Stella Maris Shellharbour
A Catholic Parish Primary School
At Stella Maris, we aim to cater for all students’ strengths and interests, and bring out the best in each individual. This is done in many areas and with a variety of learning experiences.
Teachers at Stella Maris have worked hard on the concept of differentiating the curriculum. This is aimed at meeting the individual needs of students in all KLAs. In practice, this means that while a class may be covering the same topic, students may be working at a range of levels within the classroom according to the needs and interests.
Examples of differentiation include grouping students tiering of lessons and making curriculum adjustments.
At Stella Maris, we are committed to ensuring that all students’ individual learning needs are met. At times, students require adjustments to curriculum content, learning and assessments. Recommendations may be made by the MSPEC Committee to seek professional assessment for a particular child. It may be suggested that the child be referred to a psychologist attached to the Catholic Education Office for psychometric testing.
Other suggestions may include the referral of a student to a paediatrician, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, audiologist, optometrist, psychologist or counsellor. As a result of this testing additional funding may be made available to support the needs of the child.
This special education funding is to support teachers in catering for the needs of the student. All funded students have an Individual Plan (IP) developed collaboratively with parents and regular meetings are held with parents to discuss progress and concerns.
Learners who are gifted have the ability or potential to operate at levels far beyond their age peers. Learners may be gifted in many ways, however four key domains in which students many be gifted are:
The need for Gifted education at Stella Maris has become a priority with, Mrs Kelly Mang taking on the role of Gifted Education Coordinator. The school will be a part of the diocesan enrichment project, 'SPLICED' which aims to enhance the thinking and learning skills of our gifted students. We will also be administering formal testing procedures on selected students, working with, providing advice and direction to these students in order to maximise performance and learning outcomes, as well as working with teachers to support them in providing differentiation to their students.
Reading Recovery is an early intervention reading and writing program for Year 1 children and is designed to supplement quality classroom literacy instruction.
The program provides a daily thirty-minute lesson by a specially trained teacher, which addresses student competencies and learning needs, so that children can achieve and maintain normal levels of progress. The length of time a child is on the program can vary. The program may also identify children who require long-term specialist assistance.
For more information, view our CEDoW Diverse Learning Needs Policy