Opportunites to Explore

We pride ourselves on a wide range of curriculum opportunites for our students

It’s not the curriculum that we offer that sets us apart, it’s the manner in which it’s delivered

Any school can teach a curriculum. Amazing schools like ours at Billanook Primary is full of teachers actively and passionately exploring the possibilities of making their teaching practice more innovative, engaging and fun at every turn. This is the single ingredient that drives the most growth in our students.

The success we attain is not only evidenced by the assessment data – but it’s seen through the smiles and joy we see on our student’s faces as a concept is grasped. This is the indefinable element that drives us as teachers to produce and grow our own teaching skills year in, year out.

Literacy

We are widely regarded as one of the leading schools in the region for literacy. Our approach is unique and hands on.

Numeracy

One of the pillars of the strong education we offer at Billanook Primary. We make numeracy engaging by bringing it to life with real world problem solving.

Student Wellbeing

Student wellbeing is central to everything that we do inside the classroom and outside. We have a strong focus on building ‘well rounded kids’ in all of our students

Physical Education

Our aim is to promote healthy bodies and healthy minds through our brilliant P.E. program.

Performing Arts

Through play, experimentation and participation, our performing arts program is designed to build confidence in our students

Visual Arts

Creativity is a vital attribute for 21st century learners and we understand this. Our visual arts program is something we are intrinsicly proud of.

Technology

Technology is an inescapable medium in todays digital age and with a very healthy eye on balance we immerse our students in Ipads, interactive whiteboards, computers and lots more.

Inquiry Learning

Inquiry units encourage our students to explore their wonderings about the world we live in. Students follow the Inquiry Cycle of tuning in, finding out, sorting out, going further, making conclusions and taking action.

Languages (German)

Immersion in a secondary language gives students not only the skill of speaking another language but the understanding of a different culture. This benefits of this are teaching students a greater awareness of the world in which they live.

Literacy at Billanook Primary School

Developing an effective Literacy program is a major priority at Billanook and we are committed to helping all students achieve a range of skills to the best of their ability.

The English Curriculum includes Speaking and Listening, Reading and Viewing and Writing. We believe these skills underpin all learning areas and also provide a platform for thinking, communicating and relating to others in real life situations. As such, they are immensely valuable lifelong skills.

There are multiple skills which we develop in parallel and which are used and embedded across other curriculum areas. Students are skilled in discussing, reading and writing a wide variety of text types with different purposes and structures. Our explicit instruction involves students in visual, audio and digital experiences in order to prepare them for multimodal communication. We have a fully functioning Library where targeting learning occurs and enjoying texts and borrowing is a weekly event.

The classroom teaching program is structured to provide daily explicit instruction followed by shared examples and opportunities to practise new skills during reading or creating real texts. Our program is differentiated to provide opportunities for all students to achieve no matter what their learning style or current ability. A Literacy Support program provides further opportunities for additional clarification and practice. This program is delivered by specifically trained staff.

We promote the environment of a learning community where all participants are engaged in continuous learning as well as sharing and supporting each other’s achievements.

Students

Students are regularly assessed to enable our instruction to target their needs. Alongside our instructional time, numerous opportunities are created for engaging in our English language with a purpose.

E.g. Student led assemblies, Public Speaking Competitions, participating in whole school productions, Premier’s Reading Challenge, interacting online with ABC Reading Eggs, an annual Book Fair, opportunities to work with published authors to enjoy and create joint and individual texts, engaging with visitors to our school and contributing to information sessions provided for parents.

Teachers

Teachers regularly participate in Professional Learning to ensure that they are familiar with evidence based best practice. As continuous learners themselves they have an appreciation of the needs of students as they meet learning challenges. Planning together as year level teams ensures that students benefit from a wide range of skills and ideas. Whole staff learning and planning ensures a smooth transition for students as they move from one level to another with confidence.

Parents

Parents are invited to be partners in their children’s development and to work with us as part of our learning community. There are workshops and information sessions provided to develop parent understandings and skills and to promote their confidence in supporting their child. These opportunities begin during our Transition Program and continue over the years. Parents are encouraged to join in classroom learning activities as well as to celebrate student achievement at school assemblies and open events.

Wellbeing at Billanook Primary School

Student Wellbeing is at the forefront of all that we do at Billanook Primary school. We believe that in order for students to learn to their full potential they need to feel safe, valued and respected in their learning environment. At Billanook Primary School we aim to provide a safe, nurturing, dynamic learning community that caters for the uniqueness of each student. We provide an environment and curriculum that challenges students to achieve to their highest potential and that develops knowledge, skills and resilience to be successful global citizens. Within our learning community the Tribes process underpins teaching and learning, guides our interactions and relationships and is modelled in all operational processes of the school. Our Billanook Primary School community has a consistent and positive approach to behaviour and uses the Tribes process and Restorative Practices, to foster a school climate where personal responsibility and self-discipline are developed. In addition to our teaching staff we have a highly dedicated school chaplain, valued group of student mentors and Student Wellbeing teacher who all work together to ensure that the students at Billanook travel along their school journey feeling supported and able to reach their full potential.

Chaplaincy at Billanook

Billanook Primary School has a high priority on partnering with families to ensure the wellbeing of the students is nurtured and developed. As part of this priority we have chaplaincy program. One of the key roles of the chaplain is to be available to provide ‘pastoral care’ for students and the community.

Billanook Primary highly values each and every student and their general wellbeing. We strongly believe that all students have the right to feel safe and happy at school and the chaplaincy program is a major part of supporting this belief.

The chaplain is often involved with students and families around issues such as grief and loss, friendship challenges, the management of emotions and managing ‘change’. The chaplain also participates in the school camping program, the delivery of the programs such as ‘Seasons for Growth’ (grief and loss), S.K.I.P.S. (mental health), as well as delivering classroom wellbeing lessons. The chaplain is available in the playground at recess times for students to come and chat at need.

The chaplaincy program is not a religious education delivery program. Parental permission is required before pastoral care sessions occur.

Mentoring Program

At Billanook Primary School we are very lucky to have a large group of retired men and women who volunteer their time to work with some of our students. These Mentors come in once a week and work with particular students who may benefit from a bit of extra one on one attention and support. Our Mentors form a strong relationship with these selected students and spend a half an hour or so with them each week. We carefully match the right Mentor to each student. Each Mentor has particular skills and interests and they use these to support their students. These skills include craft, gardening, sport and reading but the most valuable thing they do is talk. Whilst getting involved in these activities, the Mentors talk to the students and listen to them. They pass on their advice, wisdom and life experiences. The kids absolutely love this time in their week and we receive nothing but positive feedback from parents and students who are involved. We see this Student Wellbeing program as one of extreme importance and we are very grateful that we have such wonderful volunteers who are passionate about working with our students. We are very lucky to have them and to be able to offer such a valuable program.

Physical Education at Billanook Primary School

Billanook Primary offers an extensive Physical Education program from the Foundation year to Level 6. As well as following the Victorian Curriculum Physical Education curriculum, Billanook students have the opportunity to participate in programs such as;

Swimming Lessons
Hoop Time Basketball
Elite Sports
Inter-School Sports
School and Inter-School Athletics Carnivals
School, Inter-School and State Cross Country
After School Basket Ball
Incursions
Activities Led By Student Sports Leaders
Multi Activity Sports Days

At Billanook Physical Education is about Participation, Personal Achievement, Dedication, Leadership, Confidence, Teamwork, Healthy Body and Mind.

Performing Arts at Billanook Primary School

This year’s Performing Arts program at Billanook Primary School promises to be full of exciting things for our students’ listening and responding to music both past and present and from different corners of the world.

Our youngest students in Foundation will be focusing on the beat and rhythm when they dance, sing and play their percussion instruments to a range of brand new sounds.

Levels 1 and 2 will be building on their knowledge and rhythm making skills and their understanding of dynamics and pitch. They will be moving, singing and creating musical ostinatos with a range of objects and instruments when they explore some great new Orff Kodaly activities.

The main focus for our Level 3 and 4 will be learning to play the descant recorder which will have them tooting away to some great songs, both old and new.

The sound of ukuleles will be ringing in the air at Billanook when our Level 5 and 6 students learn to play the ukulele in Term 2. It’s amazing to think that there are so many songs that can be played using just 4 chords. Later in the year Levels 5 and 6 will be using ipads to create some great sounding music.

WHOLE SCHOOL PRODUCTIONS – 2018 Billanook presents: ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’

Every second year (even year) to showcase the talents of our students we have a Whole School Production where every student from Foundation year to Level 6 gets to perform live on stage. Students in Levels 3-6 can audition for main roles. Previous productions have included Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, A Rat’s Tale: The Pied Piper and Australia My Land.

FILM FESTIVAL
Every second year (odd year) our Level 3-6 students are encouraged to create short films for Billanook Primary School Film Festival which is held in our Multi-purpose hall during Term 3. Our previous Film Festivals have been a great success showcasing the film making skills of our very talented students.

CHOIR
Our school Choir is going from strength to strength with just under 50 students from Levels 3-6 getting together every Tuesday at lunchtime. The Choir will also be making a short Film for the Film Festival and will promote our school at local community events this year.

Visual Arts at Billanook Primary School

The Visual Art program is developed according to requirements outlined in the Victorian Curriculum.
Arts learning explores the two main areas of Creating & Making and Exploring & Responding to art.

Creating and Making focuses on students exploring a variety of art elements, skills, techniques, processes, media, materials, equipment and technologies in a range of art forms including: drawing, ceramics, sculpture, painting, construction, printmaking, textiles and collage.

Exploring & Responding to Art requires students to look at and discuss traditional and contemporary art works from a range of times, places and cultures. This becomes inspiration and starting points for practical activities.

Children develop an arts language to describe their own and others work.

Technology at Billanook Primary School

At Billanook Primary we use ICT to guide student inquiry, critical thinking skills and collaborative dialogue. The level of enthusiasm and engagement is extremely high, as ICT activities appeal to all types of learners from the visual to the kinaesthetic. We use a range of resources such as; iPads, laptops, computers, BBC Micro:bits, Apps, online websites and software, to provide a framework for students to learn how to use technologies to create innovative solutions that meet current and future needs. Students are encouraged to make decisions about the development and use of technologies, and how technologies can contribute to a sustainable future.

Students at Billanook Primary participate in programs designed to help them have safe, enjoyable experiences online. We provide online safety education to ensure that our students use the internet and social media in a safe manner, and that they have a thorough understanding of what constitutes cyberbullying. Students learn how to access help if they feel uneasy about something they have viewed online, or if they have experienced any form of cyberbullying.

Here are just some examples of focus areas for learning from Foundation to Level 6 are;

-Computer software: Word, Excel, Publisher and Powerpoint

-Emails: sending, receiving, editing, creating and using online address books

-Coding: using online websites such as Scratch to design, write, test, debug/troubleshoot and maintain the source code of computer programs

-Micro:bit Technology: using Block Editor or Java Script to write programs for Micro:bit use, or for use with robotics

-Movie Making and Editing: using apps such as iMovies

-Claymation Animation: using online programs and Apps

Inquiry Learning at Billanook Primary School

At Billanook Primary School we value and support our students to be naturally curious about our world. Through guided and open inquiry units we encourage our students to explore their wonderings by following the Inquiry Cycle of tuning in, finding out, sorting out, going further, making conclusions and taking action. While students are immersed in a variety of curriculum areas such as, Humanities, Health and Science we foster their curiosities by providing engaging and challenging learning tasks that captivate individual interests.

Throughout all units of Inquiry, students are supported to develop their Inquiry skill set. These skills are transferable into situations that students may face inside and outside of the school setting. While being immersed in collaborative tasks, students are explicitly taught communication skills such as conflict management and listening techniques.

The staff at Billanook Primary School promote students to be critical and creative thinkers that are motivated to complete challenging tasks. Through the use of Visible Thinking Routines students are able to independently record their thinking about a particular inquiry topic and develop questions. Questioning enables the learning process and allows students to make connections to prior learning.

Although Levels 1 - 6 complete inquiry units, Foundation students are introduced to inquiry skills through what is known as Investigation time. Investigation time is a form of developmental play that encourages students to explore their curiosities in a variety of forms while also covering content that has previously been introduced in class.

During Investigations, students are tuned in to a specific learning intention for that particular session by the teacher explicitly modelling the expectations. Before beginning, 2-3 children are chosen as the focus students as well as 2 students who become the reporter and photographer for the duration of Investigation time. Students participate in a variety of activities that includes construction, drama, sensory learning and literacy centres. At the end of the session students reflect on their lesson and discuss how they achieved the learning intention.

Languages at Billanook Primary School

Billanook Primary School offers German language from Foundation through to Level 6 and has a strong commitment to promoting a love for language learning. Studying another language enhances not only the students’ intercultural competence, but it also boosts their cognitive development in a wide range of areas, like literacy, numeracy and overall problem-solving.

With an emphasis on communicative, game-oriented exercises and songs the students become increasingly familiar with the sound and use of the language. Authentic resources, creative tasks and a variety of different media including interactive whiteboard activities enable the students to extend their conversational and written language competences. Specific units are taught through the CLIL approach (Content and Language Integrated Learning), where students learn about another subject in German language. Intercultural learning also plays a vital role in German language acquisition with customs, traditions and festivities being presented and discussed during classes. Audiovisual clips about modern German culture provide the learners with crucial moments of cross-cultural analysis between German speaking countries and Australia.

Each term, we celebrate student achievement in our German Language Program at a colourful ‘German Assembly’ with the whole-school community. Our students are also encouraged to take part in competitions like the ‘German School Film Festival’ (Goethe-Institut Melbourne) and the ‘German Poetry Competition’ (AGTV). During a luncheon at the Hofbrӓuhaus Melbourne, our Level 6 students celebrate their great level of German at the end of their primary school time and once every two years the whole school enjoys an entire day full of German language and culture during our ‘Billanook Oktoberfest’.

Numeracy at Billanook Primary School

At Billanook Primary School, we provide a Mathematics education that enables our students to succeed at school and in their everyday lives. Our Mathematics program is aligned with the Victorian Curriculum which is organised into the content strands Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. The proficiency strands, which describe how the content is taught and explored are Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, and Reasoning.

We believe Mathematics is learnt developmentally, through the acquisition of skills and understanding of broad concepts. All classrooms provide a differentiated Mathematics curriculum, which caters for each student at their level, allowing all students to progress in their own understanding. Throughout the school, Mathematics is taught and learnt individually, in small cooperative groups, and in whole class settings.

From Foundation to Level 2, the focus is on understanding Maths through concrete materials. Concepts are introduced and explored by playing with a large variety of materials that are related to everyday events and activities. As students move into Level 3 and 4 concepts are further developed through a variety of materials, as well as symbolic and abstract recordings. Once students move into Level 5 and 6, they engage in higher order Mathematical thinking and reasoning through skill based activities and problem solving tasks. This allows them to apply and refine the concepts they have developed through their schooling.