Our Learning

 Our Lady of Fatima Parish Primary School 

The Curriculum at Our Lady of Fatima follows the guidelines set by VCAA in the Victorian F-10 Curriculum which incorporates the Australian Curriculum. The curriculum sets out what all young Australians are to be taught, and the expected quality of learning as they progress through their schooling. The Victorian Curriculum F-10 is the curriculum for Victorian schools.

​

Curriculum areas are: Religion, English, Mathematics, Science, The Humanities, Technologies, Languages, The Arts, Health and Physical Education.  These are explored through the Capabilities areas: Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social, Ethical and Intercultural.

Religion

Developing a personal relationship with God, Religion, Ourselves and the World

At Our Lady of Fatima we believe that the Catholic faith and its traditions are central to the purpose of our school. Religious Education enables learners to encounter God in their lives and to articulate what this means, in an environment that welcomes multicultural and multi-faith world views. 

We:

• Continue to foster an environment, which nurtures and strengthens faith formation and allows learners to engage with the deep questions of life.  

• Assist and support the on-going development of all learners in the school faith community.   

• Inspire the school community to be good, kind people and understand how to live the Sacraments in everyday life.  

• Provide opportunities for students to plan and participate in celebrations, prayer and liturgies within school/parish community.   

• Provide a program, which integrates the culture and life experience of the broader community with the faith experience of the school community through the exploration of big concepts and deep questions.  

Specialist Program:

Performing Arts

Building Creativity through Drama, Music & Performance

We have a strong Performing Arts Culture in the school and students can elect to be part of the choir and participate in lunch time activities around the performance. Students also participate in weekly Performing Arts lessons that encompasses Music, Drama and performance based activities.

Specialist Program:

Visual Arts

Seeing the world through a different lens

Our Art work and displays go beyond the four walls of our weekly specialist Art lessons.  Students have opportunities to make and create works that are entered in local, state and national competitions and our pieces adorn the classrooms, playground and even the trees in our school!

Specialist Program:

Physical Education

Healthy body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Heart

Students participate in weekly Physical Education lessons and as they move in to the Senior area of the school have the opportunity to compete in interschool sports up to state competitions.  

We also feature an extensive Outdoor Education Program beginning with such activities as Junior Camp and Life Saving Education days. Senior children also have the opportunity to participate in our Outdoor Education elective program.

Specialist Program:

Gardening and food Technology

Nurturing through Nature, Food for Life

Children are actively involved in our Garden Program which might see them cooking fresh produce from the garden or creating sculptures, mosaics, scare crows or art work for our grounds.

Electives

Choose your learning path, Student Voice Leading the Way

In Year 5 and 6 students participate in our Electives program where they choose from a range of interest activities over a Semester (half year).  Students use their voices to plan and co-design a range of subjects and activities with their teachers that they elect to enrol in. For 2021 these are:

​

• Outdoor Education and engaging in the local environment

• Garden gurus

• Home Economics/Food Technology

• Script design and film making

The POD

Learning through Play, Collaboration and Initiative

The POD is a unique feature of our playground.  We have a large shipping container that is full of clean industrial scrap that is suitable for playground games and construction.  It is a major feature of our "Learning through play" philosophy and a much valued part of play in our school yard.

Students play, create and construct in groups and are taught how to use the materials safely.  It is constantly renewed and topped up with new materials and a highlight for many of our students at lunchtimes.

STEM - Our new STEM room

Big, bright and set up for designing through science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach to extend capabilities to the classroom.

The term “design thinking” is often attached to maker spaces and STEM labs. However, design thinking is bigger than STEM. It begins with the premise of tapping into student curiosity and allowing them to create, test and re-create until they eventually ship what they made to a real audience (sometimes global but often local). Design thinking isn’t a subject or a topic or a class. It’s more of way of solving problems that encourages risk-taking and creativity. We use John Spencer's Launch cycle to engage and excite and plan for creative inquiry.

Buddy Program and lunchtime activities

Whole School Buddy Program and lunchtime activities to Cater for All, Joy through Play

Each lunchtime as well as regular lunchtime play and the POD, we also have games and special activities c0-created by our play coach and counsellor that students can access while at play.

​

We are a “Better Buddies’ school. (Alannah & Madeline Foundation program). All students have a Buddy and teachers have a buddy. We organise activities and sessions where the Buddies can build relationships doing various interesting tasks related to the Curriculum and be positive mentors.

• Preps students are paired with Year 6 students

• Year 1 students are connected to Year 4 students

• Year 2 students are connected to Year 5 students

• Year 3 students are connected to Year 6 students

• Year 6 students are paired with a staff member

Camp

New experiences, new horizons

The camp program operates on a 2 year cycle. In 2021 Year 5 & 6 children will attend camp at Phillip Island, Year 3 & 4 children will attend camp at Portsea.  Our Year P/1/2 participate in a modified long day camp program in preparation for the year 3-6 program at Don Bosco Camp.

In 2022 Year 5 & 6 children will attend camp at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat. Year 3 & 4 children will attend The Briars, Mt Martha.  Our Year P/1/2 participate in a modified transition to camp program in preparation for the year 3-6 program.