Curriculum
Australian Curriculum
The Melbourne Declaration guides the development of the Australian Curriculum on Educational Goals for Young Australians, adopted by the council of state and territory education ministers in December 2008. The Melbourne Declaration emphasises the importance of knowledge, understanding and skills of learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities as the basis for a curriculum designed to support contemporary learning.
The Australian Curriculum describes a learning entitlement for each Australian student that provides a foundation for successful, lifelong learning and participation in the Australian community. It acknowledges that the needs and interests of students will vary and that schools and teachers will plan from the curriculum in ways that respond to those needs and interests. The Australian Curriculum acknowledges the changing ways in which young people will learn and the challenges that will continue to shape their learning in the future.
The Australian Curriculum will eventually be developed for all learning areas, and subjects set out in the Melbourne Declaration: initially for English, mathematics, science and history; followed by geography, languages, the arts, economics, business, civics and citizenship, health and physical education, and information and communication technology and design and technology.
NSW Curriculum
Schooling in NSW is based on the mandatory NSW syllabuses for students from Kindergarten to Year 12. The syllabuses are developed and endorsed by NESA.
St Brigid's follows the approved syllabuses with the exception of Religious Education, which is approved by the Bishop.
Please visit the New South Wales Education for more information on the NSW syllabuses: Standards Authority (NESA) website.
Subjects are called Key Learning Areas (KLAs).
They are:
- Mathematics
- Science and Technology
- English
- HSIE
- Personal Development Health and Physical Education
- Creative Arts
- Religious Education
As a Catholic school, Religious Education is both a Key Learning Area and integral to our way of life.
As a school of the 21st century, St Brigid's provides students with learning environments that encourage investigation, exploration, and creativity. Students are provided with opportunities to develop technological information and higher-order thinking skills as they develop an understanding of how they learn. Through reflection and evaluation, the children are empowered to independently extend their learning.
Learning and Teaching Framework
At St Brigid's, we are committed to excellence and equity in the growth and development of all students as lifelong learners who are actively engaged with a passionate curiosity and wonder about the world. At its heart, education equips students with the attributes, knowledge, skills and confidence they need to live fulfilling, productive and responsible lives. Students engage with a range of people, places, and disciplines to grow as critical and creative problem-solvers who embrace society in all its diversity.
Learners in our school are empowered to become co-responsible for their learning as they explore an increasingly interconnected and complex world through:
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a rich curriculum that engages;
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pedagogy that empowers;
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environments that enable;
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a powerful culture of learning for continual growth.
These four dimensions are at the heart of learning and teaching, inspiring, challenging, empowering, and developing students' love of learning. We draw on the Catholic tradition, providing direction and meaning for students as they engage with their lives' religious and spiritual dimensions.
Highly skilled teachers, and those who support them, have a central role in the learning process as they use their expert knowledge, skills and dispositions to engage in learning and feedback in partnership with students. They build learning communities that inspire, engage and challenge students as they seek to make sense of their world and their role in it. They model lifelong learning through intentional collaborative practise, feedback and reflection. Through deep thinking and meaningful engagement, they challenge themselves and their students to co-construct and apply new knowledge in a range of contexts.
Teaching is a vocation that calls for recognition that we recognise that we are walking on the 'sacred ground of the other' (Evangelii Gaudium, 169).
Learning @ St Brigid's
Our Learning Vision Is: 'BELIEVE – ACHIEVE – SUCCEED'
We believe that gospel values underpin all that we achieve and succeed at our school.
We are constantly evolving our practices and innovating to achieve improved outcomes, developing the leadership capacity of our learners and celebrating success throughout the school.
We value, challenge and support each other in our learning and strive daily to create successful, faith-filled learners preparing for the challenges of the 21st century.
Religious Education
The Religious Education Syllabus is central to the learning life of students in the Catholic school. Topics include Liturgical Seasons, the Church, Prayer, Mission and Justice and relationships with Self, Others and the World. Students and their families are supported in this through the use of the resource books To Know Worship and Love, which is a compulsory text.
English
This involves developing the skills needed to read widely with understanding and enjoyment; to spell accurately; to write grammatically in a variety of forms; to understand the function of language; to listen and communicate effectively in a variety of situations, and to assess critically good literature.
Visual literacy and relevant computer skills are also included in English.
Mathematics
This involves learning the basics of numbers, space and measurement, developing calculating, reasoning, predicting and verifying skills, developing students’ ability to think mathematically and laying the foundations for future study of Mathematics.
Science
This involves skills of inquiry, investigating, designing and problem-solving; gaining knowledge and understanding about natural and modified environments and people’s interaction with them; acquiring knowledge of design processes; and understanding the interaction of technology and society.
Human Society & Its Environment (History and Geography)
This involves developing investigation, communication and social skills; gaining knowledge and understanding about the history of Australia, its geography, social institutions and place in the world; developing a commitment to maintaining or improving the environment; exploring, comparing and appreciating religious and moral beliefs and values; learning about other cultures and languages.
Creative Arts
This involves developing technical competence and skills of designing and performing; and learning appreciation and self-expression in visual and performing arts.
Personal Development, Health & Physical Education
This involves learning to develop an active, healthy lifestyle, developing skills in interpersonal relationships and positive values, attitudes and beliefs and participating in regular physical activity. External providers support some strands of the PE syllabus. (The Personal Development Area is also addressed in the Religious Education Curriculum).