Primary Curriculum - Building Connection

Each Primary grade is assigned a “home” classroom and a classroom teacher who caters to their student’s academic, social and emotional needs. Besides learning from their classroom teacher, students also learn from experienced, specialised teachers in the Creative and Performing Arts (Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts), Languages (Chinese), and PDHPE.

Regular excursions put the learning in specific contexts. Whether exploring life in the 1800s at outdoor museums, coming face to face with exotic animals or running a referendum at Australian Parliament House, Pal Primary students engage with the possibilities.

4D learning spaces provide opportunities for speedy feedback and multi-modal learning. Reading novels, watching educational videos, interactive websites and challenging simulations are all embraced by our 4D learning environment. Students learn to both express themselves neatly in NSW cursive script, but also to build their touch-typing speed.

In order for students to make meaningful connections between concepts, to transfer skills across domains and to develop truly creative thinking, it is essential that students see that the boundaries between Key Learning Areas are less substantial than they may have thought.

We adopt an integrated curriculum at Pal Primary. Four Macro-Themes are employed across the entire school as shown below. This enables a clear focus for the learning and maximises potential for shared inquiry across classes.

All four Macro-themes employ the learning across the curriculum priorities that aim at fostering literacy and numeracy, critical thinking and appreciation of ethical issues.

We address all NSW Key Learning Areas in an unique way where content and provocations are integrated around key themes. Students learn English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography etc. but based around key inquiry themes rather than arbitrary units as one finds in most schools.

Term 1

• Science and Technology
• Work and enterprise
• Information and communication technology capability

Term 2

• Historical Inquiry
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
• Civics and citizenship
• Difference and diversity

Term 3

• Cultures and the World
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
• Intercultural understanding
• Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
• Difference and diversity

Term 4

• Environmental sustainability
• Sustainability
• Work and enterprise
• Civics and citizenship
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Our primary school students undertake yearly exams to help them develop a culture of academic excellence and prepare them for the transition to secondary school.

Recognising that there is more to learning that what is in syllabus documents, students participate in a wealth of co-curricular programs that include Service learning, Public Speaking competitions, cross age mentorship and House competitions across a variety of domains from sport to chess.

One of the key co-curricular activities is our weekly PlaySpace time where students are encouraged to play board games on cross age groupings. This is an excellent time for teachers to help build pro-social behaviours, explore positive communication and healthy competition.