Curriculum
At Oscar Romero Catholic Primary School we believe that in order to empower our students to be independent, innovative and engage and connect with the world, we must provide transdisciplinary learning environments that foster creativity, conceptual understandings and an inquiry approach to learning grounded in a Catholic beliefs and values. We provide a consistent written, taught and assessed curriculum both vertically and horizontally across our school that is relevant, significant, challenging and engaging. Our curriculum is collaboratively planned, personalised, assessed and reflected upon by all teachers. It is delivered with high expectations of students learning outcomes aligned with the expectations of the Victorian Curriculum F-10 standards.
Victorian Curriculum F-10
The Victorian Curriculum is used as the curriculum framework to plan and monitor the developmental learning of individuals and small groups of students with similar learning needs from Foundation (prep) to Year Six. The Victorian Curriculum includes the learning areas of; English, Information and Communication Technology, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Health and Physical Education, The Arts and Languages. Alongside these are the four capabilities of Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding, Intercultural Understanding and Personal and Social Capability.
English
Our Literacy teaching approach is designed on planning and implementing a strategic and comprehensive program, using researched ‘best practice’ to achieve successful literacy achievement for all. We make extensive use of structured teaching classroom observations and data collection to identify students’ strengths and areas of need so that programming is differentiated and personalised to ensure progress across all areas of literacy.
Mathematics
Our Mathematics Program is guided by several Numeracy Programs that are relevant to using mathematics in the 21st century, in additional to the Victorian Curriculum. We focus on the proficiencies of understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning to ensure that student learning and student independence are the the centre of the curriculum. These proficiencies enable students to respond to familiar and unfamiliar situations be using mathematical strategies confidently and efficiently.
Faith Life Inquiry
Education bears within itself a seed of hope: the hope of peace and justice; the hope of beauty and goodness; the hope of social harmony. Pope Francis, 20201
At Oscar Romero Catholic Primary school, we are inspired by the words of our patron, St Oscar Romero, to aspire not to have more but to be more, not to grab everything but to give abundantly to others.2
As members of a Catholic school community, we are called to respect the dignity of every person and to work together for justice and peace. Modelled on the life of Jesus, students are nurtured to be respectful and responsible, and to love and care for themselves, others and the environment.
We believe that faith and life are interconnected. Through our Faith Life Inquiry, we provoke thinking and encourage students to ask questions and make connections across the learning areas so that they engage in the world with a view of understanding their place in it. We make authentic links to our Catholic religious tradition and, in a spirit of dialogue, ask students to grow in their faith in our current world.
We are part of the Parish of Our Lady’s, Craigieburn and Roxburgh Park. Through our school-based programs, we prepare Catholic students for the reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation (Year 3), Eucharist (Year 4) and Confirmation (Year 6).
2. Oscar Romero – 2003 The Violence of Love. http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/violenceoflove.pdf
Differentiation and Personalisation
At Oscar Romero we provide a differentiated and personalised curriculum that recognises and responds to diverse students needs, addressing the specific requirements of students in relation to gender, special learning needs, disabilities and impairments, giftedness and students from language backgrounds other than English.