Kennington Primary

The Kennington (Victoria) Primary School Is A School Which Is In Bendigo. At That School, They Have Many Things Like English, Literacy, Math, Writing And Many More. They Also Learn More Stuff You Probably Don’t Learn

Kennington Primary School is built on an undulating 12.1 hectares, situated in Strathdale, a South Eastern suburb of Bendigo and in close proximity to native forests.  The Victorian State Government purchased the site in 1991 and, after refurbishment, Kennington Primary School relocated to the site in 1995. The history of the school dates back one hundred years with several different sites occupied during this time.

After a time of significant growth, the school enrolment has stabilised with enrolment over the last three years ranging between 600 and 660.  The school is committed to providing each student with the highest possible quality of education by effectively using the resources available.  As a learning community, Kennington Primary School understands that a close relationship between parents and school enriches a student’s academic and social development.

Kennington Primary School structures itself around nine Professional Learning Communities where teachers work together to analyse student data to support shared teaching and learning.  Together with the Principal and Assistant Principals, nine Professional Learning Community Leaders and three Learning Specialists form a Leadership Team whose responsibility it is to provide overall school co-ordination and strategic planning.  Staff Professional Learning is recognised as a high priority and is facilitated through all levels of the school.

Students are always at the centre of decision-making and to support this an active School Council operates along with an active Parent and Friends’ Association.  Kennington Primary School is committed to consultative decision-making principles, whole school planning and a systematic approach to evaluation and development.

Kennington Primary School has a commitment to inclusive education.  It is the host site for the Bendigo Deaf Facility.  The Facility also serves deaf students across two Secondary School sites in Bendigo.  Kennington Primary School has a diverse enrolment that reflects the current population of Greater Bendigo.

The school demonstrates a commitment to the development of Literacy and Numeracy skills within the Victorian Curriculum as well as a broad exposure to the range of learning areas.  Students participate in specialist programs that include Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Education and LOTE (Auslan and Chinese).  Students are provided with the opportunity to participate in school choirs, private instrumental music instruction, a camps program and an annual musical production.  There are also a range of programs and activities of a sporting and cultural nature to further broaden and enrich the school curriculum for all students.

## Teaching & Learning

### Literacy

Kennington Primary School’s vision is to maximise learning opportunities for all students in Literacy and Numeracy. We continuously reflect on this vision and implement strategies to ensure every student in our school is completing high-quality learning tasks in all learning areas. We acknowledge that the study of English (Literacy) is central to the learning and development of all young Australians. It helps to create confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and informed citizens. It is through the study of English, that individuals learn to analyse, understand, communicate and build relationships with others and with the world around them. The study of English helps young people develop the knowledge and skills needed for education, training and the workplace. It helps them become ethical, thoughtful, informed and active members of society and plays an important part in developing the understanding, attitudes and capabilities of those who will take responsibility for Australia’s future.

At Kennington Primary School, our Literacy programs provide opportunities for students to:

* listen to, read, view, speak, write and reflect on a variety of rich fiction and non-fiction texts
* develop an understanding of communicating through spoken and written language
* read and write a variety of texts for pleasure and authentic purposes
* complete tasks that are customised for students’ individual learning needs
* reflect on their learning and strive to achieve their individualised learning goals that have been created with the support of their teachers.

The three dimensions of English are Reading and Viewing, Writing and Speaking & Listening. At Kennington Primary School, students generally complete two hours of explicit Literacy instruction each morning. During this time, they undertake tasks that have been carefully designed by our teachers. Through rigorous assessment and ongoing goal-setting between our students and teachers, we strive to develop personalised instruction to meet every students learning needs. We cater for students with differing abilities, interests and learning preferences and our goal is for all students to learn what they need to learn and not repeat what they already know.

**READING**

Reading and Viewing involves students understanding, interpreting, critically analysing, reflecting upon, and enjoying written and visual, print and non-print texts. It encompasses reading and viewing a wide range of texts and media, including literary texts. Reading involves active engagement with texts and the development of knowledge about the relationship between them and the contexts in which they are created. It also involves the development of knowledge about a range of strategies for reading. We continuously monitor our students’ reading progress and set learning goals based on our ongoing assessment. All of our Reading programs are influenced by research and evidence. We assess students formally using The Fountas and Pinnell Benchmarking System. Every student at Kennington Primary School has access to a variety of quality home reading materials. Students who regularly complete their home reading are acknowledged at our assemblies and have their name published in the newsletter when they reach our reading milestones; those being the 100 Club, the 200 Club and the 300 Club.

**WRITING**

Writing is a complex process that involves planning, composing, editing, revising and publishing. It involves using appropriate language for particular purposes and expressing and representing ideas and experiences. Our Writing programs at Kennington School are developed in response to ongoing student assessment results. Students participate in whole-class, small group and individual conferences with their teachers, who scaffold learning and explicitly teach each of the 6+1 Traits of Writing. Individual learning goals are also developed during these conferences.

The 6+1 Traits of Writing were developed by Ruth Culham and are heavily supported by research.  By using the 6+1 Traits, it provides students with opportunities to explore the following elements of quality writing:

* Voice
* Ideas
* Presentation
* Conventions
* Organisation
* Word Choice
* Sentence Fluency

**SPEAKING AND LISTENING**

Speaking and Listening refers to the formal and informal ways spoken language is used to convey meaning. It involves the teaching of language and how spoken language changes according to the situation. Speaking and Listening also involves the development of active-listening strategies and an understanding of the conventions of different spoken texts. Throughout the school year, teachers continuously provide opportunities for students to improve their skills in this domain. Every class co-constructs (the students and teachers work together to create something) class discussion protocols through our Jumpstart program and continuously refers to them across the year. We promote the importance of being articulate speakers and teach the link between spoken language and written language. We encourage students to share their ideas at the appropriate times and to value the contributions of others.

### Numeracy Program Overview

Our numeracy program provides students with a strong grounding in mathematical skills, strategies and understandings. The aim is to support students in becoming numerate and use mathematics effectively so they can successfully participate at school, at home and in the wider community. Mathematics at Kennington Primary School (KPS) is a positive, engaging and hands on experience, in which our students develop confidence and a sense of achievement from what they learn.

A whole school approach to the planning and teaching of Numeracy ensures that students are engaged in activities that are meaningful, stimulating and challenging. Students participate in regular assessment, utilising the Essential Assessment program, allowing teachers to plan a differentiated curriculum. Team planning for Numeracy occurs at each year level, allowing for consistency of content between grades and challenging learning tasks to be delivered. Teachers plan to enhance all students’ learning using the Victorian Curriculum Standards, the Kennington Primary School instructional model and current research on best practice including High Impact Teaching Strategies.

The use of hands on materials, games, open ended tasks, investigative work and problem-solving activities that relate to real life occur throughout the program. Within lessons, tasks are differentiated, providing opportunities for students to learn at their own level. We support children who are struggling to understand mathematical concepts with targeted point-of-need teaching and small group instruction. Our targeted teaching approach provides plenty of opportunities for extension. Individual abilities are catered for as teachers provide small group opportunities for our high achieving children to thrive. Additional extension programs operate at selected levels.

The four proficiencies of Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning are fundamental to learning Mathematics and are applied across all three strands of Mathematics; Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability.

The daily numeracy sessions that students participate in can be broken into two distinct types. The first are one-hour instructional sessions where the teacher works with the class to model and discuss a mathematical concept or skill. Explicit teaching of skills and strategies is an integral part of learning. The learning activities are designed to allow students to construct new learning by working with concrete materials, drawing pictures or using abstract mathematics to represent their understandings. Teachers are regularly assessing students’ skills and understandings both informally and formally. Time is provided for students to share their solutions and mathematical strategies. Focus group sessions with the classroom teacher provide opportunities to support students and to extend them in their learning. The lesson concludes with a reflection. It is at this time that the student reflects on the learning intention and how they have worked towards achieving success.

The second type of numeracy session are known as Fluency sessions.  We believe that when students know their basic facts, they are more likely to have a positive attitude to Mathematics and can focus on more complex problem-solving tasks. To help build fluency all students participate in a daily half-hour Fluency session which provides opportunities for students to; make reasonable estimates, calculate answers efficiently, recognise robust ways of answering questions, choose appropriate methods and approximations, recall definitions and regularly use facts, and manipulate expressions and equations to find solutions. Existing technologies support the learning and applications of mathematics, with all students having access to the online programs, Mathletics and Essential Assessments, at school and at home.

## Public Trips And Events

At The School, By Grade, They Will Go To An Exertion Or An Event. Grade 2-6 May Have A Sleepover At A Place. However, Grade Prep And 1 May Only Take Exertions.

Camps Are Things They Can Do For Activity And Stuff. Usually, It’s About 1-3 Days In Camp.

## Performing Arts

At PA, They Will Dance And Do Similar Stuff. And Grade 5-6 Can Make A School Production. Also, Class Dances Are Songs Getting Played To Be Played At

### Porridge Productions

The Porridge Productions Is A Dance Choir That Grade 5-6 Can Do. At 2016, They Started A Show Something Like Peter Pan. These Productions Are Played At The Ulumbarra Theatre.

## Other Stuff

Official Website = Kennington School

* Kennington Primary School Was A School Used To Be Part Of Girton
* All Sport Events Are Mostly School Vs School On A Sport Thing (e.g. Kennington Vs Girton Football.