Senior Learning Community 

(Years 5 & 6)

The senior learning area comprises of three learning spaces in our main school building. These classes comprise students in Grade 5 and 6, who work alongside each other as a community with a strong focus on building skills to ensure our students will be best-prepared to be successful young adults.

Students in the SLA are given opportunities to build leadership skills, with our Grade 6 leaders filling purposeful roles across our school in Impact Teams. Some examples of these teams are School Captains, the Student Representative Council (SRC), Sustainability and Environment, Digital Learning Leaders, and Sports.

Our Grade 5 students prepare for these opportunities by fulfilling classroom leadership roles and participating in targeted activities. They are also given rich learning opportunities across a range of subject areas.

Students engage in daily Literacy (Writing and Reading),  and Maths (Number and Applied) blocks, alongside weekly specialist sessions which include; Physical Education, LOTE (Indonesian) and Visual Arts. There is also a strong focus on social and emotional learning, Integrated Studies and Digital Technologies.

In Literacy, students explore a range of writing genres and engage in skills-based Writer’s Workshops as they develop their writing skills. They keep a Writer’s Notebook, which they use to explore topics of their interest and link back to their genre learnings.

In Reading, there is an increased focus on understanding and sharing about a range of different texts. Students engage in small group work, including exposure to ‘Close Reading’, ‘Reciprocal Reading’ and ‘Literacy Circles’ approaches.

In Maths, students explore mathematical concepts from a problem-solving perspective. They are exposed to challenging tasks and build deeper understanding of concepts, through unpacking and sharing known strategies, then discussing and analysing other strategies. Students also have opportunities to extend themselves as problem-solvers through the APSMO Maths Olympiads and Maths Games programs.

Central to all of these learning areas is our BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program. Students use iPads to both access learning information and to showcase their creativity in the ways that they can present and share their learning. This has included using programs to create videos to share with our community, posters or using Minecraft Education Edition to show and share their understanding about Maths concepts or wellbeing scenarios.

Senior students have also been able to build skills across other technologies, including using laptops, a school drone and school GoPro.

There is a strong focus on Wellbeing across our school, which continues in the SLA. Students practice GEM (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness) supported by learning about the Resilience Project, engage in the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program, and learn about the Zones of Regulation.

Students also create Individual Focus Plans, which they can enact when they are feeling overwhelmed or dysregulated.

Our SLA participate in a yearly school Camp. These camps are a wonderful experience for all who attend and assist in the building of rich connections and a sense of belonging amongst our senior school cohort. Students travel to Lorne to participate in a surfing camp, alternating each year with a Bike Camp located in Maldon.