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.

Evaluation

In the first newsletter of the last term, I wrote about the process of being evaluated as a school of the Primary Years Programme (PYP). Over the holidays, all our documents related to the requirements have been completed. The staff have worked hard considering what is required of the program, gathering evidence of how GGLPS displays the requirements and judging ourselves against the PYP standards and practices. The final document to be prepared was an action plan. This is an improvement plan that outlines how we can improve our teaching and learning program.

So what now?

Under normal circumstances, two people who have a great understanding of the PYP and have or do work in PYP schools, would view the documents, visit the school for 3 days, consider the gathered evidence and align their judgements of the GGLPS program with that of the PYP. 

In current circumstances, visits are taking place remotely. This means our visitors will view GGLPS through videos and live-streamed interviews. These times will see the evaluators viewing each classroom to watch lessons and engage with students. The evaluators also will spend time talking with staff and parents. I am excited by the possibility of showing the many perspectives and experiences within our teaching and learning program. 

The evaluation ‘visit’ will take place from November 9th – 11th. Leading up to this time, we will prepare videos of school events such as the Year 5 Celebration of Learning and Exhibition. I believe that we may be able to show our community spirit through MOT. If you have ideas about the things that are important and valued at GGLPS, please let me know so these things can be included in what we show the evaluating team.

Following the visit, the evaluators will write a report that will outline the areas we do well and those areas in which we can improve. We will then adjust our action plan to incorporate this thinking.

This process is designed to enable us to continue improving the way that our students learn and our teachers teach. Therefore, it is an exciting process to be part of! 

Jayne Zadow                                                                                                                                                  PYP Coordinator