Curriculum

Curriculum at Coomera State School is organised with a greater focus on Literacy and Numeracy through the key learning areas of English and Mathematics. Teachers are required to teach two hours of Learning Areas of SOSE, Science, Health and PHysical Education, Technology and The Arts, including Dance, Music, Drama, Media Studies, and Visual Arts. Years 5 to 7 also take part in a Japanese LOTE program. Students complete regular assessments in all of these areas and their work and achievements are compared across cohorts using a shared approach that ensures fairness and comparability.

EARLY PHASE PROGRAM

PREP - The focus for Prep Year is immersion in language with a particular focus on Oral Language, Pre-Reading and Writing skills, Early Mathematical concepts, gross and fine motor development; socialisation, routines and establishing good work habits. Prep students' progress is tracked using the Early Learning Record which records student progress in all areas.

Year 1 and 2 - Early reading and writing and mathematical skills build the foundations of Early Phase literacy and numeracy. The progress of these students is tracked via the Diagnostic Net and is extended to Year 3.

TRANSITIONAL PHASE PROGRAM

Year 3 to 5 - As students become more independent in thier learning, the curriculum becomes more challenging and more demanding, building on the foundations laid in the Early Phase. Students in the Transitional Phase experience National Testing, QCATs and begin to explore such concepts as critical thinking, mental calculations, problem solving and negotiated research.

MIDDLE PHASE PROGRAM

Year 6 and 7 - The focus for the Upper School students is leadership, independence and self-esteem. This phase of learning requires the student to become disciplined learners, responsible for their own learning, exhibiting initiative, an inquisitve mind and good organisational skills. Expectations are high and students must face the challenge of an ever-increasing complexity of curriculum and greater workload. Students in this phase complete a QCAT and the National Test. They are called upon to be critical thinkers, independent researchers, innovative and creative and excellent communicators.

National Testing

Year 3,5 and 7 teachers are busy at present preparing their students for the upcoming National Test in May. The written task will be a Narrative, so students are busy writing stories using stimulus materials. Teachers are also focusing on grammar, punctuation, spelling, dictation, reading, comprehension and mathematics areas in preparation for the test.

In October this year, our Year 4 students will take part in the first QCAT Trial which will take the form of a Mathematics task. This will assess the students' knowledge of the essential learnings as identified by Education Queensland.