St John's
Heidelberg
Our Learning
St John's Catholic Parish Primary School
At St John’s, we believe that a student who feels supported and valued for her/his individuality is able to make the most of all learning opportunities. An environment that is engaging, safe and challenging allows for effective learning to take place. We have a strong commitment to fostering positive relationships and collaboration, in order to enhance the whole school learning environment.
Through inquiry based learning, we strive to provide a rich and relevant curriculum that incorporates communication, critical thinking, creativity and global citizenship.
As a Catholic Primary School we are committed to helping our students learn about and live our faith, as well as implement the academic curriculum. We utilise the Victorian Curriculum alongside the Religious Education Curriculum Framework (Archdiocese of Melbourne).
Learning Areas and Capabilities of the Victorian Curriculum:
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English
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Mathematics
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Science
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Physical Education
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The Arts: Music, Drama, Dance, Media Arts, Visual Arts
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Languages: Italian
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Humanities: History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business
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Technologies
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Capabilities: Personal and Social Learning, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Capability and Intercultural Understanding.
Education in Faith
At St John’s, our Catholic faith permeates all that we do and is at the centre of both the formal and informal curriculum. By aligning with our Vision Statement - An inclusive Catholic community, fostering a commitment to faith and nurturing a love of learning, we celebrate our faith through our daily interactions with each other. We explore with our students what our faith asks us to be in our everyday life – to be the face of Christ for those around us. We help the students to develop an understanding of the relevance of their faith in their world by making connections from their learning to their world.
Learning about our Faith
St John’s implements the Renewed Religious Education Curriculum Framework as directed by the Archdiocese of Melbourne and is integrated with the student's inquiry learning. This strategy enables children to see that God; their relationship with him, with others and the wider world, is relevant and provides important guiding principles for their lives now and into the future.
The learning structure of the Religious Education Curriculum has three components across five content areas:
Three Strands of Learning:
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Knowledge and Understanding – seeking truth
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Reasoning and Responding – making meaning
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Personal and Communal Engagement – living story
Five content areas:
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Jesus and Scripture
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Church and Community
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God, Religion and Life
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Prayer, Liturgy and Sacraments
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Morality and Justice
Prayer and Worship
Students enter into a prayer life with their class through daily prayer and reflections, including Christian meditations, level and whole school mass.
Sacramental Programs
Sacraments are received in the following year levels:
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Reconciliation (Penance): Year 3
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Eucharist (Communion): Year 4
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Confirmation: Year 6
Social Justice
Social Justice is an important element of our faith that promotes education in life and faith and
instil a sense that we can make a difference in the world, inspired by the Gospel and led by the Holy Spirit to grow in virtue and act for justice and the common good. We advocate supporting our Catholic organisations throughout the year.
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Term 1 - Caritas / Project Compassion — Global Support
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Term 2 - St Vincent De Paul’s Winter Appeal — Supporting locals
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Term 3 - Catholic Mission — Global support
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Term 4 - St Vincent De Paul’s Christmas Appeal - Supporting locals
English
Literacy, Language and Literature
At St John’s, we believe that cultivating a love of reading is paramount in supporting children to reach their full potential. Emphasis is placed on the importance of instilling this passion for reading early on, recognising it as one of the greatest gifts parents can offer their children. In an era dominated by screens, we understand the need to provide a compelling alternative. We firmly believe that immersing yourself in a book is the key to unlocking success in an overstimulated world.
The Science of Reading encompasses a wealth of interdisciplinary knowledge and forms the basis of our literacy instruction. This evidence-based approach ensures that students receive targeted support in areas such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Using decodable readers to reinforce the learning that is happening in class, students use these texts to practise the skill of reading.
In 2024 we have introduced InitiaLit, an evidence-based whole-class literacy program that provides all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and writers. It is a 3-year program for our Prep to Year 2 students that incorporates a synthetic approach to the teaching of phonics in a fun and engaging way. The program incorporates daily lessons in phonemic awareness, reading and spelling as well as rich language instruction using children’s literature. By providing strong foundations in reading and writing from the outset, we believe fewer children will fall behind, strengthening their foundation for greater success in higher grades.
Intervention for students is provided through various programs, including MiniLit and MacqLit. In these programs students receive extra small group specialist teaching in reading and writing four days a week.
Mathematics
Mathematics is essential for students to be critical and creative thinkers, decision makers and problem solvers. At St John’s, we believe all students can achieve success in an environment of high expectations and continuous improvement. We create opportunities for students to challenge their mathematical thinking using the proficiency strands, Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning.
STEM & Digital Technologies
STEM education is a term used to refer collectively to the teaching of the disciplines within its umbrella: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM is a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching that increases student interest in STEM related fields and improves students’ problem solving and critical analysis skills. Students at St John's work collaboratively in teams to follow the process of Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test, Improve, Share in order to find solutions to problems.
Students at St John’s, receive a weekly specialist class in Digital Technologies, as well the embedding of the curriculum into all learning areas. Students have a range of hardware to use with 1:2 Chromebooks in the Years Three to Six and 1:4 iPads in Years Prep to Two. Robotic coding equipment includes Spheros, Edisons, Blue Bots, Code Bugs and Ozobots.
Languages - Italian
Students acquire communication skills in languages. They develop understanding about the role of language and culture in communication. Their reflections on language use and language learning are applied in other learning contexts.
Learning languages broadens students’ horizons about the personal, social, cultural and employment opportunities that are available in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. The interdependence of countries and communities requires people to negotiate experiences and meanings across languages and cultures. A bilingual or plurilingual capability is the norm in most parts of the world.
The Languages-Italian curriculum aims to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure that students:
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communicate in the language they are learning
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understand the relationship between language, culture and learning
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develop intercultural capabilities
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understand themselves as communicators.
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strengthen intellectual, analytical and reflective capabilities and enhance creative and critical thinking.
Visual Arts
In Visual Arts, students make and respond using visual arts knowledge, understanding and skills. Through practical activities in each of the Visual Arts areas, students come to understand: why we make visual artworks; that visual artworks can be two-dimensional and three-dimensional and that each area has particular tools, media and techniques to be learnt. They learn how the Arts are practised and valued in different societies and cultures, past and present. Students form personal judgments of their own works and those of others. They will learn the language of art and how to use it when discussing their own works and the works of others.
Performing Arts
The Performing Arts program at St John’s encourages students to realise the value of the individual and to promote self-esteem.
Each student participates in a weekly class that includes movement, incorporating various dance styles, singing, recorder, percussion, mime, puppetry, script writing and developing acting skills.
Every second year, the school presents a Learning Showcase based on Inquiry learning throughout the year. All classes participate in this much-anticipated event.
St John’s also hosts a Christmas Carols night for the school, parish and wider community, with each Year Level performing a carol.
Physical Education
At St John’s we run a comprehensive sport and recreation program that aims to maximise student participation at all levels. We believe strongly in the positive life message sport teaches our students and this is reflected through our extensive sporting program.
In the early years, sport is based purely on the development of fundamental skills and the building of positive associations with sport. As the students move into the middle and senior year levels of the school, the variety of sports and activities available to them significantly increases. Students and/or teams who excel at this level are also given the opportunity to further test their abilities through district, regional, state and national competitions in School Sport Victoria (SSV) programs.
Some of the sport and recreation programs offered at St Johns include:
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Swimming
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Athletics
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Hooptime (Basketball)
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Friday Inter-school sport
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Cross Country, Soccer
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Girls Football
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Gymnastics
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Netball
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Tennis.
Extra Curricular
St John’s offers a range of learning opportunities that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum. An extracurricular activity is designed to enhance the students’ social, academic, physical, creative or intellectual learning. Some examples of what is offered at St John’s are:
Spiritual
Social Justice Program
Confirmation Retreat Day
Sacramental preparation
Mass participation
Altar service
Christian meditation
Classroom Masses
FIRE Carrier Reflection Day
Academic
Excursions/Incursions
Camps (Year 5/6)
Premier’s Reading Challenge
Gateways
Maths Olympiad
STEM Mad Showcase
Maths Games
Sporting
Hooptime (Basketball)
Swimming
Cross Country
Athletics
Interschool sport (Summer / Winter)
Representative sport
Netball
Student Wellbeing
Seasons
Better Buddy Programs
Transition Program
Kidsmatter
Anti-Bullying Initiatives
Healing Minds
eSmart
The Arts
Drama
Instrumental Lesson
Book week activities
Italian Poetry Competition
Art Show
Learning Showcase
Leadership
School Leaders
Student Action Teams:
House Leaders
Faith and Social Justice Leader
Kidsmatter Leader
Environment Leader
STEM Leaders
Creative Arts Leader
Fire Carrier Leader
Languages Leader
Student Representative Council (SRC) Prep - Year 6