School Programs & Facilities

LIBRARY RESOURCE CENTRE
Everyday is Library day.
The school has a well resourced library with a large collection of books available in both the fiction and non-fiction sections. All classes have scheduled library times for instruction, research and the changing of books.  Classes and groups also use the library at other times and the facility is open at lunch times for those who wish to use it. Each student in Years K – 3 requires a library bag with the student’s name securely attached for borrowing.

COMPUTER LAB & STUDENT COMPUTER NETWORK
The school has a computer laboratory with networked computers and a networked printer. All classes have access to the lab at least once a week where student learning is focused on: developing general IT skills, improving research skills, and improving literacy and numeracy skills by using some of the educational software packages available.

The school has two separate computer networks. One is EDUnet, which is a teacher only network and the other is a separate STUnet, which is a school managed network providing networked computers to students throughout the whole school. All classes in the school have access to networked computers to help support their learning.

An “Acceptable Use of Internet & Code of Conduct” must be signed by each student & parent before access will be granted to the World Wide Web and/or email. This form can be found here.

INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS
There is a board in every teaching area within the school which means all students have access to this excellent teaching and learning resource. The IWBs are electronic whiteboards that have a large image from a projector cast onto them. The boards are touch sensitive and can be controlled by touching the screen itself with a special pen. The boards act as large computer screens.
IWBs have numerous advantages over conventional whiteboards. The most important is that because the boards are touch sensitive students can actually manipulate and interact with objects and content on the board. For example, students can click and move labels around to match shapes with their shape name. The page can then be reset to allow other students to also have a turn. Work presented in this way is a great motivator for many students.
Any computer program that can run on our student network can be used with the IWB. This means that we are able to use all our existing programs with the boards and the students having information at their fingertips.

SPORT
Students participate in activities that are taken from the philosophy of Bluearth program. View the website here.
Gilmore Primary is also an active member of the Murrumbidgee Branch of the ACTPSSA (ACT Primary Schools Sport Association). This association sponsors inter-school & inter-district competitions in a wide range of sports for which Gilmore Primary children can seek selection. We have had children participate at District & ACT level in soccer, hockey, swimming, cross country running, athletics, softball, rugby league & triathlon in recent years. We have also had children compete at the National level in hockey, swimming & track & field. Leading up to these events we also run each year our own swimming, cross country running & track & field carnivals from which some children progress to District & ACT competition.
We also offer a two week course of swimming lessons each year for our school’s younger children. These generally occur in Term 4 when the weather is warming up. We hope that this will encourage more children to participate in our annual swimming carnival, as well as helping you to make your children water safe.

The School Houses are:
BLUE  Curramburra (Kookaburra)  GREEN Owenyonni (Emu)
RED  Caboon          (Lyrebird)       YELLOW Umarri (Cockatoo)
Children are allocated to a house when they enrol. Family members are usually in the same House. A girl and boy House Captain and Vice Captain are elected at the beginning of the year.

LEARNING ASSISTANCE
A Special Needs team involving the teacher, counsellor, Learning Assistance teacher, Deputy Principal and Principal meets weekly to discuss individual student progress as raised by staff or parents in order to develop action plans to meet the needs of identified students.

ESL (English as a Second Language)
The teacher of ESL gives the student from non-English speaking backgrounds extra help with English.  The ESL teacher works with small groups of student in each grade level. Students receive assistance according to their needs. Some student are given individual lesson time, others are helped in class or during group work time. The ESL activities are designed to help student develop their listening with understanding, their spoken communication ability and their reading and writing skills.

SPECIAL EDUCATION
A Learning Support Class is incorporated within the school to service the needs of students in the Tuggeranong region. The class comprises a maximum of fourteen students, ranging in age from 6 to 12 years.
The Special Education program at Gilmore Primary School operates on both a withdrawal and integrated model and is staffed by a Special Education Teacher and a Special Teacher's Assistant. The program scaffolds student learning in literacy and numeracy and assists in the learning of social skills.
Students are referred to this Class through the School Counsellor of their area school.

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR
The School Counsellor, who is a qualified educational psychologist with a background in classroom teaching, is available for consultation with parents, teachers and children on any matter affecting a child’s school progress or social adjustment. The counsellor investigates the individual needs of children and assists teachers to meet these needs both by means of classroom activities and by support services available outside the school when appropriate. Parents can arrange a consultation with the school counsellor by ringing the school for an appointment. The counsellor is at the school for one day per week. As this day can change from year to year, it is best to ring the front office for more information about this service.

EXCURSIONS/CAMPS
Teachers sometimes need to take their classes outside the school grounds on excursions of one kind or another. These excursions may be local, elsewhere in Canberra and the ACT, or interstate. All excursions have a worthwhile educational aim and are integral parts of the school curriculum. They require a lot of planning and must be recognised as ‘school’ in another location. Students on excursions are expected to wear school uniform (when appropriate) and behave in a manner that will bring credit to the school.  Excursions involving transport require a separate signed permission note which will be sent home on each occasion. If no permission note is received at the school prior to the event children will be unable to participate in the excursion and will be allocated to another class during this time.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL
Each class elects representatives who meet regularly to discuss school business. Councillors raise issues from their class meetings and then report back to their class. The SRC usually coordinates a fundraising event most terms where the children raise money for others.

SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS
The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) is a partnership of the Australian Government, the States and Territories that supports schools to work towards a sustainable future.
The AuSSI is a whole-of-school approach, to improve the school's management of resources and facilities including energy, waste, water, biodiversity, landscape design, products and materials. It also addresses educational, social and economic issues associated with the sustainable management of a school and the school community. Look at our SEMP.
Jump to the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative website http://www.sustainableschools.act.gov.au/

SCHOOL BAND, MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS
Students in all grades participate in singing, movement and dance and have frequent opportunities to participate in items which display musical talent. The MIPPS singing program was introduced in 2007 which saw singing become a focus in the classroom as well as at Assemblies.
Students in Year 5 and 6 have the opportunity to join the school woodwind band as part of the Instrumental Music Program in the ACT. In the past the school band has performed at Floriade, Tuggeranong Hyperdome Christmas Carols as well as at school functions.
Wakakirri, The Australian Primary School Story Dance competition, is a national performing arts event for all primary school students. Gilmore year 5/6 students have been entering Wakakirri annually since 2001, with great success. A community event, the Gilmore teachers, parents and students have worked together as a team to produce some sensational shows.

HOMEWORK
Homework is given at Gilmore Primary to provide student with the opportunity to practise skills and enrich ideas developed at school.  It also provides an opportunity for the student and parent to interact in learning.  Appropriate homework is set by individual teachers to meet the needs of student in their classes. Read our homework policy here.

YOU CAN DO IT PROGRAM
At Gilmore Primary we integrate the program You Can Do It into the learning of our students. We also teach the program explicitly and focus on its themes every week.
You Can Do It is based on the theory that everybody can achieve success. The program also outlines that it is not about finishing first but getting the most out of yourself and trying the best you can.
The You Can Do It program teaches the students to identify the five foundations or the keys to success.
1. Confidence
2. Persistence
3. Organisation
4. Getting Along
5. Resilience
Check out the official YCDI webpage at http://www.youcandoit.com.au/

CIRCLE SPEAK – Restorative Practices
Circle Speak shares an educational vision of working together with others to build a fair and just world. Through processes and practices that acknowledge and repair harm, strengthen relationships and build community: our schools, families, workplaces, neighbourhoods and communities will become safer places.  

Our aim is to develop a school and a community that is equipped to deal with and prevent difficulties and disruptions in a way that:
• encourages responsibility and ownership of behaviour
• develops understanding and acknowledgement of the impact on others
• sees problems as an opportunity for learning
• values relationships as central to our learning and productivity.

THRASS
THRASS (Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling Skills), is a phonics teaching tool, that has a phonographic, multisensory, approach. THRASS uses a unique, analogous learning model that works ‘with’ the structure of English, making language acquisition much easier and faster than more conventional approaches, while maintaining linguistic correctness and sustainability in its content. Visit the THRASS website at http://www.thrass.com.au/

GUIDED READING

PEER SUPPORT