Literacy News

We are thrilled to announce that our school - along with many others - has joined the Diocese of Ballarat's Structured Literacy Project. In 2024 we will be taking the first steps towards a renewed, evidence-based approach to Literacy instruction through participation in this award-winning research partnership with La Trobe University.

The Sciences of Reading and Learning tell us that a systematic, explicit approach to the teaching of the alphabetic code and the grammatical rules that underpin written English offers our students the best chance at becoming confidently literate. The approach we are strategically adopting is called Structured Literacy, which is the approach endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association, the International Literacy Association and the Australian National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy.

Our whole staff group will be working closely with the Structured Literacy team from the Catholic Education Office over the next few years, to learn more about the principles, elements and characteristics of a Structured Literacy approach. This is a substantial change that will take time. However, we are assured by the results achieved in the pilot schools and the endorsement of the La Trobe University researchers.

We will strive to keep you updated on the progress of this important project, but for now you may wish to watch this short video from the DOBCEL Structured Literacy team to find out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLLrFOqmg7k

Write A Book in a Day

Congratulations to our 2023 Write a Book in a Day team, the Catastrophic Colac Creators!

Our team of Year 6 writers and illustrators worked all day to produce their book titled, The Moving Grooving Gallery. We are thrilled to announce that the team received an award for their efforts – Highly Commended in the ‘Best Book for Victoria/South Australia/Tasmania Primary School’ Division.

Well done to our team of writers; Rose Alexander, Kayleb Bartlett, Samriddi Budhathoki, Gypsy Costello, Olivia Featherston, Mishka Lacny, Alexis Leahy, Olivia Marriner, Moses Rongdit and Hugo Saarikallio.