The learning and teaching at St Luke’s ensures comprehensive coverage of all Key Learning Areas set by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).
St Luke’s at Marsden Park is a next generation Catholic learning community establishing the ‘new normal’ for preschool to post-school learning as part of an extended school day. Within an orderly and secure environment, literacy and numeracy are be viewed as strong foundations for all, and we strive to provide a flexible curriculum which encourages students to take risks as self-directed learners.
The videos below show learning in action at St Luke's Catholic College.
The Key Learning Areas
Religious Education
At St Luke’s we offer each child the opportunity to come to know Jesus, our Saviour, and our Christian heritage.
The essential goal of Religious Education in a Catholic school is to encourage and assist children in their growth to Christian maturity. The Catholic Education Office document, Sharing our Story, is implemented in each classroom and Religious Education is integrated into everyday life in the school. It governs all contact between community members as we strive to promote the dignity of each person and create a faith community that reflects God’s love.
Religious Education enables children to:
- know and love God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
- develop an awareness that God is a friend who loves us and walks with us every day of our lives
- experience, within a secure school environment, the confidence to cope with life
- grow as active and supportive members of our faith community
- know, share and respond to Jesus’ message of love.
Daily prayer and regular liturgical celebrations are crucial dimensions of our Religious Education program. The children are involved in organising and attending class and school liturgies. Parents are most welcome to join our celebrations.
English
English is one of the seven Key Learning Areas in the school curriculum K-6. As well as being a key learning area in its own right, English has a wider role as a means of learning in all curriculum areas.
By studying, responding to and creating a variety of texts, children will learn to:
- communicate effectively
- use language to make meaning according to their purpose, audience and context
- think in ways that are imaginative, creative, interpretive and critical
- express themselves and their relationships with others in their world
- reflect on their learning.
Students will value and appreciate the:
- importance of English to learning
- personal enrichment to be gained from a love of English, literature and learning
- power of language
- role of language in developing positive relationships
- diversity and beauty of language
- independence gained from thinking imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically.
At St Luke’s we aim to develop the competence and confidence of all students in learning and using English, thus enabling them to effectively participate in our society. We also support this through:
Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery is an early literacy intervention that provides one-to-one teaching for children who need greater assistance in learning to read and write following their first year of school. It is a daily, individualised program delivered by a specialist teacher that engages children in reading books and writing their own stories. It enhances classroom programs and enables children to quickly 'catch up' to the average level of their class.
Reading Recovery builds on the strengths of each child and encourages them to become independent, strategic readers and writers.
Case Management Meetings
Case management meetings provide an opportunity for additional support for students who require further modification of classroom programs. This meeting involves the class teacher and a member of the leadership team. It could also include a learning support teacher or a former teacher of the student. The aim is to address the specific needs of a student in order to further support their learning in the classroom.
Library
At St Luke’s we will not have a physical library space. However, we will have books available for students to borrow, with the intention that students will be supported in order to become readers who access books at point of need, borrowing and returning books quite independently. We will also be encouraging students to utilise e-library resources for reading.
Mathematics
The aim of Mathematics is for children to:
- be confident users of mathematics
- be able to investigate, represent and interpret situations
- develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of concepts and fluency
- be able to pose and solve problems
- be able to reason
- recognise connections between areas of mathematics and other disciplines
- appreciate mathematics as an important and relevant part of life
- demonstrate interest, enjoyment and confidence in using mathematics and
- demonstrate perseverance in undertaking mathematical challenges.
Students will develop knowledge, skills and understanding in:
- Working Mathematically – students will develop understanding and fluency through inquiry, exploring and connecting concepts, choosing and applying problem-solving skills and mathematical techniques, communication and reasoning
- Number and Algebra – students will develop efficient strategies for numerical calculation, recognise patterns, describe relationships and apply algebraic techniques and generalisation
- Measurement and Geometry – students will identify, visualise and quantify measures and the attributes of shapes and objects, and explore measurement concepts and geometric relationships, applying formulas, strategies and geometric reasoning in the solution of problems
- Statistics and Probability – students will collect, represent, analyse, interpret and evaluate data, assign and use probabilities, and make sound judgements.
At St Luke’s we aim to develop the competence and confidence of all students in learning and using Mathematics, thus enabling them to effectively participate in our society. We also support this through:
Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU)
EMU is a research-based early numeracy intervention that provides small group teaching for children who need greater assistance in understanding mathematics following their first year of school. It is a daily program delivered by a specialist teacher that engages children in mathematical tasks designed to deepen understanding.
It enhances the classroom program and enables children to quickly ‘catch up’ to the average level of their class.
EMU builds on the strengths of every child and encourages them to become independent and strategic learners.
Science & Technology
Science and Technology aims to develop students’ wonder and curiosity about their world, as well as helping them to recognise the importance of science and technology in their lives now and for the future. Science & Technology aims to develop understanding and skills to enable students to:
- work scientifically
- work technologically
- learn about natural and made environments
Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE)
Human Society and Its Environment encompasses the areas of History and Geography.
The study of History is designed to stimulate students’ interest in and enjoyment of exploring the past, to develop a critical understanding of the past and its impact on the present, to develop the critical skills of historical inquiry and to enable students to participate as active, informed and responsible citizens.
The study of Geography is designed to stimulate students’ interest in and engagement with the world. Through geographical inquiry they develop an understanding of the interactions between people, places and environments in order to become informed, responsible and active citizens.
Creative Arts
Creative Arts aims to provide students with basic learning in the art forms through the subjects of Visual Arts, Music, Drama and Dance. Many experiences provided lend themselves to integration across other Key Learning Areas.
The curriculum is designed for students to develop knowledge, skills and understanding in:
- making and appreciating artworks
- performing and appreciating music (singing, playing and moving)
- performing (taking on roles and creating imagined situations) and appreciating dramatic works
- composing and appreciating dance.
Visual Arts
In Visual Arts, students engage with the concepts of artists, artworks, the audience and the world. In making they learn how they can investigate the world through selected subject matter (eg people, objects, places and spaces) and work with the forms (eg painting, drawing, digital works) in expressive ways. These investigations of subject matter and the forms are further developed in their appreciation of artists, designers, craftspeople, architects and their works.
Music
In Music, students develop knowledge and understanding, skills, values and attitudes in Performing, Organising Sound and Listening by experiencing musical concepts (duration, pitch, dynamics, tone colour, and structure) within a wide range of Repertoire through a sequential and planned process of teaching and learning.
Dance
In Dance, students will develop knowledge and understanding, skills, values and attitudes in Performing, Composing and Appreciating by engaging with the elements of dance (action dynamics, time, space, relationships and structure) through a range of contexts within a planned and sequential process of teaching and learning.
Learning to perform, compose and appreciate in dance involves a range of skills that use the dancing body and the elements of dance. Students use the elements in performing, composing and appreciating. With ideas for dance drawn from a range of contexts, they engage with the concepts of dance artists (performers and choreographers), dance works, the audience and the world to develop broader and deeper knowledge, understanding, values and attitudes about dance.
Drama
In Drama, students will develop knowledge and understanding, skills, values and attitudes in making, performing and appreciating by engaging in role, dramatic contexts, elements and forms. Learning in Drama is most effective when learning experiences in making, performing and appreciating are integrated in a planned and sequential process of teaching and learning.
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE)
Personal development, Health and Physical Education is in keeping with the Catholic ideals of education of the whole person. Thoughts, sensations, emotions and physical activities all have an influence on each other and on the individual’s growth towards personal maturity. Catholic education aims to mould these elements into a harmonious unity, in the light of human understanding and faith.
This program supports the development of the student as a whole person by:
- encouraging an understanding and valuing of self and others
- promoting physical activity
- emphasising informed decision-making leading to effective and responsible actions.
The study of PDHPE is concerned with:
- Growth and Development - physical, social, cognitive and emotional
- Personal Health Choices - making, communicating and acting upon health decisions
- Interpersonal Relationships - forming and maintaining positive relationships
- Safe Living – living and learning in a safe, secure environment
- Active Lifestyle - knowing how to enhance personal and community health and wellbeing
- Games and Sports, Dance & Gymnastics – the composition, performance and appraisal of movement.
All students are involved in weekly sport and/or physical education lessons. In addition to this, students have the opportunity to be selected for competitions across the school, Zone, Diocesan, inter-Diocesan and Stage level in swimming, athletics, cross-country, soccer, netball, etc.