Integrated Inquiry
At St. Mary’s, our students are provided with an environment where they are challenged and encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning.
Our Integrated Inquiry approach to learning often links Religious Education with other areas of the curriculum. This model allows the incorporation of a Scripture focus which ensures our sacred text is central to learning in areas such as society, environment, history, Science and culture.
In the spirit of Mary MacKillop we aim to ensure that our learning environment is welcoming and supportive. Diversity is celebrated and students are nurtured to become lifelong learners with a sense of morality and justice.
Student learning is produced, shaped and affected by four connected components. Each of these components plays a separate and distinct role in the process of student learning and each is interconnected with all of the others.
- Curriculum defines what it is that students should learn, and the associated progression or continuum of learning
- Pedagogy describes how students will be taught and supported to learn
- Assessment identifies where the student is at and what their next step should be
- Reporting explains where a student is on a learning continuum at the end of a specified period of schooling.
Our Two Year Learning Cycle covers the following big ideas:
| Year A 2019, 2021, 2023 | Year B 2020, 2022, 2024 |
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Big Idea: Wellbeing Throughline: Through our school Catholic Identity we make informed choices creating and sustaining positive relationships and attitudes. |
Big Idea: Wellbeing Throughline: Successful learners develop positive social relationships and attitudes, adopt diverse learning styles and establish cooperative behaviours to assist learning. |
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Big Idea: Environment Throughline: We live in an ever changing global environment with interdependence between the various systems and habitats in our world. |
Big Idea: Environment Throughline: We consider how the choices we make impact on the environment and how our actions contribute to a sustainable local and global environment. |
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Big Idea: Change and Innovation Throughline:The world around us is made up of living and non-living things, natural and processed materials. We can apply scientific skills and vocabulary to learn about the phenomena and to develop wonder, curiosity and understanding. |
Big Idea: Change and Innovation Throughline: We use innovation, critical thinking and creativity to make products that are designed to meet our needs in everyday life. We develop the ability to explore ideas, materials, ingredients and processes by investigating, designing, producing and evaluating products and systems. |
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Big Idea: Identity and Culture Throughline: Our Australian identity is formed by the past, including the contributions from the traditional owners of the land, our values, our multicultural origins and key events in our history. Understanding how things have and will continue to change over time. |
Big Idea: Identity and Culture Throughline: We are all members of communities. Communities are formed by shared values, democratic decision making, mutual support and celebration. We recognise and uphold individual and group rights and responsibilities. |
