Year Level & Specialist Curriculum

Foundation: 

Year One: 

Year Two:

Year Three: 

Year Four:

Year Five: 

Year Six:

Term 1 2025 Specialist Curriculum Overviews

Our Specialist programs will cover the following during Term One

Physical Education

Welcome and welcomeback families.  We have lots of PE and sport to cover and hopefully the weather stays like this for us to enjoy (perhaps not the absolute heat wave). In all year levels we will begin with setting expectations, setting our goals for the year ahead and getting to know each other better and then head into our various units while having lots of fun.

Prep:  We will be focusing on establishing rules and routine for the first part of our term in prep with various games.  As we progress through the term we will focus on our locomotor skills - such as jumping, skipping, leaping and running. We will conclude the term with focusing on some fundamental skills, particularly underarm throwing.

Year  1&2:Students will begin the year participating in co-operative games.  The aim of these games is to reduce emphasis on competition and increase emphasis on the social aspects of play and be a team player.  These will also incorporate practising the fundamental movement skills they have learnt over their first year or two at school and further develop these.  Later in the term, specific focus will be on reviewing our throwing and catching skills in various rotations and circuits.  Throughout the term we will focus on the students participating in games by following rules and can use equipment and space safely

Year  3:  Students will participate in modified versions of sports they will get to engage in next year at our various interschool sport days.  The focus this term will be on net/wall sports.  These are games in which players compete to outscore their opponent.  This term we aim to learn Newcombe ball, nitro ball and speedminton (a variant on tennis). The students will also have the opportunity to practise co-operating and supporting each other.

Year 4:  Students will experience their first Gala Day in week 9 (Tuesday 25th) which involves students participating in either hot shots tennis, newcombe ball, cricket or ultimate frisbee against other schools. Last year we focused on some of these sports in preparation, so in the coming weeks we will focus on ultimate frisbee and newcombe ball and practise these skills by participating in various drills and modified games. The students will also have the opportunity to practise co-operating and supporting each other.

Year 5 / 6:  Students will experience their first Gala day in the final week of term (Thu 3rd April) which involves the students having a choice of participating in volleystars (volleyball), hot shots tennis, cricket or ultimate frisbee.  The students will particularly focus on ultimate frisbee and volleyball/stars this term. The students will practise co-operating and supporting each other and being a team player throughout the term. The focus during this time will be on enjoying being active, whether they win or lose and encourage good sportsmanship.

Auslan

"Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do, except hear!"  - I. K. Jordan

​​Welcome to Term 1 Auslan and a great year ahead! As always, it’s fabulous to see familiar faces returning and welcome new families into the fold. For those who are keen to practise their Auslan skills at home or who have recently joined St James and would like to engage with material we have covered in past years, please check out the Auslan link on the Student Landing Page. Clicking the icon with 2 white hands on a purple square will give you access to some basic Auslan videos and story links. 

We will continue our aim of offering shared vocabulary themes across St James, where possible. The themes for 2025 have been inspired by feedback from students at the end of last year. An overwhelming percentage of our students Prep - 6 highlighted their interest in focussing on the areas of food and sport. So, we are using student-voice to inform our direction this year - food and sport themes, here we come! Students also expressed their desire to continue our school-wide ‘Name Game’ competition and to proceed with using our pictorial booklets to support consolidation of signed vocabulary. Finally, students have requested more signing games!

Preps will commence their Auslan journey with an introduction to the Deaf Community, Auslan greetings, animal signs, and eventually Easter signs. Throughout their first year, they will focus on signs associated with ‘self’ and learn to express simple preferences in sign language. Students will routinely participate in guided group activities and interactions, including signing games using repeated language structures and games.

Year 1 and 2 will begin the year by consolidating their Auslan vocabulary in the areas of greetings, colours, letters, numbers and common signs. Students will continue to develop seeking and receiving information from peers, with their hands, rather than voice. We will soon commence our food theme, with fresh vocabulary and a range of interactive activities. Students will engage in associated children’s literature and signed visual material, and improve their receptive skills. 

Year 3 - 6 will initially focus on revisiting greetings, questions and conversational signs, to ensure we are able to interact using Auslan, without voice support. Students will refine their productive and receptive Auslan skills with a range of relevant activities and peer interactions. A wider vocabulary base will be explored associated with our student-elected food theme, with particular relevance to their own lives and tastes. The degree of depth and complexity of material and content is increased by level. Students will engage with visual material created and signed by Deaf presenters, and their receptive skills will be assessed at the conclusion of this unit. 

Performing Arts

Welcome to Performing Arts in 2024! All students from Prep to Year 6 will study Performing Arts in Semester One in preparation for our bi-annual school concert, scheduled for early Term 3. The first few weeks will include fun activities like singing songs and playing games to foster positive relationships and establish routines and expectations in the Performing Arts Classroom.

Prep – Prep students will develop a sense of steady beat through singing songs, using body percussion, playing instruments, and moving to music. They will also explore sound and develop their singing voice. Drama activities will be based on the story Magic Beach, with games designed to help students explore voice, movement, and facial expressions to improvise characters and communicate stories.

Year 1 and 2 – Year 1 and 2 students will deepen their understanding of rhythm and melody through singing, playing instruments, and creating compositions using graphic notation. They will explore the story Too Many Cheeky Dogs through drama, using their bodies, voices, and imaginations to bring characters and events to life. Students will collaborate to create scenes, improvise dialogue, and express emotions, while building confidence and creativity in performance.

Year 3 and 4 – In music, students will extend their knowledge of rhythmic and melodic elements through singing, playing instruments, learning solfege, and graphically notating music. Year 4 students will also learn to play rhythms using cups as a percussion instrument. In drama and media arts, students will explore the story of Tiddalick and create their own audiobook in small groups.

Year 5 and 6 – Year 5 and 6 students will explore film soundtracks in music and complete their Soundtrack of My Life presentation, showcasing their musical knowledge and exploring the connection between songs and emotions. They will also begin learning to play the ukulele. In Media Arts, students will explore The Lost Thing and collaborate to create a stop-motion animation featuring their own unique "lost thing." They will develop skills in planning, storyboarding, filming, and editing, using digital tools to bring their creative ideas to life.

STEM

Welcome back to 2025!  

I am looking forward to seeing all of the students back in the lab ready to explore, design, develop, build, wonder and enjoy the ever evolving world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

Prep-  Students, this term, will be looking at using the iPads to take photos and manipulate the photos.  They will then move on to logging on to computers and being able to use the keyboard and mouse.

Year 1- Students will be working through modules in Cyber Safety.  They will be looking at passwords, being internet safe, knowing what websites are suitable for them, balancing screen time with real time, and information protection.

Year 2 - Students will be looking at what is a safe password and choosing one for themselves and looking at some Cyber Safety sites and apps to help them develop their online safety, knowing about sharing pictures online, and real friends vs online friends.

Year 3 - Students will be working through Think U Know videos and 

Programs where they will look at being a good cyber citizen, positive online language and knowing when it's too much screen time.  They will also be developing their typing skills as well as Google Apps skills and knowledge.

Year 4 - Students will be working through the Google Cyber Safety Programs Game On and Interland.  They will work through each module and discuss and solve problems in various areas like digital footprint, being a good cyber citizen, phishing etc.

Year 5- Students will be working through the eSafety website.  They will focus on one area on the website and then use skills in iMovie Trailer to develop their trailer on that cyber safety area.  They will also be using the app The Lost Summer where they will be looking at issues that arise when working and playing online.  They will be developing their online awareness and digital footprint.

Year 6 - Students will be combining two different skill sets this term.  They will be reflecting on their Cyber Safety awareness and knowledge firstly.  Secondly they will be looking at a Stop Motion app and will develop skills to use this.  They will then combine these skills to make a Stop Motion recording with a Cyber Safety message for a target audience.