Primary School

Learning and Teaching

Enabling Students to progress and realise their full potential is at the heart of everything we do. Through the distinctive, sincere and continuous practice of Christian love, service and humility, our college provides students with the opportunity to develop and display a high moral standard.

Our students are challenged to strive to achieve excellence in all areas of the curriculum by reaching their full potential, having confidence in who they are as Christian individuals and becoming active participants in both the Church and Australian communities they are a part of.

We encourage our students to develop skills in Coptic Orthodox studies, tapping into their heritage to grow as effective and reflective learners. The deeply integrated curriculum aims to enhance the learning experience of each student by applying global concepts to everyday life experiences.

An Enrichment Curriculum for all

Our school curriculum is underpinned by the values that are dear to our school. The curriculum is the means by which the school achieves its objective of educating children in the knowledge, skills and understanding that they need in order to lead fulfilling lives.

We have based our curriculum on the below values:
We value the way in which all children are unique, and our curriculum promotes respect for the views of each individual child, as well as for people of all cultures.

We value the spiritual and moral development of each child, as well as their intellectual and physical growth.

We value the importance of each person in our community. We organise our curriculum so that we promote co-operation and understanding between all members of our community.

We value the rights enjoyed by each person in our society.

We respect each child in our school for their uniqueness, and we treat all with fairness and honesty.

We aim to enable each pupil to be successful, and we provide equal opportunities for all of the children in our school.

We value our environment, and we aim, through our curriculum, to teach respect for our world, and providing strategies for upkeep of the environment for future and present generations.

St Mark’s College Primary School aims to meet the individual needs of the child, irrespective of age, aptitudes, abilities and interests of that child. Special attention is given to those with ESL (English as a Second Language) learning difficulties and disabilities and gifted education needs.

ILP’s (Individual Learning Plans)

Each student in the Primary School is individually assessed and catered for according to their individual needs. This is called an ILP (Individual Learning Plan).

An ILP identifies the student’s specific learning expectations and outlines how the school will address these expectations through appropriate accommodations, program modifications and/or alternative programs as well as specific instructional and assessment strategies.

The learning program provided for each student is modified on the basis of the results obtained through continuous assessment and evaluation. Our teachers work closely with parents and liaise with trained professionals, to maximise each child’s potential.

Parent Partnership

We aim to work in partnership with our parents to provide the highest quality education outcomes for all of our children. We welcome your involvement and will encourage you to take an active role in your child’s education.

You will receive regular communication about your child’s progress. Parents will also be consulted and kept informed of all of the schools developments. We also provide weekly opportunities for parents to speak to their class teacher at the end of the school day.

Leadership and Service

Primary School students are encouraged to develop their leadership skills and to aspire to special positions of responsibility. The Primary School Captains, House Leaders and School Representative Council (SRC) provide invaluable leadership and service opportunities to their peers and the community.

Literacy

The Spalding Method is a total phonetic based language arts approach providing explicit, sequential, multisensory instruction in handwriting, spelling, writing, listening, reading decoding and comprehension, punctuation, grammar, and vocabulary. Starting in Infants Stage 1, it develops critical thinking skills applicable across the curriculum, and it enables teachers to plan lessons based on continuous assessment of individual needs.

The Spalding Method consists of four elements

1. Spelling
   This is taught by teaching the sounds of English language (phonograms), together with spelling and language rules and concepts. The use of a spelling notebook enables your child to progressively develop vocabulary, reading and writing skills simultaneously.
2. Writing
   Students are taught using the rules of English to write sentences and paragraphs of quality in all subject areas. They will learn analytical skills and develop a capacity to analyse their own writing.
3. Comprehension
   These skills are an essential basis for a love of reading. Students learn to appreciate the characteristics of quality literature and writing together with an understanding of how passages are organised.
4. Philosophy
   The Spalding Method emphasises the importance of the child as a learner now and for life by integrating all subject areas and developing the child’s listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through a multi-sensory approach. It develops higher level thinking processes and expectations in students.

Numeracy

The Mathematics Program is one we at St Mark’s College are duly proud of. Curriculum with content is differentiated across each stage within a spiral curriculum style, whilst also meeting the individual needs of each of our students.

Primary School Sports

St Mark’s College is affiliated with the following School Sporting bodies at the Primary level, thus providing a diverse range of opportunities at representation level.

IPSSO is an Independent Primary Schools Sports Organisation that we compete in on a weekly basis throughout the year for Years 3-6 students. Sports in this Association include Cricket, Basketball, Soccer, Netball, Newcombe Ball, Softball and Tee ball.

Our Primary School also has annual carnivals including Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country carnivals conducted within and also through IPSSO levels.

Students then selected from those carnivals compete at ASISSA (All Suburbs Independent School Sports Association) level. At ASISSA there are between 15-20 Independent schools that come to compete against one another with their elite athletes.

At St Mark’s we also cater for our K-2 students and for our Years 3-6 students that are not involved in an IPSSO team by organising clinics such as Gymnastics, Aussie Hoops, AFL, NRL, and Cricket. We also have a swimming program that is organised for all K-6 students in Term 4.

Every student is given many opportunities to foster their sporting talents and harness growth within their sporting capabilities.