Specialist Subjects

The use of Information and Communication Technology is integral to student learning.  Students have ready access to computers through classroom laptops, class sets of iPads and a set of laptops in the library.

• Our children in Foundation utilise class-sets of iPads and have a ratio of 1:2 of laptops.
• Our children in Grades One to Six operate within a one-to-one laptop program.
• Foundation to Grade Six students have a timetabled class sessions in the library with laptop computers.
• All computers have access to the internet, educational and word processing programs supplied by the Education Department through the Edustar.

AUSLAN was the LOTE chosen by the school in 2020 and has been taught since that time by a qualified specialist teacher to all grades at Wandong Primary School. The AUSLAN LOTE program compliments and supports the school approach to inclusivity and celebration of cultural diversity.

Students from Foundation to Grade Six access our Language Other Than English (LOTE) Program. AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language) is offered at our school for a one-hour session each week.

As an inclusive school that welcomes and caters for all children, students are taught to communicate through this rich, visual language. Using AUSLAN, students are able to demonstrate single signs and simple signed sequences on a multiplicity of topics, recognise signs to obtain meaning in a short conversations or signed text, follow instructions, simple dialogue and participate in games and activities. Importantly, students recognise, demonstrate and respect some of the differences between AUSLAN and spoken languages.

Within AUSLAN lessons, students typically practise:

• signing vocabulary on the allocated topic
• reading signs connected to the fingerspelling alphabet, numbers and greetings
• learning strategies for getting the attention of a Deaf person using demonstrated tactics
• tips for communicating with a Deaf person
• using classifiers or description and location for following directions.

Students are able to practise their skills in using and understanding AUSLAN in a variety of ways throughout the school year and in the curriculum.

Our well-resourced library, with thousands of items including picture books, children’s fiction and information and reference texts, is used by all levels of the school.

• Children are taken for weekly library lessons and are able to come to the library two lunchtimes a week for reading, borrowing and playing quiet games.
• We celebrate Book Week each year with special library activities focusing on the Children’s Book Council of Australia Award short listed books.

PE is taught by a specialist teacher to all grades. Wandong offers a comprehensive Physical Education and Sporting experience for all children. Students engage in a one-hour PE lesson every week utilising the expansive grounds and an indoor venue for a wide variety of activities. Students in Grades Three to Six also participate in weekly ‘unit sport’ which is often held at the LB Davern Reserve.

The Physical Education and Sport programs at Wandong Primary School provide a fun, engaging and stimulating learning environment. We focus on allowing maximum participation and physical activity, catering for all students’ needs and on developing healthy lifelong habits and attitudes towards physical activity.

Our Physical Education program aims to develop the fundamental motor skills in a sequential order throughout the grades. They also develop the students in other areas such as participating in physical activity cooperatively, using equipment, game tactics, inventing and modifying games, setting and achieving goals, peer teaching, undertaking different roles such as umpiring and coaching along with a focus on a range of health and fitness related areas.

The Physical Education classes develop students’ skills to a high standard and in a wide range of sports and activities. Students have numerous opportunities to participate in extra events and activities. The school runs major events for Prep-6 students such as an athletics carnival, bike education program and cross country. They also have the opportunity to qualify and compete against students from other schools in these events at District, Division, Regional and State level.

The global economy is changing. Current jobs are disappearing due to automation and new jobs are emerging every day as a result of technological advances.

The continual advances in technology are changing the way students learn, connect and interact every day. Skills developed by students through STEM provide them with the foundation to succeed at school and beyond.

Employer demand for STEM qualifications and skills is high, and will continue to increase in the future. Currently, 75 per cent of jobs in the fastest growing industries require workers with STEM skills. To be competitive, the Australian workforce needs people who can adapt to a changing workplace.

STEM empowers individuals with the skills to succeed and adapt to this changing world. Each week, students across the school are timetabled for a one-hour STEM lesson. Our STEM room is well-equipped giving the students the opportunity to participate in many hands-on activities including building electric circuits, using microscopes, experiment experiences, modelling science concepts, etc. In the STEM program students experience Biological, Chemical, Physical and Earth and Space Sciences each year.

In the curriculum the arts include dance, drama, media arts, music, visual arts and visual communication design. The Arts enable students to develop their creative and expressive capacities by learning about the different practices, disciplines and traditions that have shaped the expression of culture locally, nationally, and globally.

Art plays a pivotal role socially, economically and culturally. Art encourages the development of skills and the exploration of technologies, forms and processes through single and multimodal forms. It fuels the exploration of ideas that cross many human emotions and moods through holistic learning, using cognitive, emotional, sensory, aesthetic, kinaesthetic and physical fields.

Learning through Art allows students to communicate their perceptions, observations and understanding of structures, functions and concepts drawn from other areas of the curriculum. Art is a vehicle for exploring and reflecting upon new ideas.

At Wandong Primary School, the Arts program encourages students to develop their visual, creative and expressive abilities by learning through different art forms. Students are both the audience and the artist. They make, respond and learn to appreciate a variety of art forms. The Arts contribute towards the development of confident and creative individuals through dance, drama, music and visual modes.

We are passionate about providing our students with every opportunity, both inside and outside of the classroom. As well as our standard curriculum, we also offer our students a broad variety of extra-curricular opportunities. This includes partnering with our local community, as well as Victorian universities, to provide experiences which would otherwise not be possible in our semi-rural setting.