Curriculum Opportunities

We pride ourselves on a wide range of curriculum opportunities for our students

Our curriculum does set our school apart from other schools, including the manner in which it’s delivered

Any school can teach a curriculum, our school is focussed on evidence based instructional practices – our teaching and learning motto is “In research we trust…”

Two hallmarks of our instruction include;

1. Instruction teaches all the components that evidence has found to be foremost in academic success

2. Instruction employs routines that align to higher levels of student engagement through explicit, direct instruction

Amazing schools like ours is full of teachers actively and passionately exploring the possibilities of making their teaching practice more innovative and engaging at every turn. This is the single ingredient that drives the most growth in our students.

The success we attain is not only evidenced by the assessment data – but it’s seen through the smiles and joy we see on our student’s faces as a concept is grasped. This is the indefinable element that drives us as teachers to produce and grow our own teaching skills year in, year out.

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Literacy

Our school literacy learning uses current evidence and research to teach reading. Our whole school Stuctured Literacy instruction ensures that phonology, morphology, orthography, syntax, semantics and discourse level language are explicitly, systematically and cumulatively taught.

Our teachers are invested in ongoing professional learning to continually refine our shared understandings on the cognitive science of how we all learn to read and write. Some of the training we have received on our Science of Learning journey include; LETRS, Lyn Stone – Language Arts, Lyn Stone – Spelling for Life, Yoshimoto OG dyslexia training, The Writing Revolution as well as intensive coaching on Responsive Teaching Routines with Bron Ryrie-Jones and Spelling Mastery EDI with Clare Scott.

We use the Reading Rope, Sounds Write and Spelling Mastery to explicitly teach students to develop sound/letter knowledge, accurate word decoding and automaticity in decoding simple words, then sentences and passages.

Students begin reading with decodeable readers and are scaffolded by classroom teachers into rich literature and texts. As students become proficient they are then able to read more complex texts independently.

We have a whole school Reading Spine that is a curation of Mentor Texts aligned with Core Knowledge Units and Class Novels that students explore with support from classroom teachers.

These books have been chosen to build knowledge and assist in the teaching of content, background knowledge and building a rich vocabulary.

Our Class Novels have been curated from Doug Lemov’s – Reading Reconsidered Reading Spine and the 5 Plagues of Reading. These are inclusive of the 5 text types that children should have access to in order to successfully navigate reading with confidence – Archaic, Non-linear time sequences, Narratively complex, Figurative/Symbolic and Resistant texts.

Over the course of their schooling life children will be exposed to books including; Charlotte’s Web, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Twits, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Uncanny, The Borrowers as well as literature from authors including; Oliver Jeffers, Shaun Tan, Anthony Browne, Grace Lin, Roald Dahl, Mem Fox, May Gibbs, Jeannie Baker and many more…

Numeracy

Our school teaches Numeracy with the Big Ideas by Professor Di Siemon. The Big Ideas are about creating “number sense” – a person’s general understanding of number and operations along with the ability and inclination to use this understanding in flexible ways to make mathematical judgements and to develop useful and efficient strategies for managing numerical situations.

Our teachers use a scope and sequence that builds on mathematical understanding. Concepts are built upon and automaticity of times tables and number facts is taught to build to fluency.

Students are support with manipulatives to develop deep understandings all the way from Foundation to Year 6.

In 2024 all teachers undertook Yoshimoto OG Maths training to use multi-sensory manipulatives to teach.

Student Wellbeing

Mount Pleasant Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making.

Physical Education

We aim to inspire our students to adopt lifelong attitudes of healthy living. This encompasses being physically active, mental well-being, health, and safety. Through movement-based activities, students develop an understanding of the skills to strengthen their sense of self, whilst building and managing peer relationships.

Visual Arts

Performing Arts & Music

Languages

Digital Technologies

Mount Pleasant Primary School pride ourselves on developing students use of technology age appropriately. A focus of our teaching and learning programs is the integration of learning technologies into the curriculum.

Inquiry

Inquiry learning is the overarching whole school “thinking curriculum” that supports our students learning to be connected. This includes big ideas and concepts such as: sustainability, change, equity, eco-systems, culture, identity and wellbeing.

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Upschool

A Community Resource by Mount Pleasant Primary School

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One of the foundations of strong communities with healthy people (both mind and body) is access to education.

UpSchool is an online resource we invite you to explore, immerse in and be inspired by.

This free and growing resource is our way of sharing positive and inspiring messages that we feel will have a direct and positive impact on our community.

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A Word From Our Parents

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Mount Pleasant Primary is not only a beautiful School to look at it and a great Community to be a part of. I have found the teachers to be very passionate and dedicated in engaging the students and always strive to help each individual child to be their personal best.

The curriculum is well balanced and values creativity and student agency.

Kate Robinson is a wonderful leader, innovative role model and I could not wish for a better Principal.

- Parent (Mount Pleasant Primary School)

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Upschool

UpSchool is a free and growing resource and our way of sharing positive and inspiring messages with our community.

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Literacy

Our school is guided by evidence and research to teach reading. We use the Reading Rope and Sounds Write to teach reading.

As a Sounds Write school we develop our readers sound/letter knowledge, accurate word decoding and automaticity in decoding simple words.

As our students become more proficient their language comprehension is developed by; activating word meanings, understanding sentences, making inferences, comprehension monitoring and understanding text structure.

We implement Sounds Write to begin initial writing. Students learn to write the initial code - upper and lower case letters. The focus on handwriting in the early years is very important to developing fluent writers.

As students progress through the upper years the learning is guided by the Writing Revolution to further develop students understanding of sentences as the building blocks of writing, sentence expansion and note taking, planning before writing, single paragraph outlines and revising drafts of writing.

Teaching and Learning practices at Mount Pleasant Primary School are designed to improve the learning outcomes for all students in the school. We provide a broad, open curriculum that encourages students to transfer skills and make connections with the real world.

MPPS aims to provide each student with a range of learning experiences that:

build on existing experiences;
promote individual excellence in learning;
develop self-esteem, confidence and independence;
encourage students to think, collaborate and problem solve;
foster a desire and enthusiasm for life-long learning.

Numeracy

Our school teaches Numeracy with the Big Ideas by Professor Di Siemon. The Big Ideas are about creating "number sense" - a person’s general understanding of number and operations along with the ability and inclination to use this understanding in flexible ways to make mathematical judgements and to develop useful and efficient strategies for managing numerical situations. The Big Ideas are the sequential building blocks to "number sense".

Student Wellbeing

VALUES & CHILD SAFETY STANDARDS

STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT TO CHILD SAFETY AND CHILD SAFETY PRINCIPLES

Mount Pleasant Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making.

The school’s approach to creating and maintaining a child safe school environment is guided by our school philosophy and values. At Mount Pleasant Primary School we create a passionate learning community that inspires, challenges and supports all students to achieve their personal best and make a positive contribution to the world in which they live. We know children can struggle to achieve their personal best if they are not safe from abuse.

At Mount Pleasant Primary School our values guide the decisions and behaviours of all members of our school community, including in relation to child safety:

Respect – for ourselves and others – Caring for, understanding, accepting and appreciating ourselves and others.
Responsibility – Demonstrating ownership of our actions and words. Being accountable for our actions.
Resilience – Bouncing back from difficulties and disappointments. Accepting challenges, trying hard and not giving up easily.”]

Mount Pleasant Primary School has zero tolerance for child abuse.

We are committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Our child safe policies, procedures, strategies and practices will be inclusive of the needs of all children, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, children with disabilities, and children who are vulnerable including students in out of home care, LGBTI students and students requiring additional support.

Every person involved in Mount Pleasant Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

Physical Education

We learn through play. This approach supports student agency, enabling children to take on an active role and ownership in their experiences. It recognises that children are capable, autonomous, and agents of their own playful learning journeys. We build from their exploration to define the key learnings of the unit at hand. Key areas of learning are invasion games, net and wall games, target games and striking and fielding games.

Visual Arts

The Visual Art classroom at Mount Pleasant is one of immersion, building on themes explored in Inquiry. Starting in Foundation, students experiment with a wide range of media from ceramic sculpture to installation art. We investigate the work of diverse artists that inspire students to create whilst building their technical skills.

Performing Arts & Music

In Performing Arts all students explore drama, movement and music. We learn skills in improvisation, choreography, composition, rehearsal and presentation of original and diverse cultural dramas, dances and songs. We sing, dance, characterise, play percussion instruments, mime and use props. We create, invent, cooperate, choreograph, play games – our emphasis is on collaboration, creativity, courage and having fun!

Languages

Our Chinese language program covers basic vocabulary, greetings, language and cultural awareness. Students explore the Chinese language through various hands-on activities including songs, stories, dance, Chinese calligraphy and handcrafts. By studying another language, we value our students will engage with others and gain access to other people’s ideas and ways of thinking, become interested in an increasingly globalised world.

Digital Technologies

Our intention is to develop our students as independent, confident and responsible users of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to prepare them for life in an increasingly ICT rich world.

Mount Pleasant Primary School is well resourced with digital technologies. All classrooms and learning areas have access to a range of devices, programs and tools. Teachers guide students to utilise the most appropriate tools for their learning experience, whether it be an iPad for apps and media capture, Acer devices or internet access. Learning in this area focuses on understanding digital systems, becoming confident with different types of data and information, and creating digital solutions for real world problems.

Cybersafety is a critical component of our digital technologies strategy. Our e-Smart program is designed to teach students the smart, safe and responsible use of online technology. We also support parents with information and workshops, to promote shared ownership of Cybersafety.

Inquiry

Inquiry learning is the overarching whole school "thinking curriculum" that supports our students learning to be connected. This includes big ideas and concepts such as: sustainability, change, equity, eco-systems, culture, identity and wellbeing. Inquiry learning supports students with the big understandings about the world, supports language acquisition and contextualises literacy and numeracy learning in a real world context.