Specialist Programs
Kinglake Primary School offers a range of specialist programs, including Performing Arts, AUSLAN, Physical Education, STEM, and Visual Art.
These programs provide students with opportunities to develop creativity, problem-solving skills, and physical well-being in an engaging and supportive environment.
AUSLAN
Auslan is Australian Sign Language, the native language of the Australian Deaf community, and is a visual-spatial, natural language with its own grammar and vocabulary. Auslan has linguistic elements, such as hand shapes (including orientation, location and movement), non-manual features (including eye gaze, facial expressions, arm, head and body postures) and fingerspelling.
Auslan also has its own grammar, which is different from English. Auslan grammar is composed of precise hand shapes, facial expressions and body movements that convey concrete and abstract information.
Learning Auslan has many benefits for both deaf and hearing children. Sign language can:
enhance children’s educational and personal development
increase memory retention and motion processing
stimulate brain development and mental flexibility
increase enjoyment in communicating for both hearing and deaf children.
The teaching and learning of Auslan aligns with our school ethos of supporting diversity and inclusion.
Auslan will be taught to all students through a weekly immersion program that complements our literacy and numeracy programs. Through practical and fun classes, students and staff will learn how to fingerspell, develop a vocabulary of basic conversational signs, and learn how to structure sentences.
Performing Arts
Performing Arts at Kinglake Primary School will incorporate 4 of ‘The Arts’ components found in the Victorian Curriculum. These are Drama, Dance, Music and Media Arts.
Students will learn the art of improvisation, mime, theatre performances and much more when exploring about the world of Drama. Students will be given many opportunities to explore their imagination and immerse themselves in a wide range of themes and topics being covered in Drama.
Throughout Dance, students will discover elements of bodily movement and expression, as well as having opportunities to create their own dance moves. Dance allows students to develop a number of skills including muscle memory, coordination, release creative energy and much more.
Students will learn about the various elements of music, including rhythm, pitch, beat, dynamics, tempo and much more. During Music, students will also explore a variety of instruments, singing, collaboration and creating their own musical pieces.
Media Arts allows students to discover the world of ICT through engaging and interactive platforms. Students will learn how to use a range of applications, several websites, as well as programs such as PowerPoint. These platforms will incorporate the other areas of ‘The Arts’ being covered in Performing Arts, allowing students to showcase all they have learnt, demonstrating great pride and success.
Physical Education
The Physical Education Program at Kinglake Primary School has a strong focus in providing students the opportunity to develop their understanding, knowledge, and skill acquisition to live and incorporate a healthy and active lifestyle through lifelong involvement in physical activity.
At Kinglake Primary school, students participate in Physical Education lessons for 60 minutes each week.
The program strives to equip and develop student’s fundamental motor skills and progressing these skills into more sport-specific activities as they master these skills.
Ultimately the aim is for our students to experience a range of sports, enjoy being active and being a part of a team.
STEM
Kinglake Primary School offers a dynamic, collaborative and engaging STEM program where students investigate, explore, make predictions and solve problems. Students have the opportunity to experience the joy of scientific discovery and nurture their curiosity about the world around them. The curriculum supports students to develop their scientific knowledge, understandings and skills to make informed decisions about local, national and global issues. Throughout their journey in the STEM program offered at Kinglake Primary School they develop critical and creative thinking skills and challenge themselves to identify questions, apply new knowledge, explain science phenomena and draw evidence-based conclusions using scientific methods.
We aim to support students in developing an interest in STEM by expanding their curiosity and willingness to explore and ask questions about the changing world. Throughout the course of a year students will investigate and utilize design principles, build their scientific thinking capacity, enhance and engage their IT skills to become rounded STEM thinkers. One of the guiding principles in our S.T.E.M. program is “Think, Make, Improve” where students are encouraged to take risks, explore ideas and theories to come up with novel answers to problem. This is facilitated by a collaborative learning environment where students enjoy communicating and justifying their findings and designs to fellow students and debating scientific arguments and claims.
Visual Art
Students participate in a 60 minute session once a week of Visual Art. Students will work with a wide range of materials and equipment encompassing drawing, painting, clay modelling, construction, threads and textiles and art appreciation. Students work will be on display in corridors and a Semester portfolio will be sent home.
Students will develop skills and knowledge of the arts, explore ideas, and respond accordingly. The Arts provide students with the development of aesthetic awareness and a broad range of cognitive, language, personal and social skills as well as skills used at work and in leisure activities. These provide a range of unique experiences for all students that are essential for their total development. The Arts Program will provide opportunities for all children to experience success and develop a positive attitude.
The program is developmental in nature and based on the Victorian Curriculum. Where suitable It makes links with the integrated curriculum units including other cultures and values. The students' progress and achievement in the Visual Arts is aligned with the standards in the Victorian Curriculum and will be assessed by semester reports.
Curriculum Standards
To view the Victorian Curriculum Standards please visit the link: