Primary School

Primary School

At Namadgi School we see kindergarten as the start of the formal schooling process. Kindergarten is an important milestone in children’s schooling and sets the educational scene for your child. There is a focus on developing friendships in a safe and supportive environment. Kindergarten teachers plan learning experiences for students to work with a variety of peers to support this development.

Children are encouraged to problem solve with each other and develop the confidence to take risks as learners. There is an emphasis on sound and numeral recognition and applying this knowledge to purposeful, engaging learning tasks.

Students in Years 1 and 2 engage in meaningful learning experiences through a range of purposeful and engaging tasks. They are supported, challenged and extended as they build on the foundational knowledge from earlier years in preparation for the higher levels of literacy, numeracy and inquiry required in the upper primary years.

Primary school at Namadgi School encompasses Years 3 to 5. During these years literacy and numeracy concepts developed in Early Childhood are consolidated and built upon through purposeful and engaging learning tasks. Teachers support and encourage independent learning to prepare students for their learning in the Middle School (Years 6-8). The use of technologies to enhance learning is a feature of the Primary School.

Students in Primary School also experience Science. Science lessons include a focus on Environmental Science through the Urambi Environmental Centre and students are encouraged to investigate and care for their local environment.

Music is a feature of the Primary School curriculum. All students are involved in singing at community events. Students in Year 5 may participate in the Year 5 woodwind band through the Instrumental Music Program.

The advantage of being part of a preschool to Year 10 school is that students have the opportunity to participate in primary and whole school assemblies, as well as participate in supervised activities run by secondary students.

K-6 Curriculum

The K- 6 teaching and learning programs at Namadgi are created using the Australian Curriculum (ACARA).  The Australian Curriculum describes what students should learn as they progress through schooling. The curriculum sets out essential knowledge, understandings, skills and capabilities, providing a national standard for student achievement in core learning areas.

At Namadgi School we see kindergarten as the start of the formal schooling process. Kindergarten is an important milestone in children’s schooling and sets the educational scene for your child. There is a focus on developing friendships in a safe and supportive environment. Kindergarten teachers plan learning experiences for students to work with a variety of peers to support this development. Children are encouraged to problem solve with each other and develop the confidence to take risks as learners. There is an emphasis on sound and numeral recognition and applying this knowledge to purposeful, engaging learning tasks.

Students in Years 1 and 2 engage in meaningful learning experiences through a range of purposeful and engaging tasks. They are supported, challenged and extended as they build on the foundational knowledge from earlier years in preparation for the higher levels of literacy, numeracy and inquiry required in the upper primary years. Primary school at Namadgi School encompasses Years 3 to 5. During these years literacy and numeracy concepts developed in Early Childhood are consolidated and built upon through purposeful and engaging learning tasks. Teachers support and encourage independent learning to prepare students for their learning in the Middle School (Years 6-8). The use of technologies to enhance learning is a feature of the Primary School. Teachers use information from assessments in literacy and numeracy to develop programs that cater for the individual learning needs of each student. Students participate in literacy learning activities that develop listening, speaking, writing, and reading skills.

It is equally important that our students have well developed numeracy skills. The curriculum includes classroom experiences aimed at enriching and improving not only the mathematical development of students, but also their engagement in and enjoyment of mathematics. Students in Primary School also experience Science. Science lessons include a focus on Environmental Science through the Urambi Environmental Centre and students are encouraged to investigate and care for their local environment.

Music is a feature of the Primary School curriculum. All students are involved in singing at community events. Students in Year 5 may participate in the Year 5 woodwind band through the Instrumental Music Program.

Core Learning Areas

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

Our school has been running and building the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program for the last four years. This program enables the students to grow vegetables and fruits from seeds to harvesting and bring them into the kitchen to cook. The children learn about composting, preparing garden beds, testing soil, what plants to grow when; how to correctly use garden and kitchen tools; and many skills that will help them throughout their life.

Food is essential to all of us. The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation’s approach emphasises engagement through pleasurable sensory experiences. Cooking and gardening heighten and help refine our sensory experiences and as well give context to the development of our capacities to think and talk about our understanding of physical and imaginary worlds.