Curriculum

Primary Years Program at GGLPS

GGLPS teaches the Australian curriculum using the Primary Years Program (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate as a framework to impart this. There are many different aspects to the Teaching and Learning program of the school and these are some of the rich learning experiences in which the students are involved.

PYP Evaluation

For the last 18 months, the staff have been committed to the process of self-study and evaluation. This process culminated in two evaluators, one from Perth and one from Melbourne, visiting each classroom through live streaming. They viewed lessons, looked closely at classroom environments and spoke to students in each classroom. The evaluators spoke to all the teachers and to members of School Council, to parents and small groups of students outside of the classroom.

As previously mentioned, the school was evaluated against 7 standards and 76 practices against which evidence had been gathered. The evidence was presented as policies, learning planning, student work samples, photos and videos. The evaluators also used their conversations and classroom visits as evidence.

Today, we received our evaluation report, which presented 53 pages of observations and reflections related to the standards and practices. I am very proud to say that our report confirms that GGLPS are being true to the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and offered 13 commendations. Steve Wishart, IB World Schools Manager – Australasia/Asia, wrote saying,

‘Congratulations on the number and nature of commendations identified within the report. These highlight practice exceeding the requirements of the programme and indicate strong programme implementation. Both commendations and practice meeting programme requirements should be celebrated as a significant achievement.’

Some examples of the commendations given include:

• The school council members, leadership team and staff demonstrate a depth of understanding of the IB philosophy. The strategic direction of the school shows evidence of continued development of an understanding of IB philosophy
• The school provides an engaging and supportive learning environment which draws up various technologies.
• The school is strongly committed to the personal and social education of all its students and has taken steps to put whole school practices into place.
• Students highlight their role in the learning process and share evidence of how they are empowered to become responsible for their own learning. They also raise the importance of taking responsibility for their own learning. 
• The school engages a diverse range of technologies and resources to support units of inquiry, teaching and learning. 

I want to thank the staff for their efforts, not only as they prepared for evaluation, but for their commitment and efforts in doing their best for the students. 

Jayne Zadow                                                                                                                                               PYP Coordinator