LYC

Leibler Yavneh College’s Primary School is dedicated to building a community of learners where not only our students but also our teachers are immersed in learning for the benefit of their students, their own personal development and that of the Yavneh Community.

Our Primary school aims to teach students to perform more effectively by developing their collaborative and thinking skills. To this end we construct opportunities for students to help create a positive learning environment in their classrooms. We know that students benefit from playing an active role in classroom decision making and in the development of expectations, rules, routines and behaviour management plans. Consequently, we include our students in decisions that affect them. This enables the students to take more responsibility for their personal learning development.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CURRICULUM

We have adopted the Victorian Essential Learning Standards into our Primary General Studies curriculum, which aims to equip children with skills to manage themselves and their relations with others.

• Our Jewish Studies, Torah and Hebrew curriculum is built upon the Tal Am and Tal Sela programs. During Jewish Studies lessons students develop an understanding of Jewish concepts and values and learn to read and write in a visual and oral Hebrew environment. This is accompanied by colourful resource material which includes interactive posters, songs, stories, plays and recitations. Programs are complemented with the study of Parashat Hashavua, Navi, Halacha, Mishna and Chumash. This is further enhanced by our Informal Jewish Studies program which features B'not Sherut, young religious Israeli girls who ensure every Chag and Jewish commemoration is an experience to remember. Wherever possible we integrate the Jewish Studies curriculum into our teaching and learning programs in General Studies.
• English - Students in Prep start by learning letters, journal writing, handwriting, home and shared reading and show and tell. By the end of primary school students are using a range of strategies to plan, compose revise and edit texts. Students in Year 6 are reading and interpreting texts and using a variety of strategies for selecting reading resources.
• Mathematics - Prep students are taught to recognise numbers, patterns, shapes and measurements, addition, subtraction, space and time, reasoning and strategy and grouping. By the end of Primary school, students can create and solve number sentences, use estimation, recognise decimals, fractions, factors, multiples as well as prime, composite and negative numbers. Year 6 students can discuss angles, copy three dimensional objects and transform shapes. They have also studied measurements, chance and data and reasoning strategies.
• Art - In the Early Years students learn about painting, pastels, printing and paper collage, cutting and pasting, colouring, stencilling and mixing primary colours. They finish Primary school by composing entire pieces of art, inspired by geography and the earth for example. They may also create something specific for speech night and graduation.
• Music - Singing, listening, movement, musical stories, instrument playing and rhythm and beat are introduced in primary school, and by the end of Year 6 students are exploring musical styles from around the world and preparing their own work for speech night and graduation.
• Physical Education - In Prep students undertake a Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) and begin learning safety rules, movement games, running skills, hand eye coordination and modified games. In later years a swimming program is introduced as is aerobics, athletics and ball games. By Year 6 students are participating in interschool sports carnivals, working in teams and developing leadership capabilities.
• Civics and Citizenship - From Prep students start to learning about themselves and their community and in later years learn rights and responsibilities, Australian community festivals and events. By Year 6 a history subject is introduced and students learn about Governments and the election process and participate in a wonderful program called "Living Histories" where special guests share their stories and life experiences.
• Science - In Year 4 students are introduced to inventors and inventions, in Year 5, the Fragile Earth, land degradation, pollution and global warming and in Year 6 they begin to learn about the human body. By the end of the year students have studied earth and space sciences, the importance of safety, the use of scientific instruments and the planets of the solar system.
• Excursions and special activities - All students participate in special classroom activities, especially around the Jewish festivals, and also attend excursions to places of learning such as libraries, traffic schools, factories and museums, live theatre and musical productions.

Catering for the Individual
Because we aim to cater to the needs of individual students, we offer flexible curriculum delivery. Programs are tailored to meet the needs of our students by utilising current research findings on the early years, middle years and boys’ education. Our comprehensive transition program for students moving from Kindergarten to Prep includes a buddy program, visits to the College campus and an interview before the commencement of the school year, so children feel safe and secure with their teachers and their new learning environment. We have created a developmental program and learning environment that values the importance of play for our youngest students. 

Due to a flexible and responsive approach to meeting student needs, Yavneh provides a variety of learning contexts for our students, which include whole class, small groups and individual learning opportunities, as well as mixed and gender specific class time. Our Student Services Department coordinates a number of programs to meet the special needs of individual students. These needs include learning support, extension and enrichment, and social and emotional support. Parents are encouraged to work with the College as partners in the learning process.

Life Skills and Values for Life
A dominant feature of the Primary School curriculum is “Personal and Interpersonal Learning”. Naturally, our Jewish Studies program is the foundation of our “Life skills and Values for life” educational package. We also use “Program Achieve”, a research based program, that assists students with developing healthy “Habits of Mind” and establishes the stepping stones for building emotional resilience. Topics covered include conflict resolution, personal and interpersonal skills as well as study and organisational skills. We believe this will ensure the most effective learning acquisition for students as it introduces skills and behaviours that will equip students for the “ups and downs” of life. 

Our commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle is embedded in our Physical Education program. Students are provided with opportunities to improve their physical well-being and fitness. Healthy eating is encouraged and is a dominant aspect of the curriculum for students in the early years of school.

Thinking Skills
“Thinking skills” have been given greater prominence in our students’ day-to-day learning. De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats, Extended Brainstorming, Questioning Techniques, Thinker’s Keys, Graphic Organisers and Creative Problem Solving are integrated into the curriculum to assist our students to become self-directed learners. These skills provide students with the language, tools and strategies they need to engage in a wide range of analytical, critical and creative thinking activities, well into the future.

Student Leadership Opportunities
Students are encouraged to participate in a variety of leadership opportunities. From Year 3 students can stand for the Student Representative Council. Elections promote the importance of positive values, behaviours and skills and elected SRC students represent their Junior Primary classmates. SRC representatives are expected to be cooperative and supportive in their leadership role. Year 6 Captains and House Captains explore personal and group leadership qualities and characteristics. They research, role-play, discuss and debate the attributes and behaviors necessary for effective leadership. Students are given a confidential survey that asks them to nominate peers who they feel demonstrate leadership qualities such as respect for others, consideration and a commitment to caring for others and the values of the school. Student Leadership initiatives have included the implementation of a bully/chessed report, talent quests, lunch time clubs, tzedakah projects and peer support and mentoring.

Information, Communication and Technology involves a spiral curriculum which expands in complexity. Studies in this area include word processing, analysing and processing information and manipulating information as a means of communication. Skills acquired include problem solving, keyboarding, graphics and using ICT in assisting research projects and enhancing learning opportunities. An understanding of the hardware and the tools is provided through integrating ICT across the curriculum. Posture and cyber safety also form part of the teaching and learning program.

 Mathematics Task Centre
Solving problems is part of everyday life. It may involve decisions about "What will I have for breakfast?" or "How will I overcome a particular difficulty?". Mathematics is an extremely effective medium whereby we can develop strategies and methods of organising our thoughts to help overcome problem situations. The Maths Task Centre (MTC) gives each child an opportunity to develop problem-solving skills and to build on an understanding of mathematics with "hands-on" materials.

Strategies are discussed at the beginning of each session. Here children learn how to think about a problem using strategies such as looking for a pattern, guess and check, act it out, making a drawing, writing a number sentence, making a model, making a table, solving a simpler but related problem, working backwards or accounting for all possibilities.

Having a supply of strategies provides a variety of ways to look at a problem, relieving the frustration of not knowing how or where to begin. The more strategies a child has, the more confident he or she becomes. This ensures that children are more willing to tackle new problems and thus become better problem solvers for life.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Our Prep concert is a highlight of the year and is celebrated once students have completed their Aleph Bet. In Year 1 we celebrate our Siddur party where students are presented with their first authentic siddur. A sentimental favourite with students, family and friends, the children present a heart warming play before being presented with their siddurim.

Every year, students in Year 2 participate in a Chumash Party. This event provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their love and understanding of Chumash. In Year 3 students celebrate a traditional Shabbat Party with dancing, singing and lots of visual art. The Shabbat is represented in all its ritual and beauty.

Our Year 4s are delighted by a Jewish Music Festival, conducted by the B’not Shirut, which provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate notable Israeli artists at a family night of song and celebration. Israel plays a central part in this interactive evening. “Night of the Notables” is another fabulous evening where the College is transported back in time - Einstein, Edison and Madame Curie often make an appearance, and seem to come to life with some uncanny resemblance to our Year 4 students. A learning journey for not only our students but also their families, our Notables explain many details about their inventions and discoveries.

Year 5 students organise an entertaining Science Night that includes interactive science experiments that they demonstrate and explain to their audience. In Year 6, as our students reach the pinnacle of their Primary schooling, they have the opportunity to participate in our “Living Historians” project. Students learn about other generations and how our history, values and beliefs help shape the people we become. Special guests are invited to come and share their personal histories with the children. This takes place in small groups where the children conduct interviews and at the end of the project present their historian’s life in a visual, oral and digital presentation.

To complete the year, students from Year 6 organise, write and present a fabulous end of year graduation ceremony. We encourage our students to take responsibility for the event, to use their initiative and to apply their creative talents to highlight the end of one phase of their learning journey.