School Life

At Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary, we offer each child the opportunity to come to know Jesus and our Catholic heritage.

The essential goal of Religious Education in a Catholic school is to encourage and assist children in their growth to Christian maturity. The Catholic Education Office document, Sharing our Story, is  implemented in each classroom and Religious Education is integrated into everyday life in the school. It governs all contact between community members as we strive to promote the dignity of each person and create a faith community that reflects God's love.

Religious education enables children to:

• know and love God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
• develop an awareness that God is our friend who loves us and walks with us every day of our lives
• experience, within a secure school environment, the confidence to cope with life
• grow as active and supportive members of our faith community
• know, share and respond to Jesus' message of love

The children are involved in organising and attending class and school liturgies; with parents most welcome to join our celebrations.

OLQP Sacramental programs are family-based within the parish. The school’s role is to support the parish sacramental program. As a parish primary school we exist to provide the children with the opportunity of living in a caring, Christian community that gives witness to the Gospel values it proclaims. The parish school exists to support you, the parents, with the development of faith and Christian values in your children.

Daily prayer and regular liturgical celebrations are crucial dimensions of our Religious Education program.

English is one of the seven Key Learning Areas in the school curriculum K-6. As well as being a key learning area in its own right, English has a wider role as a means of learning in all curriculum areas.

By studying, responding to and creating a variety of texts, children will learn to:

• communicate effectively
• use language to make meaning according to their purpose, audience and context
• think in ways that are imaginative, creative, interpretive and critical
• express themselves and their relationships with others in their world
• reflect on their learning

Students will value and appreciate the:

• importance of English to learning
• personal enrichment to be gained from a love of English, literature and learning
• power of language
• role of language in developing positive relationships
• diversity and beauty of language
• independence gained from thinking imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically.

At OLQP we aim to develop the competence and confidence of all students in learning and using English, thus enabling them to effectively participate in our society. We also support this through:

Reading Recovery

Reading Recovery is an early literacy intervention that provides one-to-one teaching for children who need greater assistance in learning to read and write following their first year of school. It is a daily, individualised program delivered by a specialist teacher that engages children in reading books and writing their own stories. It enhances classroom programs and enables children to quickly ‘catch up’ to the average level of their class. Reading Recovery builds on the strengths of each child and encourages them to become independent, strategic readers and writers.

Literacy Support

Literacy Support is an effective intervention programme designed to support children from Kindergarten to Year Six who need greater assistance in order to develop the appropriate literacy skills for their stage. In addition to their classroom programme, eligible children receive extra support within a small group situation.

Case Management Meetings

Case management meetings provide an opportunity for additional support for students who require further modification of classroom programs. This meeting would involve the class teacher and a member of the leadership team. It could also include a learning support teacher or a former teacher of the student. The aim is to address the specific needs of a student in order to further support their learning in the classroom.

Library

OLQP’s library has a large collection of fiction and non-fiction books to suit all reading and interest levels in the school. It is fully computerised and the children are encouraged to use the computers to search for reference material as well as for borrowing and returning of books.

The library serves as a support to the learning processes of the classroom, as well as being an important recreational facility. Each class has a library borrowing time each week, as well as time for co-operative lessons that support learning across all curriculum areas. The library is open from 8:30am till 3:05pm, as well as being rostered for various grades during lunchtimes, when children can use the library for quiet reading, working or mixing in a passive environment.

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In Mathematics students analyse & solve problems in the areas of space, measurement and number. Maths also involves the study of patterns and relationships, and provides a means of communication.

The aim of Mathematics is for children to:

Students will develop knowledge, skills and understanding in:

At OLQP we aim to develop the competence and confidence of all students in learning and using Mathematics, thus enabling them to effectively participate in our society. We also support this through Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU).

EMU is a research-based early numeracy intervention that provides small group teaching for children who need greater assistance in understanding mathematics following their first year of school. It is a daily program delivered by a specialist teacher that engages children in mathematical tasks designed to deepen understanding. It enhances the classroom program and enables children to quickly 'catch up' to the average level of their class. EMU builds on the strengths of every child and encourages them to become independent and strategic learners.

Science and Technology aims to develop students’ wonder and curiosity about their world.

This area of learning also gives students opportunities to learn about natural and man-made environments by engaging in scientific and technological activity. Students investigate, design, make and use technology.

Science and Technology aims to develop understanding and skills to enable students to:

• work scientifically
• work technologically
• learn about natural and made environments

Computers enrich the educational environment of all students and support the achievement of quality in education. They are now an integral part of our Australian society. Computers are used to assist students in many areas, including acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills. With appropriate software and teacher guidance computers promote a co-operative approach to problem solving.

We recognise that computers can be used by teachers to promote the active involvement and engagement of students in their own learning. We presently have a large supply of computers & laptops (which includes both Mac and PC platforms) and iPads. The school is fully networked using both cable and wireless technology. The students have access to a data projector, digital cameras, video cameras and scanners. Each learning area has interactive whiteboards.

Students also have supervised access to the internet. All students must have a parent permission note to use the internet and agree to our Acceptable User Policy.

Human Society and Its Environment incorporates the strands of History and Geography.

In History students will investigate the actions, motives and lifestyles of people over time, from individuals and family members, to local communities, national and world contexts. The curriculum also introduces the idea that History contains many stories and that there is never only one uncontested version. Students learn to critically analyse and interpret sources of evidence in order to construct reasoned explanations and a result and informed argument based on evidence, drawn from remains of the past.

The study of Geography emphasises the role, function and importance of the environment in supporting human life from local to global scales. It emphasises the importance of Interrelationships between people and environments and the different understandings of these relationships. Students apply inquiry skills including asking distinctively geographical questions, planning an inquiry and evaluating information, processing, analysing and interpreting that information, reaching conclusions based on evidence and logical reasoning, evaluating and communicating their findings and reflecting on their inquiry and responding, through action, to what they have learned. They will use tools such as mapping and spatial technologies.

Human Society and Its Environment also includes the study of languages other than English. At OLQP we currently offer a program in Japanese language and culture in Years 5 and 6, together with an enrichment class for students displaying strength in this area.

Creative Arts aims to provide students with basic learning in the artforms through the subjects of Visual Arts, Music, Drama and Dance.

Many of the experiences provided lend themselves to integration across other Key Learning Areas. The curriculum is designed for students to develop knowledge, skills and understanding in:

• making and appreciating artworks
• performing and appreciating music (singing, playing and moving)
• performing (taking on roles and creating imagined situations) and appreciating dramatic works
• composing and appreciating dance

Visual Arts

In Visual Arts, students engage with the concepts of artists, artworks, the audience and the world. In making they learn how they can investigate the world through selected subject matter (eg people, objects, places and spaces) and work with the forms (eg painting, drawing, digital works) in expressive ways. These investigations of subject matter and the forms are further developed in their appreciation of artists, designers, craftspeople, architects and their works.

Music

Two specialist teachers are employed to implement the music program. Children in Years 3 to 6 have the opportunity each year to audition for the school choir, which performs at events, including eisteddfods. The opportunity for individual lessons in playing various instruments is available for those children in Years 3 to 6 who are interested in becoming part of the school band. A fee is charged each term to cover the cost of tuition and instrument hire. Further details are available from the school office.

Dance

Dance is a specialised subject that is taught by tutors from DanceFever. Students from Kindergarten, Year 1, 3 and 5 take part in the program as part of a staged approach – ie, all students learn this subject over a two-year period. Dance is a mandatory syllabus requirement.

Drama

In Drama, students will develop knowledge and understanding, skills, values and attitudes in making, performing and appreciating by engaging in role, dramatic contexts, elements and forms. Learning in Drama is most effective when learning experiences in making, performing and appreciating are integrated in a planned and sequential process of teaching and learning.

We offer students a wide variety of sporting opportunities to challenge themselves and build their confidence.

“Personal development, Health and Physical Education is in keeping with the Catholic ideals of education of the whole person. Thoughts, sensations, emotions and physical activities all have an influence on each other and on the individual’s growth towards personal maturity. Catholic education aims to mould these elements into a harmonious unity, in the light of human understanding and faith”
(Most Reverend P.L. Murphy DD, Chairman, Catholic Education Commission, NSW)

This program supports the development of the student as a whole person by:

• encouraging an understanding and valuing of self and others
• promoting physical activity and
• emphasising informed decision-making leading to effective and responsible actions.

The study of PDHPE is concerned with:

• Growth and Development - physical, social, cognitive and emotional
• Personal Health Choices - making, communicating and acting upon health decisions
• Interpersonal Relationships - forming and maintaining positive relationships
• Safe Living – living and learning in a safe, secure environment
• Active Lifestyle - knowing how to enhance personal and community health and wellbeing and
• Games and Sports, Dance & Gymnastics –the composition, performance and appraisal of movement.

All students are involved in weekly sport and/or physical education lessons, with a specialist Physical Education teacher employed four days a week. Students in Kinder, Years 1, 3 and 5 also participate in dance lessons run by DanceFever, while students in Years 2, 4 and 6 take part in a specialist gymnastics program run by Flexi-Kids.

In addition to this, students have the opportunity to be selected, trained and entered into many competitions across the school, Zone, Diocesan, inter-Diocesan and Stage level in swimming, athletics, cross-country, soccer, netball, etc.

We currently receive an allocation to provide a program in Japanese in our school. This program operates in years 5 and 6.