a one hour session of Humanities each week as part of our specialist day each Friday. The Humanities curriculum includes Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History.

Students in Foundation to Year 2 largely focus on understanding the local community, services that are provided and places of familiarity in the local area.  A large component of the program at this level is the understandings of community, responsibility and rules.

The Humanities curriculum in Years 3 and 4 explores the role of Local Government and its responsibilities to the community. The journey of the First Fleet, National Parks and the Australian environment are also studied at this level.

At Years 5 and 6, the Economics and Business component of Humanities is introduced. This also forms a large part of the school’s biannual mini market where students plan, design, create and sell products to both the school and local community. Civics and Citizenship is expanded to include the role of the Federal Government and how laws are made in Australia. The Geography and History curriculum focusses on Federation of Australia and Natural Disasters and their impact on both societies and the environment.

HEALTH

At Stawell West Primary School, students learn about the dimensions of Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Social Health and Development.

We identify and analyse the factors that influence the health, wellbeing and the access of products and services in our local community, as well as take action for health promotion. Students explore their own social and emotional health and learn strategies to be more resilient. Students learn to understand and research health information and learn to make active choices about their own health.

The Health Curriculum focuses on Growth vs Fixed mindset; Social and Emotional Health; Safety and Well being; Development (Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Social); Health Promotion and Drug Education.

ICT & DESIGN

Stawell West Primary School provides an Information and Communication Technology program for all children as outlined in the Victorian curriculum.

We provide students with hands-on experience in computing technology products, processes and equipment. Laptops and Ipads are timetabled for use by the whole school. This allows for further computer interface for all students in the school. These pods of laptops are paired with portable hardware such as video cameras, microphones and webcams.

All classrooms are equipped with large screen TV’s. Interactive learning encourages student engagement in all learning areas.

Our ICT Program commences in Prep and culminates in Year 6 with the production of movies, touch typing, coding, microsoft platforms, robotics, video editing, syber safety and other dynamic projects.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Through the Movement and Physical Activity Strand, we teach our students:
Moving the body
This lays the important early foundations of play and fundamental movement skills. It focuses on the acquisition and refinement of a broad range of movement skills. Our students develop skills and dispositions necessary for lifelong participation in physical activities.

Understanding movement
We focus on developing our students’ knowledge and understanding about how and why the body moves and what happens to bodies when they move. While participating in physical activities, our students analyse and evaluate theories, techniques and strategies that can be used to understand and enhance the quality of movement and physical activity performance. They explore the place and meaning of physical activity, outdoor recreation and sport in their own lives, and across time and cultures.

Learning through movement
Teachers focus on the personal and social skills that can be developed through participation in movement and physical activities. These skills include communication, decision-making, problem-solving, critical and creative thinking, and cooperation. The skills are developed as our students work individually and in small groups or teams to perform movement tasks or solve movement challenges. Through movement experiences, they develop other important personal and social skills such as self-awareness, self-management, persisting with challenges and striving for enhanced performance. They also experience the varied roles within organised sport and recreation.

SCIENCE

The weekly Science sessions follows the Primary Connections program which is an inquiry based approach linking Science and literacy.

Each term there is a focus on one of the four domains- Biological Science, Chemical Science, Physical Science and Earth and Space Sciences. Each year level participates in a topic relevant to the Science scope and sequence devised by the Victorian Curriculum team.

Students in Years 3-6 also have a fortnightly Sustainability session where the focus is teaching them about looking after the environment.

VISUAL ARTS

In Visual Arts, students at Stawell West learn and develop skills surrounding the:
1. Elements of Art: colour, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value. As well as:
2. The Principles of Art: balance, emphasis, harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, repetition, rhythm, unity, and variety.

They use many different techniques to make and respond to artworks inspired by both modern and historical Artists all over the world. Students are taught and exposed to many different mediums such as: painting, drawing, collage, mosaics, ceramics, sculpting, printmaking and textiles.

CHINESE

Our students have the opportunity to learn the Chinese language and aspects of Chinese culture. For an hour each week, students are immersed in the Chinese language to improve their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. We also have Chinese students visit the school to learn more about Australia – we also learnt a lot from them through these cultural exchanges.

RESILIENCE PROGRAM

At Stawell West Primary, we deliver weekly student wellbeing sessions, through the guidelines of the Resilience Project. This emotionally, engaging program provides practical strategies to help improve students’ metal health and to assist in building resilience and happiness. The program also has a strong focus on teaching gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.