Teaching and Learning

Curriculum

Overview

At Ross Park we recognise that highly effective teaching is the key to improving student learning throughout the school. We have established and outlined clear expectations concerning the use of evidence-informed teaching practices in all classrooms. All teachers understand and use effective teaching strategies to ensure that every student is engaged, challenged, and learning successfully. Staff collaborate regularly to ensure the implementation of effective pedagogical practices is consistent across the school. Leaders work alongside teachers to draw on a range of evidence to evaluate and continuously refine pedagogical practices to maximise their impact on student learning.

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2011) outlines the knowledge, practice and engagement required from teachers to ensure they know the students and how they learn (Standard 1) and create and maintain supportive learning environments (Standard 4). While these may look different across teachers, classrooms, and students, the need to create safe, supportive and responsive learning environments that provide all students with a chance to thrive is the key to success. 

Ross Park Instructional Model

Whilst no Instructional Model captures the complexity, art, sacredness or science of teaching, these models are the foundation upon which consistent practice can be built across the school. The RPPS Instructional Model translates research into practical strategies and processes, and provides multiple opportunities for educators to reflect on aspects of their practice that could further impact student progress.

Our Waterholes represent the key components of our lesson structure (or series of lessons), and our Billabongs represent essential places to stop to ensure the learning journey is robust and meaningful.

School Wide Positive Behaviour and Engagement – SWPBE

Ross Park Primary School is committed to the implementation of a whole school approach to Positive Behaviour support for engagement and learning. We strive to provide an inclusive, supportive and safe learning environment, by developing an understanding of our values, and encouraging all students to live these values throughout the community.

Our approach aligns academic and behavioural systems to create an emphasis on explicitly teaching, monitoring, and rewarding appropriate behaviour for learning. This creates a positive school culture where all students can achieve their best. It is vital that these behaviours support engagement in learning and are not taught in isolation.

At Ross Park we have established a dedicated team to guide and review the implementation of SWPBE across the school. The team is a representation from across the school. The team accesses internal and external support in order to effectively drive the SWPBE effort.

Click here to open our SWPBE Guide in a new tab. 

Learning Through Doing – LTD

Learning Through Doing is an engaging and hands-on approach to teaching mathematics. It includes:

  • Whole School Programs
  • Yearly Overviews
  • Lesson Plans
  • Assessment Tasks
  • Hands-on Resources

We’re very excited to partner with LTD, to support engaging and meaningful learning in our maths lessons. LTD is an evidence-based program that aligns with our school’s Instructional Model, and introduces concepts through whole-class, small group and individual instruction. 

Learning Through Doing – Learning Through Doing

Read Write Inc- RWI

Read Write Inc is an evidence-based program that teaches students phonemic awareness, phonics and grapheme correspondences, vocabulary, reading and spelling through blending and segmenting handwriting and sentence writing with regular assessments and data tracking to ensure students are taught at their point of need.

Read Write Inc has the following attributes:

  • Explicit – clear, direct teaching
  • Systematic – follows a plan, methodical and routine
  • Cumulative – each skill is built upon the previous skill
  • Sequential instruction – begins with basic concepts and progresses to more difficult concepts and elements

Read Write Inc is implemented in all classes from Transition to Year 2, and underpins intervention programs in Years 3-6. 

Street Science

In 2024, we are very excited to be embarking on the Street Science School Partnership Program. Street Science are experts at making science education seriously FUN and will help us build on our existing STEM culture, providing many more engaging learning opportunities for our students in this space. We recognise that science is not just an academic subject but plays a vital role in the development of each and every student, regardless of their personal or professional ambitions.

Street Science are dedicated to inspiring equity in STEM through this Partnership Program, elevating both students and educators within school communities to remove barriers to quality education and improve attitudes and outcomes.

As part of the Program, students will access live Street Science shows and enjoy hands-on experimentation through Classroom Kits matched to different science units throughout the year.  Students and teachers will enjoy participating in a regular streamed science show online, and teachers will have access to high quality curriculum resources and digital content for classroom use.

The activities and resources related to this Partnership have strong curriculum links back to the classroom, will help prepare out students with STEM-skills for their futures, and promise to be a whole lot of fun! Full student participation is strongly encouraged so that they can all engage and be inspired by the opportunities that this Partnership provides our school community.

The Resilience Project

Ross Park learners are engaged in Social and Emotional Learning, integrated into daily programs and also as a distinct lesson. Students all use The Resilience Project Schools’ Program where they explore Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. Teachers’ Book Club text is The Resilience Project, recognising the need for adult wellbeing as well as children’s.

  

Eco Schools

In 2022, Ross Park Primary School joined the Eco-Schools family, being recognised for our efforts with waste and recycling initiatives by being awarded a Bronze Award.

So who are Eco-Schools?

Eco-Schools is a well-established sustainability education framework active in 74 countries worldwide. Developed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Eco-Schools is a curriculum-integrated and participatory initiative, offering students a valuable platform to engage in active citizenship within their schools. This program extends its benefits not only to the schools but also to the broader community.

Northern Territory Learning Commission (NTLC)

The Northern Territory Learning Commission (NTLC) is a unique initiative in Australia that fosters collaborationbetween schools, the Department of Education and students. It empowers students as “partners in learning,” representing over half of young Territorians in public schools.

Students in Years 5 and 6 hold a two-year term as learning commissioners, with students in Year 6 becoming ambassadors to those in Year 5, supporting their contribution and ease with new learning. The NTLC at Ross Park contributes directly to strategy development at the school, region and system level, with the aim that it leads directly and authentically to ensure continuous improvement. The NTLC’s success lies in its commitment to student engagement and leadership, making it a model for best practices in the public sector.

Sports Opportunities

Sports Day

The Ross Park Ath­let­ics Car­ni­val is an annu­al event held each May – June for all students in Tran­si­tion to Year 6. Rona Glyn Pre-School join the ‘big school’ to par­tic­i­pate in run­ning races which is always a highlight for children, families and teachers. The Athletics Carnival is held on Ross Park oval next to the pri­ma­ry school. All stu­dents earn points for their house teams to determine an over­all winning team on the day. There are two awards for most out­stand­ing sportsper­son and two memo­r­i­al awards donat­ed in the mem­o­ry of Bradley Abala for students who demonstrate exceptional skill and sportsmanship. Families are welcome to join us for all or part of the day and it is a wonderful community event.

The run­ning and field events that stu­dents par­tic­i­pate in are aligned to skills that stu­dents practise as part of their athletics lessons during PE and also correlate with events at the Alice Springs Interschool Athletics Carnival. Some events, such as High Jump, are held prior to Sports Day due to pressure of time. School Sports Day can be the beginning of a pathway for talented athletes to represent first their school, then move towards Territory representation if this is a goal. Stu­dents in Year 3 – 6 who perform out­stand­ing­ly may be chosen to par­tic­i­pate in the Alice Springs Inter­school Ath­let­ics Cham­pi­onships which are usu­al­ly held in June.

Swim­ming Carnival

Our swim­ming car­ni­val is an annu­al event held in Octo­ber – Novem­ber for stu­dents in Year 3 – 6. It is held at the Alice Springs Aquat­ic Cen­tre. It com­ple­ments the learn to swim pro­gram which is for stu­dents from Tran­si­tion to Year 2 and high­lights to stu­dents the con­tin­ued impor­tance of swim­ming in the Aus­tralian Cur­ricu­lum. The events range from dif­fer­ent stroke events to nov­el­ty races and shorter distances across the width of the pool. All swimming abilities are catered for and the day is huge fun!

Stu­dents com­pete for their House teams, all earning points for racing with the goal of their house win­ning the shield. Stu­dents who achieve excel­lent results at our car­ni­val may be offered the opportunity to par­tic­i­pate in the Alice Springs Inter­school Swim­ming Cham­pi­onships which is held each March. 

Swimming Program

A two-week swim­ming pro­gram is held each year for Year T‑2 stu­dents. A par­ent con­tri­bu­tion is required to cov­er the cost of pool entry and qual­i­fied swim­ming instruc­tors who teach the lessons. Back to School vouchers may be allo­cat­ed by par­ents towards the pro­gram and this must be arranged in Term 1.

Interschool Sports

All schools have the opportunity to par­tic­i­pate in a range of sports in school time over the school year to devel­op student inter­est and engagement in pos­si­bly join­ing clubs out­side of the school con­text. Interschool sport is organ­ised through School Sport NT who have a region­al coor­di­na­tor for Cen­tral Region. The pro­grams are developed with the sup­port of local sport­ing bodies. There are annu­al region­al events in ath­let­ics, swim­ming, cross coun­try, ori­en­teer­ing, gym­nas­tics and ten­nis. Some sports also organ­ise gala days pri­or to the com­mence­ment of their sport­ing sea­son in con­junc­tion with School Sport.

Stu­dents who excel in a particular sport can opt, if chosen, to rep­re­sent Cen­tral Region Schools in Ter­ri­to­ry Cham­pi­onships. Northern Territory teams are formed from the regional championships to represent the Territory in Aus­tralian Championships. There is a cost involved in all of these opportunities and students must have forms signed by the principal to endorse their selection as a positive role model for Alice Springs and Ross Park.

The sports include:

  • AFL
  • Touch Foot­ball
  • Crick­et
  • Net­ball
  • Ten­nis
  • Soc­cer
  • Track and Field

Arts Opportunities

Eisteddfod

The Cen­tralian Eisteddfod Coun­cil encour­ages tal­ent with­in our com­mu­ni­ty. The Eisteddfod is a plat­form where performers are nurtured to grow­ in con­fi­dence and are pro­vides with informed, con­struc­tive feed­back from experienced adjudicators. The Cen­tralian Eisteddfod is designed to encour­age par­tic­i­pa­tion, to inspire and to recog­nise excel­lence and to present new chal­lenges each year. The Eisteddfod Coun­cil believes that this will pro­mote the cre­ative and per­form­ing arts, nur­tur­ing aware­ness and appreciation. 

Each year Ross Park has numerous class, group and individual entries ranging from choral or prepared readings, scripted performances, choir performances or singing as a soloist. Students who participate grow immeasurably in confidence and enjoy the process of choosing, practising and committing to a performance with all that entails. Their faces glow with pride when they have achieved performing on a stage and seen the outcome of months of hard work and preparation.

https://www.centralianeisteddfod.org/

Choirs

There are two ‘opt-in’ choirs at Ross Park; a junior choir made up of Year 3 and 4 stu­dents, and a senior choir made up of Year 5 and 6 stu­dents. Rehearsals are held in class time once per week. The choirs reg­u­lar­ly per­form to the school com­mu­ni­ty in the fort­night­ly assem­bly. They also per­form to the wider com­mu­ni­ty in events such as the Cen­tralian Eisteddfod, Desert Song Fes­ti­val and the Todd Mall Markets.

NT Music School

NT Music School is a government (public) school within the NT Department of Education. Our mission is to provide instrumental, ensemble and choral tuition, music education services, support, events and programs to government schools throughout the NT.  Instrumental lessons are offered during school hours for students in Year 4- 9 on flute, clarinet, saxophone, guitar, trumpet, trombone and percussion. Lessons are free with a $100 contribution requested on placement in the program. Instrument hire from $100 available through NT Music School. Sports Vouchers accepted to assist with cost of hiring instruments. Choir is by audition only and rehearsals are held after school.

Ross Park Concert Band

Ross Park Concert Band was formed in 2023 and is growing before our eyes with some very talented musicians. Rehearsals are at Ross Park on Tuesday mornings at 7.30am and are run by Matthew Owen from the NT Music School. Students will be invited to participate when they are deemed ready to do so.

NT Music School Per­for­mance – The Beat

The Alice Beat Fes­ti­val is the NT Depart­ment of Education’s annu­al per­form­ing arts show­case held at Aralu­en The­atre. Per­for­mances fea­ture pri­ma­ry and sec­ondary stu­dents from schools across the Alice Springs and Bark­ly regions. Ross Park stu­dents can be involved in var­i­ous ways, includ­ing being a part of the massed choir, as a host, a vocal soloist, or as an instru­men­tal­ist in one of the NT Music School’s ensembles.