Curriculum

Our approach to learning and teaching at St Mary’s supports individual development in a safe and supportive environment.

Magnify Sandhurst: Our Learning & Teaching Model

Magnify Sandhurst: What It Means for Your Child?

St Mary’s is a part of Catholic Education Sandhurst Limited (CESL), and we collectively commit to the learning and teaching program “Magnify.” Magnify’s improvement strategy aims to enrich, support, and inspire every child’s education.

Why “Magnify”?

Just like a magnifying glass helps us see things more clearly, Magnify Sandhurst is designed to:

  • Expand knowledge and skills – helping learners grow academically and personally.
  • Focus on individual needs – ensuring every child gets support through tailored and evidence-based teaching strategies.
  • Provide clarity – making learning easier to understand and access.
  • Encourage big-picture thinking – connecting different subjects to build critical thinking and creativity.

Supporting Every Child, Every Teacher, Every School, Everyday

Magnify uses proven teaching methods and a structured support system to make sure each child gets the help they need to succeed, whether they need extra support or are ready for more advanced learning. Assessment and data is used regualryly to target the needs of all children.

A Faith-Based Foundation

The word “magnify” also has a special meaning in our Catholic tradition. In Luke 1:46, Mary says, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” This reminds us to celebrate God’s goodness and share His blessings, just as we aim to magnify the learning opportunities for every child, every day.

Through Magnify Sandhurst, we are committed to nurturing, guiding, and empowering learners — so they can reach their full potential and make a difference in the world.

Magnify Learning and teaching model focuses on ensuring teachers led a rich, knowledge-based curriculum while developing learners’ skills through engaging and responsive teaching methods. Drawing from neuroscience and evidence-based teaching approaches, this model promotes a strong understanding of concepts that ensures deep learning for our staff and learners.

Key Features:

Clear Teaching & Gradual Responsibility: Teachers explicitly teach learners in line with the Victorian Curriulum, then gradually encourage them to take more responsibility for their learning as they grow and progress.

Consistent Curriculum: The model promotes a steady and structured way of learning that makes it easier for learners to absorb information and retain it for longer.

Support for Teachers: Teachers receive continuous feedback, observations, and collaboration opportunities to help them develop their teaching skills.

Tailored Support for All: New teachers get step-by-step guidance, while experienced teachers have the freedom to customise their approaches.

Engaged and Responsive Teaching: Unlike models that rely solely on learners asking questions, Magnify Learning emphasises being directly involved and adapting quickly to learner needs.

By finding the right balance between structure and flexibility, Magnify Learning encourages effective teaching, deep understanding in learners, and lasting academic progress.

Educators employ evidence-based practices informed by assessment, data, and learner voice. We recognise that learners develop and progress differently, and we aim to ensure that programs are individualised and differentiated so that every learner can access the curriculum and experience success. Learners at St Mary’s are encouraged to become confident and independent, empowered to learn, and open to feedback and challenge. 

St Mary’s Curriculum is aligned with the Victorian Curriculum and supports planning and assessment. The curriculum comprises a common set of knowledge and skills that learners require for lifelong learning. Our aim is for all learners to be active and informed members of the community.

Our core curriculum includes;

  • English: Reading and Viewing, Writing, and Speaking and Listening
  • Mathematics
  • Inquiry: Science, History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, and Economics and Business
  • Religious Education
  • Physical Education
  • Arts: Performing Arts, Visual Arts
  • Languages: Indonesian and AUSLAN
  • Technologies: Design and Digital
  • Capabilities: Personal and Social Learning, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Capability, and Intercultural Understanding.

Our Educational Beliefs

Our Learning Community believes; 

  • Learning best occurs in a happy and safe environment.
  • All moments are teachable moments.
  • Mistakes and a growth mindset are essential to the learning journey.
  • Learning occurs through engaging and meaningful experiences.
  • All learners are included and have access to all learning experiences.
  • Learning is a rich, real, and relevant experience.
  • All individuals learn and progress differently.
  • Parental involvement in their children’s learning is vitally important.
  • Assessment and feedback ensure growth and accountability; 12 months of growth for 12 months of learning.
  • Learning is enhanced through a team and collaborative approach.

Our Educational Aims

At St Mary’s, we aim to;  

  • Encourage personal responsibility for learning and develop independence.
  • Create a challenging, open, and engaging learning environment.
  • Promote positive dispositions and attitudes through the learning experience.
  • Encourage deep and rigorous thinking about life and learning.
  • Use assessment to plan and target individual learning.
  • Listen and learn with our learners to best meet their needs, respect backgrounds, and nurture interests.
  • Live and learn respectfully within our school community.
  • Engage learners in various contemporary learning approaches and resources in readiness for their future.

 

Mathematics at St Mary’s

At St Mary’s, we are committed to developing a strong mathematical understanding in all learners from Foundation to Year 6. Our Mathematics program is guided by the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, ensuring that learners build essential numeracy skills, problem-solving abilities, and mathematical reasoning.  

Through the Magnify Sandhurst school improvement initiative, we embrace Ochre Education in Mathematics. As part of this approach, learners participate in evidence-based Mathematics lessons five times a week, designed to build confidence, fluency, and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.  

Australian Mathematics Competition  

At St Mary’s, we encourage our learners to challenge themselves in Mathematics. Each year, learners from Year 3 to Year 6 are invited to opt into the Australian Mathematics Competition run by the Australian Maths Trust (AMT). This competition provides an opportunity for learners to apply their mathematical thinking and problem-solving skills in a nationally recognised challenge.

English at St Mary’s

At St. Mary’s, we are committed to developing all learners by providing an evidence-based start to English using two highly effective, evidence-based programs: InitiaLit and Ochre English, to guide all learning in reading and writing.

InitiaLit: Foundation – Year 2  

InitiaLit is an evidence-based literacy program designed specifically for learners in Foundation to Year 2. It provides fundamental skills and behaviours in reading and writing, setting learners up for success in future school years.  

The program encompasses the Five Big Ideas of Reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. By addressing each of these key areas, InitiaLit ensures that learners are supported in becoming competent and confident readers with a lasting love for reading.  

A structured scope and sequence that aligns with the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, InitiaLit offers a consistent approach to literacy development across the early years, ensuring all learners progress incrementally from Foundation to Year 2.

Ochre English: Year 3-6  

Ochre English is a literacy program designed to help learners develop essential reading and writing skills through engaging and effective pedagogical practices. This program aims to provide learners with the tools needed to become competent and confident readers and writers, scaffolding long-term success.  

Ochre English is a research-based teaching pedagogy that teaches the continued core skills of reading and writing. It ensures learners are supported in all key areas of literacy development, including:  

  • Phonics – helping learners understand the relationship between letters and sounds.  
  • Fluency – encouraging fluent and confident reading.  
  • Comprehension – developing the ability to understand and think critically about texts.  
  • Vocabulary – expanding learners’ word knowledge to enhance reading and writing.  

Ochre English provides a structured approach that aligns with educational standards, offering a consistent and systematic way to learn, and supporting learners in becoming literate.

Inquiry at St Mary’s

The inquiry approach for learners is a structured and supported process that encourages learners to engage with a question, think critically, and explore solutions or answers, possibly sparking continued curiosity and a lifelong love of learning.

St Mary’s pedagogical approach to inquiry follows scaffolded stages dependent on learner need and knowledge:  

  • Structured Inquiry – Teachers provide a question and a learning strategy for learners to follow.  
  • Guided Inquiry – Teachers provide the question, but learners decide and collaborate on how to investigate.  
  • Open Inquiry – Learners generate their own questions and explore them independently.

St Mary’s Inquiry scope and sequence is Victorian Curriculum aligned, integrating exciting learning experiences and opportunities where fitting. Over a two year cycle, learners receive mandated curriculum and capabilities in the areas of: 

  • The Arts
  • The Humanities (Geography, History, Civics & Citizenship, Economics & Business) 
  • Health and Physical Education 
  • Science 
  • Technologies 
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Ethical
  • Intercultural
  • Personal and Social

Inquiry encourages learners to be curious and to take an active role in the learning journey. It nurtures the development of problem-solving skills, collaboration, metacognition, research, and communication while ensuring learning is interest-based and engaging.