Learning

Catholic values are central to learning and teaching at St Aloysius Catholic College. Within these values, we aim to foster self-esteem, self-confidence and respect for the gifts and needs of the individual and an awareness of the unique contribution each can make to the College community. We aim to provide a high quality, balanced education in which all students can fulfil their spiritual and academic potential.

Learning and teaching programs throughout the College are based on the Australian Curriculum, which has been designed to provide students with sound capabilities in literacy, numeracy, critical and creative thinking, information and communication technology, personal and social development and ethical and intercultural understanding.

As prescribed by the Australian Curriculum 2.0, every St Aloysius student studies the following core subjects:

• English
• Science
• Mathematics
• HaSS (History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship)
• Health and Physical Education

In keeping with the Catholic tradition that underpins our College, Religious Education is also a core subject for every student.

Further information is available in the College Handbook:

At St Aloysius Catholic College, elective courses are offered from Years 7 to 12, which aim to engage students in learning that extends their personal interests and skills. In later years, these subjects also provide learning pathways that link to future careers and post Year 10 education.

Electives are a range of courses that students select, to extend their learning beyond their core subjects. The College offers courses in the Arts, Technology, Physical Education, and academic extension courses. These courses aim to engage and motivate students, providing learning opportunities that develop skills or knowledge, that are of particular interest for each individual student. Starting our elective program at Year 3 also provides students with the opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning, as they can choose their own courses and make decisions about their own learning.

Course content, time allocation, and the number of courses on offer vary from Years 7 to 12, and have been developed to suit the age and learning needs of each cohort of students.

Learning Support

In keeping with the Australian Government’s Melbourne Declaration (2008), St Aloysius aims to be an inclusive school that attends to individual learning needs so that all students experience growth, and achieve their full potential. The College supports students with diverse learning needs according to a student’s individual needs within the mainstream educational environment. Students recognised as experiencing long term learning challenges will usually have a Learning Plan that is developed by parents and teachers with input from teacher assistants, other allied education or medical professionals and sets out the goals, learning program and strategies for that student. At a classroom level, teachers aim to differentiate, or modify their programs for students to meet their individual student goals and ambitions as articulated through the Learning Plan. For more information in relation to learning support:

Director of Learning Support: jessica.agius@catholic.tas.edu.au (K- Year 11)

Junior Campus: 

The Junior, Kingston campus works in the foundational learning years specifically around speech development, speech articulation and identification of students requiring speech modality intervention.  Areas of literacy and numeracy are executed in accordance with the Early Years Framework.

As speech is a major indicator of phonics, phonemes and aspects of language, developmental delays and awareness of literacy, numeracy and social development can be flagged as student progress from Kindergarten through to Year 2.

Kindergarten sees the introduction of literacy groupings.  This is where children receive appropriate exposure to literacy skill development.  Any intervention identified occurs from Prep through to Year 4 at a Tier 1 (class or larger group) or Tier 2 (small group), depending on student needs.

The Early Years Framework see St. Aloysius Catholic College engaging in Australian-based certified literacy intervention programs.  Once the student commences Year 2, Literacy support occurs at a Tier 1 or 2 level using the globally recognised approach of Yoshimoto Orton-Gillingham.

Early and Middle Years Numeracy has interventions for identified learners using certified programs at a Tier 2 level.

Once identified in Early Years students can be screened and tested from Year 2, with the intention of informing learning groupings, interventions or for the purposes of further testing or investigation of learning challenges and in development of possible Learning Plans.

Learning Plans are developed collaboratively involving the student’s classroom teacher, the parent(s)/carers, the Learning Support Teacher and any allied health or allied medical care team as the need arises.  A Learning Plan is a document that supports the partnership between the parent(s)/carers and the school in the learning and growth journey of the student. 

For more information in relation to learning support:

Junior Campus: emma.callanan@catholic.tas.edu.au (Kindergarten - Year 4)

Middle Campus: 

Throughout the Middle Campus Years, St Aloysius Catholic College continues to provide the most appropriate inclusion models according to the needs of the student.  

Differentiation and modification of curriculum occurs to ensure the student can maximise their time in the classroom and learn alongside their peers. Any curriculum modification undertaken is done with parent consultation and is evident in the student’s Learning Plan.

As the complexity of the day changes once the student matures to the secondary school years, Learning Plans are created and updated in ongoing partnership between the family/primary carers, subject teachers, Learning Support Staff and any allied health care members relevant to the needs of the student.

Targeted intervention takes place through Years 5-8 at a Tier 2 (small group) level.  Over the course of these years, students have age appropriate literacy interventions delivered, with a multi-pronged approach of developing literacy access through the Yoshimoto Orton-Gilligham approach and developing skill sets in assistive technology knowledge and engagement.  The intervention does require a commitment from the family and student, as the short classes operate just outside of school hours.

For more information in relation to learning support:

Middle Campus: tara.lewis@catholic.tas.edu.au (Years 5-10) (Year 11, 2023)

Senior campus:

Students attending Senior Campus will have had consultation and collaborations around the most appropriate pathways for community engagement and/or employment opportunities with their educational and care team.  When and where applicable, students will be encouraged to have input to their own Learning Plans, goals and objectives as well as advocate for changes and developments as the need arises.  Through course selection and information sessions, both parents and students can establish a subject suite for transparent understanding around curriculum and individualised goal attainment.  Some of the subject choices available to the students can cater for areas of strength, talent and challenge, as much as interest and pathways.

Giftedness and Talents:

At St Aloysius Catholic College we aim to give all learners the opportunity to become confident, just and productive human beings. Learners are ‘unique individuals who bring their own strengths, talents and needs' to the learning process. We believe that learning is most powerful when the individual needs of the learner are considered and therefore, education for gifted and talented students provides aims for these learners to achieve their personal best.

During the year, the school engages with year-level screeners and online testing to determine students who will need either enrichment or extension in relation to their learning.  Students who achieve high results in these screeners will, with parental permission, engage in more explicit testing to determine areas of strength and potential giftedness and/or talent. Should the need be evident, the school can submit a work order to the CET and request appropriate diagnostic information from an educational psychologist on the learning needs of the student.

There are opportunities and possibilities throughout a school day, and through various co-curricular options for the student to engage in extension and enrichment opportunities.  Curriculum adaptations and differentiations would occur in subject areas, planned and delivered by the subject teacher.  Should there be the need for modification, this will be undertaken only after consultation with, and approval given by, the parent/carer.

Co-curricular opportunities can be accessed via various clubs and competitions.  These can include, but are not limited to chess, debating, ICAS, Tournament of Minds, Language competitions, music or choral co-curricular activities.

In 2023, the majority of enrichment or  GAT opportunities are provided at a Tier 1 or Tier 2 level, meaning that full inclusion within the classroom and selected smaller groups is the current delivery method.

Enrichment

At St Aloysius Catholic College we want to give all of our learners the opportunity to become confident, just and productive human beings. Learners are ‘unique individuals who bring their own strengths, talents and needs to the learning process’. We believe that learning is most powerful when the individual needs of the learner are considered and therefore, education for gifted and talented students provides aims for these learners to achieve their personal best.

Quality Gifted and Talented provisions are evident in:

• The development of quality differentiated learning programs
• Development and implementation of student learning plans
• Development and implementation of highly adjusted educational programs
• A flexible and responsive learning environment

Identification

In most cases classroom teachers, in consultation with parents, refer highly capable students for further assessment. Students can be identified as gifted through an Educational Assessment, conducted by a registered psychologist. The College’s Enrichment Teachers or Special Learning Needs teachers use the KBit 2 screening assessment tool to assess referred students. Students are classified as gifted if they are assessed in the top 10 percentile for their age.

Homework

The College homework policy states that:

• Students are expected to allocate sufficient time at home to complete unfinished class work, to complete research for projects and to practise their literacy and numeracy skills.
• Reading daily is considered to be one of the most important homework elements for all students.
• Homework will not be set for weekends or over holiday periods.
• Instructions for homework tasks can be typed into the students’ devices. Students are expected to demonstrate pride in their homework by completing the work to a high standard and returning it within the given time frame.
• Students are encouraged to seek assistance from teachers and parents/guardians when difficulties arise, including the amount of time spent on homework. Homework setting takes into account the students’ home responsibilities, family arrangements and extra-curricular activities.