"There's something so special that happens when you witness a child's face light up with excitement when they grasp a new concept or make a fascinating discovery."
Mrs Alesha Alcorn,
Head of Primary School
PrimaRY School
KINDERgARTEN - YEAR 6
Within a dynamic and caring environment each Primary School child is valued and respected as a unique individual. Children are encouraged to think, explore and discover as they learn about God’s amazing world. The College’s unique three-fold approach to learning, the blending of Reggio Emilia philosophy with explicit direct instruction programs, always maintaining Jesus Christ at the centre, results in a heightened level of engagement within the classroom, encouraging joy and excitement for learning.
Meet the Head of PRIMARY School
Mrs Alesha Alcorn, Head of Primary School, leads a dedicated and experienced team of teachers who seek to provide a safe, collaborative environment where students are encouraged to make mistakes as part of their learning journey, personal best efforts are celebrated, perseverance is promoted and laughter permeates the walls.
"Teaching is not just about filling young minds with knowledge; it's about igniting a passion for learning and guiding students to discover their unique purpose in God's grand plan. Every day, I am reminded that I have the incredible privilege of shaping lives, and I am motivated to inspire a generation of fearless dreamers and faithful believers."
Mrs Alesha Alcorn, Head of Primary School
Our Primary School
is Christ CentRed
All learning is based on a fundamental belief that the world belongs to God, that He made Jesus ruler and redeemer of all things and that His Spirit works in each of us, growing us to reflect Him more clearly. College staff are devoted Christians who seek humbly to display Christ-likeness in word and action. They actively share their understanding and knowledge of the Bible with students across all subject areas.
Our Primary School
Using a Reggio Emilia inspired program, students are encouraged to think, explore and discover.
Children, parents and teachers form our community of learners. The classrooms are energetic and collaborative, with groups of children engaging in different activities as they help direct their own learning through investigations. Their ideas and interests are recognised, and hand in hand with the NSW National Curriculum, are used to stimulate discussions or projects.
Children learn the language of learning and explore what productive learning feels, sounds and looks like. The children discuss problems, ask questions and learn how to learn. This extends knowledge, develops new skills and teaches persistence. This form of learning empowers children to think for themselves and inspire natural curiosity.
PROVIDES A STRONG Foundation
Our Primary School
Clear instruction showing children what to do and how to do it, rather than children needing to discover or construct the learning for themselves is fundamental to Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI). Each teacher ensures that they teach Literacy and Numeracy systematically, building upon strong foundational concepts, previous skills and knowledge. The teacher models the learning process for children and emphasises the importance of providing children with purposeful and understandable feedback to support achievement. EDI is integrated successfully with the Reggio Emilia philosophy to provide an engaging and effective learning environment.
"As a parent of my own children attending the College, I have been immensely encouraged by the support and reinforcement of the values and worldview we strive to instil within our family. The College's commitment to nurturing our children's faith, while aligning with our beliefs, has been a source of great comfort and reassurance, fostering a strong partnership between home and school in shaping their character and understanding of the world."
Mrs Alesha Alcorn, Head of Primary School
Opportunities to Excel
At the College students benefit from shared resources, facilities and speciality teachers from Preschool to Year 12. The consistency this provides in teaching and learning across speciality subject areas helps nurture a child's natural ability in areas that interest them.
LITERACY
Confidence in reading, writing and spelling are foundational to all other learning. The College uses three programs to achieve proficiency across the student body:
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Sounds Write – is a phonic based reading and writing programme which effectively works with students at all learning levels.
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Seven Steps to Writing Success – a writing programme that helps teach students to love writing and communicating through the written word.
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Multi lit – Making up Lost Time in Literacy – an empirically based Australian literacy program for Year 1 and 2 students assists in reading proficiency.
"When our children leave for school with a sense of excitement and fun for what the day holds we are grateful to the College for the innovation behind these unique programs. There is always something exciting to look forward to when they come to school."
Robinson Family
EASE OF Transition
The natural transitions that occur throughout a child’s schooling life bring changes.
At the College the key transition points connected with Junior School, the transition for students from Preschool to Kindergarten and from Junior School to Middle School, will be seamless. The children’s prior integration, meeting of new staff, familiarity of environment and the establishment of an unbroken chain of staff knowledge, ensures your child’s experience of graduating to the next level of their schooling journey is well supported.
As children head towards Middle School (Years 5 – 8) we want them to be confident learners, brave, resilient, caring and kind, show a love of God and others, optimistic, continuing their joy of learning.
Connection with the Middle School is encouraged with Peer Support student run groups which span Years 1 to 6. These groups allow Junior School children to gain familiarity andthe ability to work together with older students prior to graduating to Middle School.
