Teaching & Learning 

2026 Home Learning

Home Learning booklets will be sent home during Week 5!  At Whittlesea Primary School, we know that home learning should support both learning and wellbeing. Research shows that when students are given time to rest and recover from formal lessons, they come back to school feeling refreshed and ready to learn. That’s why our approach to home learning is built around reading for enjoyment, practising skills already learnt, and time for play.

Our home learning motto is Reading. Practice. Play.

We Want Students To:

• Read for pleasure – choose books they love, enjoy stories and explore new worlds through reading. In 3-6, students can borrow a book from
• the library. In F-2, students will be given levelled take-home readers or can read online at the Little Learners Library.
• Practice and become more fluent – revisit skills taught at school in a way that helps them feel confident and capable
• Play and have fun – learning through play helps our brains grow and supports clever thinking in reading, maths and creativity.

What We’re Asking Students To Do

• Read at least 3 nights each week
• Aim for about 10 minutes daily of reading per year level (for example, around 20 minutes for a Year 2 student)
• Use your booklet to record the nights you read.

Additional Learning Tasks

We also provide a range of online learning tools to support your learning

and make it fun:

• Reading Eggs – build your reading skills through games and activities.
• Mathletics – practice your maths with engaging challenges.
• Essential Assessment – including Sunset Maths gameplay, and personalised pathways like My Numeracy and My Literacy to help you focus on your own learning goals.

What Happens Next...

Your completed Home Learning booklet is to be returned to your teacher

in Week 10.

Students who show dedication will be celebrated as Home Learning Legends at the end of the term! We can’t wait to celebrate our students’ success!

Enjoy your reading, practice your skills with confidence, and remember to

Have fun exploring and playing as part of your learning journey!

What is Victorian High-Ability Program (VHAP)?

VHAP is a Department of Education initiative that provides extension opportunities for high-ability students in Years 5–8.  Through ten online learning sessions led by specialist teachers, students engage in challenging tasks in English and Mathematics alongside like-minded peers from schools across Victoria. The program is designed to extend students beyond the regular classroom curriculum.

This term, three of our Year 5/6 students have been selected to participate in the Victorian High-Ability Program (VHAP) in Mathematics.  This is a wonderful achievement and a fantastic opportunity for extension and enrichment.

What is the purpose of the program?

VHAP aims to challenge and inspire students by developing their higher-order thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills. The program encourages students to think deeply, ask thoughtful questions and explore complex ideas. It also supports the development of confidence, resilience and a strong growth mindset.

How are students selected?

Students are identified by the Department of Education, using a combination of school assessment data (e.g. NAPLAN) and teacher judgement.  Selection is based on students demonstrating a high ability and readiness for extension learning. Families are informed prior to participation, and students are supported throughout the program.

What does participation look like?

Students participate in weekly online sessions during school hours and complete follow-up learning tasks to extend their thinking.  They collaborate with students from other schools and engage in rich discussions and problem-solving activities.  VHAP runs alongside regular classroom learning and complements the work students are already doing.

In particular, VHAP Mathematics allows students to embrace the “why” of maths, not just the “what”.  Students and teachers focus on deep thinking rather than simply accelerating through content, in order to strengthen both students' confidence and mathematical understanding. 

Students are encouraged to:

• Solve rich, open-ended problems
• Justify their reasoning and explain their thinking
• Collaborate with peers from other schools
• Apply mathematical concepts in new and challenging ways

Well Done!

We are incredibly proud of our selected students for embracing this opportunity and representing our school so positively.  Their participation reflects not only their mathematical ability but also their enthusiasm for learning and willingness to challenge themselves.

Congratulations to our VHAP participants!