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What our parents say about FintonaWe find all of the teachers to be impressive in their field. They are the most important element in the learning environment.
Junior School Programs
Prep to Year 4
Small class sizes, individual attention
Primary Years Program (PYP)
Fintona is one of the few schools in the State to offer the Primary Years Program (PYP), the curricular framework of the International Baccalaureate, for Kindergarten to Year 6 students. It combines the best research and practice from around the world to create a relevant, engaging and challenging educational framework for all students.
The PYP focuses on the development of the whole child. It emphasises the dynamic combination of attitudes, knowledge and critical thinking. It develops an understanding of concepts, skills and knowledge and it strives to develop positive and responsible attitudes. It is has a strong international focus to the units of work, as it is designed to enable students to relate their classroom experience to the world beyond.
Throughout the learning process Fintona aims to teach the girls to:
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Literacy and Numeracy skills are paramount during this developmental stage, and through focused teaching the girls are well placed for future learning.
Our curriculum from Prep to Year 4 is further expanded through the Specialist Program taught by Specialist staff in the areas of Art, Drama, French, Library, Music, Outdoor Education and Physical Education.
The Primary Years Program acknowledges the importance of acquiring skills in context and to explore content that is relevant to students. To assist students to make connections in all subject areas, six transdisciplinary themes of global significance provide the framework for exploration and study:
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Students from Prep to Year 6 inquire into, and learn about, these globally significant issues in the context of units of inquiry, each of which addresses a central idea relevant to the particular transdisciplinary theme increasing in depth and complexity throughout the primary years.
You can learn more about the Primary Years Program curriculum framework by clicking here.
Beyond the Classroom
Our Junior School hosts a range of activities for our girls to develop skills and interests beyond the classroom including Chess, Instrumental Ensembles, Philosophy and Dance.
Outdoor Education
Our Outdoor Education program begins in Year 1 with an overnight experience in a coastal holiday home. This is followed in Year 2 with a similar, two night experience. The girls in Years 3 and 4 have two night stays at ‘Sunnystones' in Bacchus Marsh and ‘Gundiwindi' at Wandin Yallock, in alternating years.
Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care, like in any other area at Fintona, underpins everything that we do. The Head of the Junior School and the School Counsellor work together to support students and families to ensure a happy school atmosphere. Each Prep girl has a Year 4 Buddy, who is there to assist our youngest girls during play times to make the transition from kindergarten to Junior School a smooth one. Also, each new student to our Junior School is allocated a student mentor who makes certain that she knows where everything is and has someone to play with during the settling in period.
House
Girls in the Junior School are placed in one of three Houses, along with other students from Prep to Year 6. Houses are named after famous Old Fintonians: Bedggood (Dame Beryl Beaurepaire), Menzies (Dame Patty Menzies) and Reid (Mrs Margaret Ross). The girls compete for an annual House Cup in the areas of Athletics, Swimming, Trivia Competition and Caring for the Environment.
Technology
Technology is integrated into all learning at our Junior School, with specific skills taught in Years 3 and 4. Each Junior School classroom and the Junior School Resource Centre has computers available to assist girls with classroom activities as well as homework. Year 4 girls have lessons in our Senior School Computer Laboratory. All Junior School classrooms have an interactive whiteboard.
Resource Centre
The Betty Henty-Wilson Resource Centre is located in the Northern wing of our Junior School.
Our aim is to provide a welcoming, user-friendly and inclusive area within the Junior School where all students can access reading materials and research tools to enable them to become proficient participants in the digital age as well as readers of a variety of genres of literature.
The Resource Centre is pivotal to the delivery of quality educational outcomes for our students. There is a wide range of books available, with a growing collection of picture books and a full range of fiction, non-fiction and online resources that complement the Primary Years' Program Units of Inquiry. The collection is continually updated with student, parent and teacher suggestions included in the choice of items for purchase.
As part of the programs offered in the Junior School, each class visits the Resource Centre each week for a scheduled class, and each Early Learning Centre group also visits the Resource Centre each week.
The catalogue is available in each classroom, as well as in the Resource Centre where there are ten desktop computers that have internet access as well as a range of other educational programs that students can use.
All Junior School girls are enrolled in the Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge. Following on from this, students in the Middle School are invited to participate in the MS Readathon.
More information
For more information on our Junior School programs, contact the Registrar on (03)9830 1388 or request a copy of our prospectus.
To apply for a position, simply download a copy of our Application Form by clicking on the Enrolment button below.
