Learning and Curriculum Primary - Stage 3
Term 1 Week 3
It has been great to see students engaging with their learning, building connections, and establishing strong foundations for the year ahead. A huge thanks to all Stage 3 families that were in attendance yesterday for our information and open classrooms evening. This very visible show of support and all you do to set your child or children up for success is appreciated.
Writing in Stage 3
This year, we are determined to revolutionise our writing in Stage 3! After careful consideration of data, all Stage 3 staff engaged in professional development in 2024 around ‘The Writing Revolution’ which is an evidence-based and proven instructional methodology. The methodology rests on explicit, carefully sequenced instruction, building from sentences to compositions. This year, classes are working with Mrs Tatola and a buddy class once a cycle, with a sharp focus on how to enhance our writing. This fortnight’s focus has been ‘fragments and sentences’, with students learning to identify the key elements of a sentence and repairing fragments so that they are grammatically correct. Key learnings from this fortnight include:
The concept of a complete sentence and how to discern sentence boundaries.
Provides practice with capitalisation, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary.
Serves as a comprehension check.
Helps students understand the meaning of subjects, verbs, and prepositional phrases.
Mathematics in Stage 3
In 2023, the Junior School implemented a grouping approach to Mathematics, whereby students from the seven homeroom classes were placed into an ability-based Mathematics class. This structure allowed for smaller class sizes and targeted teaching to meet each student at his point of need. The classes were designed in a way so that each class was paired with another of similar ability, allowing staff to collaborate, plan and assess effectively. Data obtained at the end of both the 2023 and 2024 academic years from Academic Assessment Services (AAS) and ACER Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT-Maths) showed significant growth for students of all abilities.
Due to the positive outcomes in terms of student learning over the past two years, Stage 3 will follow the same model for Mathematics in 2025. This week, Year 6 students moved into their Maths classes, and Year 5 students will do the same later this week, after careful analysis of their AAS and PAT-Maths results.
It is important to note that the data captured in the above tests is only a snapshot of your son’s ability, and therefore, students may be moved across classes based on the understanding they display in class, as well as teacher recommendation. We appreciate your support in these initial weeks as we find the most suitable Mathematics class for your son.
Sarah Tatola Daniel Fields
Head of Teaching and Learning (Stage 3) Head of Curriculum (Stage 3)