How We Teach & Support

At St. Kevin’s our focus is the support of the whole individual. The learning needs of each student is catered for by a dedicated team of teachers and learning support officers who use best practice to support each student.

Gifted and talented students are entitled to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning opportunities drawn from the curriculum and aligned with their individual learning needs, strengths, interests and goals. At St. Kevin’s we acknowledge that there are numerous models of curriculum adjustment relating to gifted and talented students.

Our rigorously implemented Inclusion and Diversity program focusses on early identification of students with addition needs (SWANs). Followed by the development and implementation of strategic plans to meet the child’s needs in a caring and supportive environment and where they receive an equitable opportunity to receive their entitlement to a world class education.

Learning programs are personalised in relation to individual student need through curriculum adjustments which may include the following for gifted and talented students:

• Drawing from learning area content at different levels along the Foundation to Year 10 sequence to personalise age-equivalent learning area content.
• Using the general capabilities learning continua to personalise age-equivalent learning area content. 
• Using the cross-curriculum priorities to personalise age-equivalent learning area content. 
• Aligning individual learning goals with age-equivalent learning area content.
• The formation of a Program Support Group, involving teachers, parents and members of school leadership, our SWAN’s progress is monitored, tracked and communicated to parents on a regular basis. Short and long-term goals set collaboratively by the team and where appropriate.

At St. Kevin’s our focus is the support of the whole individual. The learning needs of each student is catered for by a dedicated team of teachers and learning support officers who use best practice to support each student.

Our rigorously implemented Inclusion and Diversity program focusses on early identification of students with addition needs (SWANs). Followed by the development and implementation of strategic plans to meet the child’s needs in a caring and supportive environment and where they receive an equitable opportunity to receive their entitlement to a world class education.

Where more personalised interventions are required, support is provided in a range of ways; from in class support to intensive intervention programs and Personalised Learning Plans.

The formation of a Program Support Group, involving teachers, parents and members of school leadership, our SWAN’s progress is monitored, tracked and communicated to parents on a regular basis. Short and long-term goals set collaboratively by the team and where appropriate, partnerships with allied services such as paediatricians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists are formed.

To support students who may require more specialised wellbeing support, St. Kevin’s also offers access to an on-site counselling at no cost to families. We also have a school Chaplain who for two days each work is on-site to support students in a more casual and short term approach.

Parents are always welcome to contact the School if they are concerned about their child’s learning or wellbeing.

St Kevin’s is a Child Safe environment where all are engaged in keeping children safe. 

“The integral formation of the human resource is the purpose of education … developing strong and responsible individuals, who are capable of making free and correct choices.” 

Lay Catholics: Witness to Faith, n.17

At St. Kevin’s we recognise the innate goodness of every individual. Our policies and practice embrace this belief and aim to assist students in growth towards healthy autonomy. At all times, we aim to support our students in becoming responsible, resourceful, respectful and responsive human beings. In promoting the establishment of appropriate values and the development of appropriate understandings about life, people and relationships we believe we assist our students to look forward to, with optimism and hope, a positive and successful future.

The goals of our approach to building positive relationships between students, staff and parents are to create a school environment which demonstrates a commitment to the following values: 

• Cooperation 
• Self Discipline 
• Shared Responsibility 
• Mutual Respect 
• Social Equality 

We do this by:

• Providing students with the opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes that will enable them to participate fully and effectively in society and the workplace. 
• We support students to appreciate individual difference and develop an understanding and appreciation of different cultures and lifestyles existing in the community and the wider Australian society. 
• We provide an environment that promotes a healthy self esteem, confidence and a sense of responsibility for self. 
• We provide experiences whereby students gain a feeling of self worth, develop confidence in their individual identity and grow toward self discipline.
• We provide a school environment in which all students are able to participate and feel safe, welcome and valued for their contribution and effort. 
• We develop practices which enable every individual to develop to his/her full potential

It is increasingly recognised that as well as teaching academic skills, promoting student wellbeing is part of the core business of schools. One way that schools can promote students’ resilience is through the teaching of evidence-based programs that explicitly foster the skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, social management and critical and creative thinking. This is referred to as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs include curricula used to explicitly teach emotional literacy, coping and problem-solving skills.

SEL involves the processes through which children and adults develop, extend and enhance the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand, manage and communicate about their own emotions, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, set and work towards positive goals, draw on a repertoire of positive coping strategies, think critically about the influences on their choices, and make responsible decisions. Collaborative games, role-plays, stories, group tasks, and class meetings or ‘circle time’ are commonly incorporated within SEL programs to enhance social connectedness and teach social and emotional competencies.

Leadership at St. Kevin’s is not defined as a role, but rather a behaviour and is based on the ‘service leadership model’ found in the Gospels.

Leadership should draw students outward, inviting them to look not just at their own needs but at those in the immediate, national and global communities. Students are encouraged to be active members of the school community by their involvement in the many extra-curricular and cross-age activities available to them during school hours.

Learning experiences are often contextualised within circumstances which lead students to recognise and identify injustices. Working collaboratively, they explore and find ways that then lead to improving life for themselves and or the lives of others.

Students are invited and supported to explore and participate in more formal leadership opportunities such as the Student Representative Council, House Leaders and Special Interest Leaders.