At St. John Bosco’s “Learning is meaningful and creative, empowering all to be active participants in a contemporary world.” (St John Bosco’s Vision Statement)
We recognise the role of home learning as a vehicle for the family to have an opportunity to share in the education of the child. Home learning may consist of practising skills learned in class, essentially literacy and numeracy skills, through daily reading and number fact activities. We also encourage our parents to involve their children in a variety of extracurricular experiences, thereby developing the whole child. This may include music and dance lessons, and individual and group sports.
As St John Bosco’s is a Catholic school, home learning may include some faith sharing activities within the family. Occasionally teachers may include extension or preparation activities related to classroom learning.
It is vital that both parents and teachers are actively engaged in the education of their child therefore at St John Bosco’s home learning will be an extension of where each individual child is being targeted in their learning. Targeted teaching is the result of ongoing teacher assessment which assists us to identify the developmental stage of each child’s learning in both numeracy and literacy. Home Learning reinforces what is being done at school and as such all children should be capable of completing set tasks.
Home learning that is at the ‘point of need’ for the child will allow parents to develop a greater awareness of their child’s current stage of learning and the next steps to be undertaken.
At St John Bosco we acknowledge and understand that each child’s learning journey is individual and that within each year level there is a diverse range of learning needs (extra support and extension). As a result there are times where we are required to look beyond the ‘standard’ curriculum in order to meet the needs of all children.
Home Learning Procedures
Prep Numeracy – In Term 1 parents will be provided with an information sheet that covers the Key Concepts we aim to develop in Foundation. These include activities on how to support your children in developing their numeracy skills. This is not compulsory and can be completed at home if parents wish.
| Prep – Year 2 | Year 3 & 4 | Year 5 & 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Reading (x5 per week) 10 mins – Take home book and online platforms | Reading (x5 per week) 15-20 mins – Take home book and online platforms | Reading (x5 per week) 25-30mins – Take home book and online platforms |
| Spelling (x3 per week) 5 mins – Catergory sort, Blind sort, sentence work | Spelling (x3 per week) 5 mins – to be determined by teachers | Spelling (x3 per week) 5 mins – to be determined by teachers |
| Numeracy (x5 per week) 10 mins – numeracy activities | Numeracy (x5 per week) 10 min – numeracy activities | Numeracy (x5 per week) 10 mins – numeracy activities |
At times students may bring home incomplete work from class to work on, or follow up from class inquiries.
At St. John Bosco’s we believe that teachers, parents and students have important roles to fulfil regarding home learning.
Role of the teachers:
To assess and monitor student learning in an ongoing manner.
To sign weekly, children’s diary acknowledging completion of numeracy and literacy tasks.
Role of the Student:
To display a Growth Mindset by completing all set Home Learning Tasks.
To seek assistance from teachers or parents where required.
To return signed diary and set work (eg. word study books, maths learning goals etc).
Role of Parents:
To encourage children to take responsibility for their Home Learning.
To foster a supportive work environment where encouragement and assistance are provided when necessary.
To communicate with the teacher regarding any concerns about the child’s Home Learning.