Primary Curriculum

The Primary School is underpinned by a diverse curriculum that places emphasis on individual skills development and assists students to engage, behave and work at a high level. Academic rigour is a key element within the school, as we ask students to strive for personal best achievements on a daily basis.

Primary classes are provided with a wide range of learning opportunities across 7 areas of learning. As much as possible primary students are able to appreciate the opportunities of an F- 12 school, in accessing specialist teachers and specialist teaching areas.

Primary school staff actively promote learning in the 7 learning areas; constantly sourcing learning opportunities through extra-curricula activities. Parents are strongly encouraged to be part of the learning environment that fosters play and resource based learning, student initiated learning and cross age peer work.

The Australian Curriculum is taught in government schools for Foundation to year 10 students.

Teachers use curriculum to:

plan student learning
monitor and assess student progress
report student progress to parents
support student wellbeing

LEARNING AREAS

Overview

The Australian Curriculum is designed to help all young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens. Presented as a developmental sequence of learning from Foundation - Year 10, the Australian Curriculum describes to teachers, parents, students and others in the wider community what is to be taught and the quality of learning expected of young people as they progress through school.

The three-dimensional design of the Foundation – Year 10 Australian Curriculum recognises the importance of disciplinary knowledge, skills and understanding alongside general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities.

Disciplinary knowledge, skills and understanding are described in the eight learning areas of the Australian Curriculum: English, Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, The Arts, Technologies and Languages. The latter four learning areas have been written to include multiple subjects, reflecting custom and practice in the discipline. In each learning area or subject, content descriptions specify what young people will learn, and achievement standards describe the depth of understanding and the sophistication of knowledge and skill expected of students at the end of each year level or band of years.

Click here to view the Foundation - Year 2 Curriculum

Click here to view the 3-6 Curriculum

Primary Handbook - click on images

Click on the following images for more information about the Australian Curriculum learning areas:

Latest News

Change of Library Times as of 27/07/2021

27 Jul 2021

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

FYI

Kind Regards,
Admin

Junior Primary Remote Learning

21 Jul 2021

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I have attached a few resources to this communication regarding the Remote Learning program for our students over the next four days, concluding on Tuesday next week. These are also found on the Our Learning SA website and provide some valuable pointers on setting up each school day.

setting_up_for_learning_at_home_fact_sheet.pdf

staying_healthy_and_active_learning_at_home_fact_sheet.pdf

reading_at_home_fact_sheet.pdf

This will be a learning exercise for us all and regular communication will be needed for the right support to happen. Our Front Office staff will be contacting each family at the start of the day to check that students are happy, are ready for school and whether there are any questions or support needed.

Penny McCulloch will make contact with her students each day, we are looking at using Microsoft Teams as a way of setting up conversations with students and their parents for this each morning. A little work still needs to happen with this to enable conversations to happen, starting tomorrow.

Routine:

It will be important to have a consistent routine at home. Structure the beginning of the day like you would for any other day at school:

Regular time for getting out of bed, wash up, breakfast, getting dressed for a day at school. (not in the pyjamas all day!).
Be prepared for the day, build in morning, lunch and afternoon breaks and food. Plan it at the start of the day so your student knows what their day will look like.
Build in 3 – 4 sessions during the day for learning activities.
Add in other breaks during these sessions which may be short periods of play, reading books, free drawing, colouring and painting, collecting things and grouping, creating and making (lego, building toys etc), household jobs and listening to sounds, including music.
It is important to remember that your students will need this break time, and they do get these breaks and reward time in between lesson activities at school.

Communication

So in summary Penny McCulloch will be contacting families by phone and we will have a go at the Microsoft Teams sessions which can be done through the iPads which have gone home with each student.

Penny’s email address is penny.mcculloch456@schools.sa.eda.au

Ailsa Green will also be delivering some curriculum in Art and Digital Literacy. Her students have had an initial look at their class teams which are listed below. Ailsa is away from school at the moment for the rest of this week, but all the required learning has either gone home or can be found on the Teams sites below. They have been invited into each of these two teams:

Digital Literacy F-5
Adventures in Art (all three classes)

Ailsa’s email address is Ailsa.Green338@schools.sa.edu.au

This is the first time we have delivered remote learning to Foundation to Year 2 students and it will be an interesting experience for all. By having our conversations each morning the plan will be to get each day organised and answer any questions parents may have. If there are any questions or issues beyond this please contact the school on 86484003 or send an email to Penny on her details above or myself on daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au.

Daren O’Neill

Regards,
Daren O'Neill
Principal
daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

Delivery of Student Work

21 Jul 2021

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The school will be conducting a drop off of materials this afternoon to houses in Hawker and also to families on the bus run. This will consist of the main student work for the next four days.

School staff will deliver work directly to houses in Hawker, whilst Paul Lowe will travel out in the school bus to deliver to families on our Bus run. We will be making contact with the bus families before Paul leaves so they will have an accurate time to meet and collect.

The school will be contacting all families at the start of each day as part of required processes to check in on our students. Class teachers will also be making contact with their students by phone or Microsoft Teams.

Regards,
Daren O'Neill
Principal
daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

A Message from Rob Harkin - Principals Panel Chair

21 Jul 2021

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Please see below a message from the Education Director, Rob Harkin to the community, this was sent yesterday, just before the lockdown announcement.

Good morning

I hope the new term has started well for you, albeit under the cloud of Level 4 Restrictions.

I am very pleased to announce that as a consequence of the recent panel process for appointment of the principal position at Hawker Area School for the next five years, that Daren O’Neill has been successful in that process.

This is a very good outcome for the school and community as the school team under Daren’s guidance continues its positive journey of school improvement, and in particular the continuing improvement in student learner outcomes that has been occurring over the past few years at Hawker.

Kindest regards

Rob Harkin

Panel Chair

Robin Harkin

Education Director

Office for Partnerships, Schools and Preschools

Port Augusta One Portfolio [Arid Lands]

Department for Education

31 Flinders Street Adelaide 5000

m 0438 128 500 e robin.harkin@sa.gov.au w www.decd.sa.gov.au

Regards,
Daren O'Neill
Principal
daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

COVID-19 Update

20 Jul 2021

Today the Premier announced a 7-day statewide lockdown starting at 6.00pm tonight (Tuesday 20 July).

Only the children of essential workers and vulnerable children will be able to attend school. A skeleton staff will provide supervision but not a learning program for tomorrow.

We will be offering a remote learning program from Thursday and more details will be sent from your classroom teacher and the school. If your child needs to attend, we will be here for them.

All students have been asked to take home school laptops/iPads, books and anything else they need to continue their learning from home.

More information on learning programs will be provided later this week, as we work our way through the new COVID-19 Directions.

All South Australians are making sacrifices to ensure our community remains as safe as possible. We appreciate that this is a significant undertaking for you and your family. Your child’s teacher, our support staff and I are here to support you where we can.

Regards,
Daren O'Neill
Principal
daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

COVID-19 Update

19 Jul 2021

Following on from today's announcement re COVID-19 and with further communication from the department I would like to emphasise the following actions that we are taking:

I would like to emphasise that all visitors COVID-SAfe check in whenever entering school sites. This information allows SA Health contact tracers to act rapidly any time, day or night, and to directly visitors if they have been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Access to the school will be limited to staff, students and essential services.
Parents can drop off students at school but are requested not to enter classrooms or other buildings.
Physical education classes can continue as part of the curriculum. All interschool sport competitions must be postponed until further notice.
The school will continue it's focus on good hygiene practices.

If you’re unwell, get tested

People who have any of the symptoms below, even if mild, should get tested for COVID-19 as soon as symptoms appear:
- fever or chills
- cough
- sore throat
- runny nose
- shortness of breath
- loss of taste or smell
- diarrhoea and vomiting.

If your child is unwell please keep them at home.

Regards,
Daren O'Neill
Principal
daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

July 2 Newsletter

02 Jul 2021

Click here to view the July 2 Schoolzine eNewsletter!

Final Day Details

02 Jul 2021

Just a reminder that today's school assembly has been cancelled. Absences due to illness are high at the moment and we wont be putting our students together as this will risk any further spread of the colds that are going around.

Instead of the assembly we will still run the day to 2.10pm with classes running their own end of term activities including presentations of awards for attendance and academic effort and progress.

The school day will still finish at 2.10pm with the bus departing at 2.15pm.

Regards,
Daren O'Neill
Principal
daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

School Assembly Cancelled

30 Jun 2021

I have spoken to the staff and taken the decision to cancel our school assembly scheduled for this Friday. This has been taken in the interest of the health of our students and staff. It has been a particularly hard term in this area with students continually ill with respiratory and gastric disorders, at the moment this week we have had significant numbers of both either away or coming to school ill. The main concern is that if the assembly were held we would be grouping students together and risking further spread before the start of the holidays to other family members including the elderly in Hawker.

In the meantime I would ask that if your child is showing any symptoms of colds or gastric illness, please consider keeping them home to help ensure a healthy end to term.

Instead of the assembly we will still run the day to 2.10pm with classes running their own end of term activities including presentations of awards for attendance and academic effort and progress. The school day will still finish at 2.10pm with the bus departing at 2.15pm.

Regards,
Daren O'Neill
Principal
daren.oneill253@schools.sa.edu.au

BOOK CLUB Orders Due

10 Jun 2021

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Please note: Issue 4 Book Club orders are due back to school this coming Tuesday, June 15.

I am aware that it's been a few weeks since Issue 3 Book Club closed. I placed the order on May 12. I rang on Wednesday, June 9, to enquire as to why they were taking so long. I have been informed that due to recent updates in their warehouse, there is a back log on shipping orders out to schools. As soon as I find out more information re the arrival of the orders, I will let you know.

My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Regards,
Ailsa Green
Teacher-Librarian/AET