The members of the Curriculum Committee – Primary (CC-P) are entrusted to lead the Primary staff in teaching and learning, to ensure that we meet our goal to have engaged students who are committed to becoming lifelong, independent learners. Promoting excellence, innovation and continuous improvement is central to our discussions and actions.
There has been a change to the CC-P this year. We are delighted that roles have been adjusted to reflect the evolving curriculum landscape. Our curriculum team consists of:
Sheona Carter (Chair) Head of Curriculum - Primary
Simon Davidson Head of Learning - The Arts
Hayley Buckley Head of Learning - Humanities
Helena Mallon Head of Learning - Literacy
Matthew Brady Head of Learning - Numeracy
Nicole Morton Head of Learning - Personal and Physical Development
Sarah Price Head of Learning - Science and Technology
Adele Arnese Subject Coordinator of Languages - Primary
Jade Rhodes Coordinator of Learning Enhancement – Primary
We also welcome Academic Officer – Primary, Lisa McKay to the Primary school team.
Each member of the CC-P is an experienced and committed educator, keen to develop our curriculum offerings in line with the strategic direction of the school. The curriculum leaders have a welcome presence at both the Mt Ridley and Donnybrook primary campuses. By spending time with the teachers and students at each site, we build our understanding of campus and subject-specific needs and provide support as appropriate.
This year, we will focus on collaborating with staff to further our understanding of assessment strategies and how we can use data to inform teaching and learning. We will also be looking at improving our use of assessment and feedback tools and ensuring we provide opportunities for student voice. Each individual member of the CC-P has devised goals and is already collaborating to understand how best to monitor student learning to further improve student outcomes.
Staff attend professional development sessions on a regular basis, to reflect on current practice, identify where we need to improve and adjust the curriculum accordingly. This year has begun with the Primary teachers collaborating to review our Science and Technology, and Humanities and Social Sciences, offerings. By revisiting the outcomes articulated in the Australian Curriculum, we have deepened our understanding of subject specific skills and content and are in the process of updating our units of inquiry. As there are new staff at each campus, and staff who have changed year levels, new perspectives have enlivened the conversations. Importantly, the assessment and feedback strategies we use to gauge student knowledge, understanding and perspectives are also being reviewed.
I commend all our curriculum leaders for their commitment to improving the educational programs at our School and for always keeping the students at the centre of the conversations. No matter what age, the perspective of our young learners is to be sought and valued. We want learning to be suitably challenging and engaging so that our students enjoy school!