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Firbank Curriculum

Brighton Senior School Curriculum

Academic programs

Through our educational programs, we are committed to offering your child the best possible opportunity for personal success. We set high standards for our students to consistently work to the very best of their ability.

With over 35 VCE and VET subjects to choose from, as well as University Enhancement subjects, our girls have the opportunity to tailor the interests they have accumulated while at Firbank into meaningful pathways that will benefit them in the future.

One of our major goals is to foster a love of learning, stimulate creativity, intellectual curiosity and independent thought. We value and emphasise individual thinking and learning styles when planning, teaching and assessing. In the delivery of the curriculum, there is an emphasis on the development and use of critical thinking skills and risk taking is valued.

Firbank has a commitment to ensuring each student strives to achieve personal success. Our staff understand the responsibility of meeting the individual needs of their students. We regularly monitor students’ progress with cognitive and educational testing to support their academic needs. The information we collect contributes to our ability to tailor our teaching and learning programs to meet the needs of our students.

Our teaching staff design and support the delivery of individual programs to cater for differing abilities, levels of readiness and learning needs. English Language Studies classes are offered to students Years 7-10 to make sure every child is up to speed. These classes are conducted by the Special Education teacher who continues to support these girls in small groups with individual tutorials in Years 11 and 12.

Our Teacher teams (English, Mathematics, Science and Humanities) at Years 7 and 8, work with the Heads of Year to share information about the students in their care and develop approaches to delivering curriculum appropriate to the class and meet the needs of individual students. The team meetings facilitate the monitoring of academic and personal programs as well as the co-ordination of homework tasks.

At Years 7 and 8, extension is offered through Debating, Book Club, Chess Club and Philosophy Colloquiums to students who like to be challenged in their thinking.

Assessment and reporting

Assessments may take on many forms and cater to different learning styles. These begin in Year 9 and include examinations, topic tests, individual or group oral presentations, extended research projects and essays.

We believe that regular reporting and opportunities to discuss your child’s progress with our staff, is an important part of the Firbank experience. Detailed reports with grades and descriptive comments are issued at the end of each semester. Progress reports are available at regular intervals through the Community Portal. Parent-Teacher interviews are held in Terms 2 and 3.

Brighton Junior Campus Curriculum

At our girls only Brighton Campus, our curriculum and programs are designed to challenge your child.  Using the framework of the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate (PYP), the curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of your child, whilst ensuring that the key elements of Literacy and Numeracy remain the focus of learning. This is a comprehensive approach aligned with the Australian Curriculum providing each student with the skills, knowledge and attitudes to embrace lifelong learning.

Ongoing monitoring and assessment is used to guide our teachers who use a variety of strategies to cater to individual learning and developmental needs. Reports, which record the achievement and progress of each student, are issued twice a year.  Ongoing communication with parents is encouraged through formal and informal meetings, student-led conferences and parent/teacher interviews.

The School has a commitment to encouraging and supporting each student in striving to achieve personal success. Our teachers, at all levels, accept the responsibility of meeting the individual learning needs of their students.  The global nature of the program is designed to allow students to become: inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk-takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, balanced and reflective.  Students are encouraged to make sense of their learning by making connections between new knowledge and their own experiences.

The wide range of programs in the Performing Arts, Sport and Outdoor Education we offer open up exciting opportunities for students to create, play and be inspired.

Every student has the opportunity to enjoy music. Choirs and instrumental groups complement the classroom music program and individual lessons. They can also participate in drama productions. Music lessons begin in our ELC and instrumental lessons begin at Year 3 when each student learns a string instrument and is encouraged to participate in group orchestral performances. Students wishing to further develop instrumental skills can register for private music lessons.

Drama, movement and sport are part of our classroom curriculum.  The students have many opportunities to develop their public speaking skills with concerts and plays being a part of the curriculum from Early Learning onwards. Your child will be encouraged to take part in a variety of drama productions culminating in our Year 6 musical production.

Sandringham Co-ed Campus Curriculum

At our co-ed Sandringham Campus, our curriculum and programs are designed to challenge your child. Using the framework of the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate (PYP), the curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of your child, whilst ensuring that the key elements of Literacy and Numeracy remain the focus of learning. This is a comprehensive approach aligned with the Australian Curriculum providing each student with the skills, knowledge and attitudes to embrace lifelong learning.

Ongoing monitoring and assessment is used to guide our teachers who use a variety of strategies to cater to individual learning and developmental needs. Reports, which record the achievement and progress of each student, are issued twice a year. Ongoing communication with parents is encouraged through formal and informal meetings, student-led conferences and parent/teacher interviews.

The School has a commitment to encouraging and supporting each student in striving to achieve personal success. Our teachers, at all levels, accept the responsibility of meeting the individual learning needs of their students. The global nature of the program is designed to allow students to become: inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk-takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, balanced and reflective. Students are encouraged to make sense of their learning by making connections between new knowledge and their own experiences.

The wide range of programs in the Performing Arts, Sport and Outdoor Education we offer open up exciting opportunities for students to create, play and be inspired.

Every student has the opportunity to enjoy music. Choirs and instrumental groups complement the classroom music program in addition to individual lessons. Music class begins in our Early Learning Centre and instrumental lessons begin at Year 3 when each student learns a string instrument and is encouraged to participate in group orchestral performances. Students wishing to develop instrumental skills further can register for private music lessons.

Through the Compass Award (the Primary Years version of the Duke of Edinburgh Award), our Year 5 students have the opportunity to take part in an overnight bush walk where, for many of them, they are camping in tents, carrying backpacks and bushwalking for the first time. Students in Year 6 have the chance to participate in a 2-night snow camp where the camp in tents at snowy Mt Stirling and wear hiking snowshoes.

Drama, movement and sport are part of our classroom curriculum. The students have many opportunities to develop their public speaking skills with concerts and plays being a part of the curriculum from Early Learning onwards. Your child will be encouraged to take part in a variety of drama activities culminating in a biennial whole School Prep-Year 6 musical production.