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Learning Diversity
At St Peter’s, we have a dedicated team of specialist teachers and Educational Assistants who work collaboratively to provide Literacy and Numeracy support to our students.
Our Support team is committed to delivering intervention programs tailored to accelerate the progress of students who have been identified with specific needs. Our intervention programs are data-driven, ensuring close monitoring of each student's progress. We place a high priority on early intervention, recognising its significance in addressing needs promptly.
Collaboration and communication with classroom teachers are integral to our approach. We believe in working closely with teachers to ensure continuity and effectiveness in our intervention strategies. Our team frequently collaborates with a range of professionals to provide holistic support to our students. This includes our school psychologist, our onsite Allied Health Service team from Hendercare, as well as external experts such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, tutors, and others. This collaborative approach ensures that our students receive comprehensive support tailored to their individual needs.
In Kindergarten, we conduct Speech Therapy screening for each child to identify any areas of concern. Our annual assessment schedule ensures that all students are regularly monitored for their progress and any potential needs across all year levels.
Furthermore, we conduct annual handover meetings where current classroom teachers transfer important information about their students to their future teachers. During these meetings, staff are briefed on any intervention strategies that have been employed to support students, ensuring continuity and progress from year to year.
At St Peter’s, we are committed to providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment where every student has the opportunity to thrive.
AQUINAS
The AQUINAS program at St Peter’s School acknowledges the definitions used by Françoys Gagne’ when he states that Giftedness designates the possession and use of outstanding natural abilities, called aptitudes, in at least one ability domain, to a degree that places an individual at least among the top 10% of age peers. And that talent designates the outstanding mastery of systematically developed abilities, called competencies (knowledge and skills), in at least one field of human activity to a degree that places an individual at least among the top 10% of age peers who are or have been active in that field.
As such, the St Peter’s School AQUINAS program aims to assist development of intellectual gifts, into talents by:
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appropriate identification using diagnostic testing, particularly from year 3 - 6
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provision for early identification
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provision of external opportunities when possible and appropriate
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individual support where appropriate and possible
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inclusion of students in relevant competitions and experiences external to St Peter’s Primary School
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provision of well-planned extension (class withdrawal) programs that can include the development of a variety of skills including:
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independent working skills
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higher order thinking skills
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research skills
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self-regulation
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problem solving skills
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self-confidence and
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understanding intrinsic motivation
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Please click below to view the Postion Paper for AQUINAS
Numeracy Support
At St Peter’s, both students and teachers are well-supported in the Mathematics Learning Area.
Students are provided with in-class support and small-group withdrawal support. Classroom teachers, support staff and Numeracy Co-ordinators all play a vital part in deciding which support structure is most relevant for our individual students. We perform extensive numeracy assessments and use current data to identify students who will receive numeracy support in both junior and upper primary.
Teachers are also offered a range of support measures in Numeracy. Support is given to teachers when they are designing their classroom numeracy programs. This is also complemented by practical support being given whilst implementing individual Mathematics lessons. Staff attend professional Numeracy Development sessions each term.
St Peter’s have an intervention specialist who implements the Extending Maths Understanding (EMU) Program for those students in junior primary who require support. EMU is a research-based intervention approach that improves students’ knowledge and confidence with Mathematics.
Literacy Support
At St Peter’s, we offer students specialist support in the Literacy Learning Area through in-class support and small-group withdrawl sessions. We have a number of highly trained Educational Assistants who rotate throughout the school, offering additional in-class support during literacy dedicated time. Students who have been identified as having lower literacy skills are able to access specific intervention programs – MiniLit or MacqLit.
MiniLit is an evidence-based, explicit and effective early literacy intervention program for small groups, offered in Years 1 to 2. It is a synthetic phonics- based program aimed at students finding reading and writing difficult. Within the program, students are taught to identify all 44 sounds in the English language and use the sounds to read and spell with accuracy. MiniLit is an integral part of the MultiLit suite of reading programs.
MacqLit is an evidence-based, explicit and systematic reading intervention program for small groups of older low-progress readers from Years 3-6. As with MiniLit, it focuses on students recognising and using the 44 sounds in the English language to read and spell words and builds on learnt skills to break multi-syllabic words apart. It also includes all the key components necessary for effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Reading support is also offered to students in middle to upper year groups through small-group Reciprocal Reading sessions, an interactive teaching strategy for supporting readers to develop comprehension strategies.
Whole School Friendship Framework
At St. Peter’s, fostering a safe and positive school culture is one of our priorities. We implement an internationally recognised program, Friendology 101 by URSTRONG. This comprehensive wellbeing program is designed to provide students with essential skills, language, and self-confidence to foster healthier friendships. Our goal in implementing Friendology 101 is to empower our students to navigate social interactions with confidence and empathy.
Through a series of 8 age-appropriate sessions, our students will learn essential language and strategies to:
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Articulate their emotions effectively.
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Advocate for themselves respectfully.
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Resolve conflicts constructively, termed as putting out Friendship Fires® by URSTRONG.
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Differentiate between normal conflicts and intentional hurtful behaviour, referred to as 'mean on purpose' by URSTRONG, which aligns with our approach to addressing bullying.
The positive impact of Friendology 101 on our school community, fostering stronger relationships and promoting a culture of kindness and respect, aligns seamlessly with our core school values: TRUST, RESPECT, UNITY, and EXCELLENCE.
To learn more about the program, explore the URSTRONG website www.urstrong.com.
