Our Junior School (Prep to Year 4) is where a love of learning takes shape. These vital early years of education provide various experiences alongside new friends, both in and out of the classroom.
Fintona’s Junior School is a warm, safe and friendly learning environment where each girl can develop a love of learning.
Our program combines the best research and practice from around the world to create a relevant, engaging and challenging framework for all students to learn.
Fintona’s Junior School campus is filled with open and light-filled classrooms, surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and spaces for play.
Every girl here is welcomed, valued and respected. Our dedicated teachers provide daily opportunities to engage, to be curious, and to explore.
For entry into Prep, your daughter must have turned five by 1 February in the year they commence.
Learn more about Junior School on a tour with our staff and students.
In Junior School, girls develop their thinking, communication, research, social skills and self-management.
Literacy and numeracy skills are vital during these early years, and our small class sizes enable teachers to address the needs of each student.
Each class visits the Resource Centre regularly for literature and research-based activities, and our specialist program introduces girls to new experiences in Art, Drama, French, Library, Music, Outdoor Education, Digital Technology and Physical Education.
English is taught in literacy sessions and across the entire curriculum. We concentrate on reading, viewing, writing, speaking and listening to develop solid foundation skills and strategies.
From seeing maths in the world around us in Prep to understanding concepts more deeply in Year 4, the Mathematics program engages thinking about maths at every level.
Science classes, held within classrooms and our Junior School Discovery Centre, build on students’ natural curiosity for the world around them. Classes are designed for students to explore, hypothesise and experiment, and develop their scientific understanding.
From Prep, Units of Study are designed for students to explore the History and Geography of our local area, Australia, and our neighbouring countries. In Years 3 and 4, these Units also incorporate Civics and Citizenship, providing students with the opportunity to further understand the importance of being a responsible and active citizen in our world.
Art classes in Junior School are about encouraging students to be creative and original in their thinking. We introduce students to a wide variety of materials and methods of working. Girls explore different ways to express themselves, share ideas and look at the work of professional artists.
Drama in Junior School is about enriching imaginations through free and directed play experiences. In younger years, classes are based on familiar situations, while in Years 3 and 4, girls are encouraged to develop ideas for their drama by thinking about situations, feelings and values.
French is taught in Junior School using a communicative approach to help develop basic language skills and, in later years, as a way to involve meaningful experiences.
With frequent and fun-filled visits to the Resource Centre, students are encouraged to develop a lifelong love of reading through exposure to a wide range of children’s literature.
Through listening, singing, playing and composition, students learn about the elements of music in lessons every week, emphasising singing and performance in later years.
From Prep to Year 2, students learn about all kinds of digital systems, while in Years 3 and 4, they dive into data and explore digital microscopes, cameras and interactive whiteboards.
From the first days of Prep, girls take part in Physical Education every week. Throughout Junior School, they develop their fundamental motor skills through a range of individual and team sports.
The experience of Junior School goes beyond the classroom. Girls take part in a wide variety of co-curricular activities that develop new skills and enhance abilities.
The Outdoor Education program in Junior School begins with an overnight experience at Lady Northcote in Glenmore during Year 1, followed by one night away during Year 2 at Camp Manyung, Mt Eliza. Students in Years 3 and 4 spend two nights at Sunnystones in Bacchus Marsh and Gundiwindi at Wandin Yallock in alternating years.
Weekly chess classes are provided to all students from Years 2 to 4 in Term 3. Students can also join in Chess Club during lunchtime.
Junior School girls take part in three house sports events during the year. The House Swimming Carnival is held in Term 1 and involves students from Years 2 to 4.
During Term 2, all Junior School students join in House Cross Country, then in Term 4 all students compete in House Athletics. Parents are warmly invited to attend all of the events.
As part of the Gymnastics unit, Junior School students participate in sessions with qualified coaches. Students are encouraged to explore how the body moves while developing their strength, balance and flexibility.
In Term 1, students go to the Kew Recreation Centre to be taught stroke technique and water safety by qualified swimming coaches. In Year 4, students are invited to join the Fintona Swim Squad.
Dance Fitness Victoria conducts fun ballet and jazz classes at Fintona during lunchtime and after school. Students learn individual open work, choreography, group work and performance preparation. Prep to Year 2 focuses on ballet and jazz, then jazz and contemporary dance from Years 3 to 4.
Fintona has partnered with Girl Guides for over 100 years. Each week, students learn skills such as cooking or coding, help out in the community, and take on new challenges from sport to outdoor adventure.
Fintona’s music program runs in the classroom from ELC through to VCE, alongside a host of co-curricular opportunities. In Junior School, these include private tuition, Junior School Choir and Mitiamo String Orchestra.
A culture of belonging and wellbeing is at the centre of school life. All Fintona staff, including our School Psychologist, provide confidential and individual support alongside programs designed to develop resilience.
The House System, Tutor Group, Life Skills, Buddy Programs, Transition Programs and Learning Enrichment and Support are formal programs designed to ensure every Fintona student can feel at home and thrive in a supportive, respectful and caring environment.
In Junior School, each Prep girl has a Year 4 buddy during playtimes to help make the transition from kindergarten a smooth one. The buddy program extends into the senior school with opportunities for Junior School girls to interact with the older girls every week, as the Junior Campus Consul is organised.
Every student is also allocated a mentor who makes sure new girls knows where everything is and has someone to play with as they settle in.
House
Girls in Junior School are placed in one of three houses named after significant old Fintonians: Bedggood (Dame Beryl Beaurepaire), Menzies (Dame Patty Menzies) and Reid (Mrs Margaret Ross).
The girls compete for an annual House Cup in athletics, swimming, trivia and cross country. In addition, the Chandler Spirit Cup is awarded annually to the house team, which has best demonstrated values of teamwork, enthusiasm and team spirit.
Out of Hours Care
Fintona’s before and after school care program provides dedicated staff, healthy food and a program of engaging activities outside regular school time.