At Ipswich North State School, the curriculum provides students with the foundations for successful, lifelong learning and the participation in Australian society. The school curriculum plan is informed by the
Australian Curriculum, Reporting and Assessment Authority (ACARA). and the
Prep to Year 12 Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework.
There are eight Learning Areas (LA) - English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Science (HASS), Technology, The Arts, Health and Physical Education and Languages (Japanese for Years 6-7). Teachers plan, teach, assess and report on these areas.
School Curriculum
The Australian Curriculum
The Australian Curriculum is designed to teach students what it takes to be confident and creative individuals and become active and informed citizens. It sets the goal for what all students should learn as they progress through their school life.
Learning Areas:
English
The Australian Curriculum: English Prep to Year 6 is organised into three interrelated strands that support students' growing understanding and use of Standard Australian English. Together the three strands focus on developing students' knowledge understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking and writing. The three strands are:
- Language: knowing about English Language
- Literature: understanding, appreciating, responding to analysing and creating literature
- Literacy: expanding the repertoire of English usage
Mathematics
The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics Prep to Year 6 is organised around three content and four proficiency strands. The content strands are number and algebra, measurement and geometry. They describe what is to be taught and learnt. The proficiency strands are understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning. The describe how content is explored or developed, this is thinking and doing of mathematics. This approach has been adopted to ensure students' proficiency in mathematical skills develops throughout the curriculum and becomes increasingly sophisticated over the years of schooling.
Science
The Australian Curriculum: Science Prep to Year 6 has three interrelated strands: science understanding, science as human endeavour and science inquiry skills. Science understanding has four sub strands – biological science, chemical science, physical science and earth and space science. Together, the three strands of the science curriculum provide students with understanding, knowledge and skills through which they can develop a scientific view of the world. Students are challenged to explore science, its concepts, nature and uses through clearly describe inquiry processes.
Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)
The Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences or HASS Prep to Year 6 comprises five subjects. In all five subjects, the curriculum is organised into two broad interrelated strands: knowledge and understanding and inquiry and skills. History, geography, civics and citizenship and economics and business are presented as sub strands of the knowledge and understanding strand. Students are introduced to history and geography from Prep, civics and citizenship in Year 3 and economic and business in Year 5.
The Arts
The Australian Curriculum: The Arts Prep to Year 6 covers each of the five art subjects – Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts – across bands of year levels. Banded Learning Areas will be reported on over a two-year period, with not all subjects being reflected in a report card.
Technologies
The Australian Curriculum: Technologies Prep to Year 6 comprises two subjects:
- Design and Technologies
- Digital Technologies
The curriculum for each Technologies subject is written in band of year levels and each subject is presented through two related strands – knowledge and understanding and processes and production skills. This approach allows students to develop a comprehensive understanding of traditional, contemporary and emerging technologies.
Health and Physical Education
The Australian: Health and Physical Education Prep to Year 6 has two content strands: personal, social and community health and movement and physical activity, that are interrelated and inform and support each other. The curriculum is written in band of year levels. Students participate in physical activity on a weekly basis as a minimum part of the HPE curriculum.
Languages - Japanese (Years 4-6)
The Australian Curriculum: Languages is organised through two interrelated strands which are communicating and understanding. The strands reflect three important aspects of language learning:
- Communication
- Analysis of aspects of language and culture
- Reflection
The curriculum is written in band of year levels.