Learning and Curriculum
Literacy
Literacy is at the heart of learning at St Padre Pio Catholic Primary School. We believe that strong reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are essential for success across all areas of learning. Our literacy program is carefully planned and delivered through explicit, evidence-based teaching, ensuring every student builds strong foundations and grows in confidence as a communicator.
Reading
In the early years, students learn to read through a structured approach that focuses on the relationship between sounds and letters. This supports accurate decoding and the development of strong reading habits. As students progress, they deepen their vocabulary and comprehension through a wide range of engaging texts, including stories, non-fiction, and novel studies.
Writing
Writing is taught in a clear, step-by-step way so students understand how sentences and texts are constructed. Teachers model effective writing, guide students through practice, and gradually support them to write independently. Students write for a variety of purposes, including to persuade, inform, and entertain.
Speaking and Listening
Speaking and listening are embedded across the school day. Students engage in discussions and collaborative learning, building their ability to share ideas confidently and learn from others.
Assessment and Support
We regularly monitor student progress through assessment and observation. This allows us to tailor teaching and provide targeted support or extension to meet each student’s needs.
Numeracy
At St Padre Pio Catholic Primary School, our numeracy program supports students to develop strong mathematical understanding and confidence.
We focus on building deep number knowledge, helping students understand how numbers work and how mathematical ideas connect. In the early years, this includes learning to count, represent numbers, understand place value, and perform basic operations. As students progress, they apply these foundations to more complex mathematical thinking.
Teaching and Learning
Mathematics lessons include daily review of previously taught concepts, guided practice, and opportunities for students to apply their learning independently. Students work with concrete materials, visual models, and written representations to develop a clear understanding of mathematical concepts.
Fluency and Problem Solving
A key focus of our numeracy program is developing automatic recall of basic number facts, enabling students to work efficiently and focus on solving more complex problems. Students are encouraged to explain their thinking, explore different strategies, and apply mathematics in a variety of contexts. Through this, they develop strong reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Assessment and Support
Teachers regularly review assessment data to monitor student progress and ensure teaching is responsive to the needs of all learners. Targeted support and extension are provided to help every student succeed.
STEM
At St Padre Pio Catholic Primary School, STEM learning encourages curiosity, creativity and problem-solving through hands-on and engaging experiences.
Students have opportunities to:
- Explore science experiments and investigations
- Learn coding and basic programming skills
- Design and build solutions through engineering challenges
- Work with digital technologies and devices
- Develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills
- Collaborate with others to test ideas and find solutions
Through STEM learning, students are encouraged to ask questions, explore new ideas and develop confidence as creative thinkers and problem solvers.
Languages
At St Padre Pio Catholic Primary School, students have the opportunity to learn Italian as part of our specialist learning program. Learning a language helps students develop communication skills, cultural understanding and confidence in connecting with the wider world.
Through engaging and interactive lessons, students are introduced to Italian vocabulary, pronunciation and simple sentence structures. Learning activities include speaking, listening, reading and writing, supported by songs, games, stories and cultural experiences.
Students also explore aspects of Italian culture, including traditions, celebrations, food and everyday life. This helps them develop an appreciation for different cultures and perspectives.
Learning Italian supports students to become curious, confident and respectful global citizens, while strengthening their language and literacy skills.
Sport and Physical Education
At St Padre Pio Catholic Primary School, Physical Education supports students to develop the skills, confidence and knowledge needed to lead active and healthy lives.
Through a range of games, sports and movement activities, students build fundamental motor skills, teamwork and resilience. Lessons encourage participation, cooperation and respect while helping students understand the importance of physical activity for wellbeing.
Our program promotes enjoyment of sport and movement, inspiring students to develop healthy habits that support lifelong wellbeing.
Religious Education
“By cultivating a maturing of faith and the intellectual life through the modelling of good relationships, Catholic school students are prepared for living fruitfully in the world.” — Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools
At St Padre Pio Catholic Primary School, faith is at the heart of our learning community. Through prayer, reflection and everyday relationships, we provide opportunities for students to encounter Jesus and grow in their understanding of the Catholic faith.
Students participate in daily prayer, class liturgies and whole-school Masses, celebrating key Church and community events. Through the Religious Education program Coming to Know, Worship and Love, students explore Sacred Scripture, Catholic beliefs and the teachings of the Church.
Inspired by the example of St Padre Pio, we encourage students to live their faith through compassion, service and care for others, developing a strong sense of social justice and responsibility within the wider community.