Junior School Academic Program
The Junior School academic program is a rich and vibrant one, providing opportunities to allow students to reach their full potential.
International Baccalaureate World School
TAS Junior School is an International Baccalaureate World School offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP). This is an exciting process as we look to analyse, reflect upon and enhance The Learner, Learning and Teaching and The Learning Community.
Further information about the PYP may be found HERE.
Specialist teachers
TAS Junior School students are fortunate to benefit from the experience of specialist secondary teachers in several key subject areas, including Music, PDHPE, French, Japanese, Divinity and Visual Arts. Stage-appropriate programs are tailored to suit infants and primary students, while giving them insights from highly qualified teachers.
Academic Activities Days
Every term there are special day-long academic activities days which provide an opportunity for children to be immersed more deeply in programs beyond the standard curriculum. These include a designated science day, a book festival, and a language day in which students rotate through various hands-on activities, exposing them to language and customs from several countries (and often involves making and eating food!)
Enrichment Opportunities
The TAS Junior School offers an inclusive programme that aims to enable all students to access the curriculum. There is scope for those students who wish to explore the curriculum in more depth through a conceptual approach. Students are encouraged to explore strategies, ideas, issues and themes that have local, national and international relevance. As part of the enrichment opportunities on offer, students are encouraged to inquire, question and wonder. They are also given the opportunity to be an agent for their own learning, which connects to a students’ belief in their ability to succeed-self-efficacy.
All students are encouraged to use a range of approaches to learning skills, especially self-management and thinking skills, in a challenging environment. Creativity is strongly encouraged and our units of inquiry have scope for our students to challenge themselves and to work collaboratively or independently in order to extend their knowledge.
Learning Support
TAS Junior School has an appointed Learning Support Coordinator (0.2 loading FTE) who oversees all students requiring additional support in order to access the curriculum and or achieve beyond their current levels. Based upon early assessment, intervention is provided as required to determine any issues, which could prevent a student from accessing the program on offer. With various models of assistance available for Years K – 2, the school has developed targeted and explicit teaching of phonemens and graphemens for those in need informed by running records and ongoing assessment providing ongoing feedback. Groups are small and manageable in size and students can move freely depending on assessed needs.
For more senior students in Years 3 – 5, in-class support is provided with differentiated programs determined by ongoing assessment. Students are assessed through a variety of in-class measures and this informs further development of their learning and teaching. These actions are designed to be fluid and cater for every child not only those who have achieved the predicted outcomes.
Through constant feedback, students’ performances can be viewed as part of a learning continuum, with each achieving individual and quite specific milestones. Along with information directed by student agency, planning and implementation of unique learning opportunities is possible consolidating and extending each student in areas of particular interest or enjoyment.
