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St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Transitioning to Prep Starting prep is a very exciting time for the whole family and the beginning of your child's journey through school. At St Patrick's, we aim to provide a welcoming and supportive community filled with opportunities for children to grow in confidence as they begin their first school year. Our Transition to School program is made up of several parts which include: Transition conversations Kindergarten contact Discovery days Additional transition sessions Additional family meetings Transition mornings; and Family information sessions. Once at school, the transition is further assisted through: Wednesday rest days at the beginning of the school year, where Preps do not attend school so they can take a break midweek to help them get used to attending school on a full time basis. These dates will be confirmed towards the end of 2025. the Buddy program where each prep student is "buddied up" with a senior student. More information about the Buddy program can be found on the wellness programs page here . 2025 dates Enrolments Open Families are asked to register an enrolment enquiry through the school office. The Enrolment Officer will be in contact and provide you with further information and move the enquiry to the application stage. Children must turn 5 years of age before 30 April in the year they are commencing school. Monday 3rd March School Tours Families wishing to become familiar with our school are invited to attend a school tour with staff and student leaders present. To book a school tour, please go to the Book a Tour webpage under the Enrolment tab. Mondays: 24 February, 24 March and 31 March at 2:00pm. Tuesdays: 18 February, 4 March, 18 March, 1 April, 29 April at 9:15am. Prep Information Evening This is an opportunity to welcome all parents and carers who are applying for a Prep position at St Patrick’s in 2026 . Important and up to date Information about our school and the enrolment process will be shared during this session. This session is compulsory for all families wishing to apply and will be held in the school stadium as a face to face event. Monday 28 April 6:00pm - 7:00pm Enrolments Close Families are asked to complete their online applications by Friday 2 May 2025 to ensure that the enrolment application is given consideration. The school can take up to 105 prep students in 2026 and in the event that more applications are received than places available, a waiting list will be created. Friday 2 May Application Meetings Application meetings are an opportunity for us to begin to get to know the child and parent/carer. They are a time for parents to ask any questions you may have and to explore how to best support their child as they make the transition from kinder to school. Please note, these meetings do not aim to determine if your child is ‘school ready’. If you have any questions regarding school readiness, it is best to have a conversation with your child’s kindergarten teacher. These are compulsory for all families. Throughout May and June Letters of Offer sent out Once places are determined, letters of offer will be sent out to families at the end of Term 2. An acceptance form must be completed and returned to the school to secure the enrolment offer. Please note, any delay with Australia Post deliveries may impact when you receive your letter of offer. End of Term 2 Kindergarten visits Throughout Term Three and Four, our staff will contact each child's kindergarten and/or visit the children at their kindergarten to understand their education journey so far and to put things in place to support their transition. Terms Three and Four Discovery Days Mondays in Term Three (dates to be confired) , our library will be open for you to visit and start discovering what school is like. It will be a chance to share a favourite story and meet some new friends. These sessions are not compulsory. Information on how to book online will be sent with your Letter of Offer. By invitation, as required Additional transition sessions Held during Term Four, on Tuesdays to be confirmed , these small group sessions focus on supporting those children and families who may be new to the school or who would like to build their confidence at St Patrick's in a smaller setting. These sessions are by request from the family or invitation from the school. To be advised Additional family meetings Between now and when the child begins, parents/carers may want to meet and discuss any further concerns or ideas they may have to provide their child with the best possibly start to school. Meetings can be initiated by parents or the school as needed. As needed Transition mornings Three mornings filled with fun and forming new friendships. All children are required to attend to learn about school and meet their new peers and teachers. Your child’s 2026 class and teacher will be announced at the final session. All three sessions are compulsory for all students. Term Four Wednesday 12 November Thursday 20 November Tuesday 25 November 9:15am - 10:45am (compulsory) Family information sessions Whilst the children attend their transition mornings, parents/carers will attend these compulsory family information sessions. They are an opportunity for the school to pass on information. It is also an opportunity to meet other parents and ask questions. These are compulsory. As per transition mornings Held in the school stadium (compulsory)

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Communication Communication is a fundamental element of the relationship between the school and their families. St Patrick's ensures that there are as many opportunities for the school to get messages to families, and families to communicate to the school. Some of the more regular methods of communication are shown here. Newsletter The school newsletter is a document that is communicated to families every Thursday via email. Hard copies of the document can be collected at the front office on Fridays. The newsletter provides details on upcoming events, curriciulum, reviews of recent activities, community news, as well as reports from the principal and other curriculum leaders. SIMON Everywhere App SIMON Everywhere is a simple smartphone app where information can be quickly sent to parents. Through push notifications, parents can be informed of urgent information, upcoming events as well as providing reminders. As such we request that ALL parents and carers download the app and have it ready to receive notifications. Through the app, families can also access their Parent Access Module (PAM) to update student medical information, access school reports, report student absences, etc. The SIMON Everywhere app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. Facebook Group St Patrick's manages a private Facebook Group for parents and carers only. This Facebook group is the place where photos of students will be posted, as they will not be posted on the main corporate Facebook page. We encourage all parents and carers to join the Facebook group by going to the group and answering the membership questions at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stpatskilmorefamilies (note that membership will not be accepted without all questions being answered). Seesaw App Seesaw gives families an immediate and personalized window into their child’s school day, and makes communication with teachers seamless. Seesaw empowers students to independently document their learning with built-in creative tools, and provides an authentic audience for their work.

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Science Science provides students with opportunities to investigate, predict, experiment, observe and become aware of things in our world. Science is a Specialist subject for all of our students. Each week, classes participate in one hour of Science in our newly renovated Science room. Students will have the opportunity to explore the ever changing world around them in many ways through our hands-on Science Program. Biology, Chemistry, Physical Sciences and Earth and Space are all on the calendar ready to spark our students’ curiosity.

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Student Leadership At St Patrick's leadership is about motivating, influencing and directing people to work together to achieve goals in accordance with the school's values and beliefs. It is important for students to experience school leadership opportunities in order to learn how to build relationships, define their identity and achieve tasks effectively. It also provides an opportunity to learn to identify and display effective communication and interpersonal skills. St Patrick's Primary School is very proud of our student leaders. These students are ambassadors who embody our school values and motto. The school offers both formal and informal leadership opportunities to our students. We hope that all of our students would think of themselves as leaders through modelling appropriate behaviour to others, helping students that need assistance, and generally exhibiting traits that walk "In the Footsteps of the Lord". However, we also have formal leadership positions, and our Year 6 students have the most significant roles to place in these positions, including School Captains, House Captains and other student leaders. School Captains School Captains are the most significant student leaders in the school. They take an active role in all aspects of the school community and work with others to achieve the best possible outcomes. They are approachable, reliable and trustworthy, and their duties involve communication with staff and students, public speaking at assemblies, school events and other community events. School Captains are positive role models for all students with regards to behaviour and presentation. House Captains A House Captains' role is to encourage all students to participate in House activities. They coordinate House events, such as the Houes points system, House lunches, and leading their respective houses in various whole-school events such as the athletics carnival. House captains are approachable and reliable and demonstrate enthusiasm for their House, thereby encouraging students to get involved in a range of school activities. Student Leaders Student leadership is open to any student in Year 6. Outside of School and House Captains, there are a range of other leadership roles, such as for ICT, Media, French, Science, Art, Library, Academic and more. The leadership group is elected from the Year 5 students during their time in Term 4. Students nominate for two leadership positions and then prepare and present a speech that is given to the Year 5 students, as well as the Year 5 staff and members of the leadership team. Students and staff vote for their preferred candidates and the ultimate decision rests with the School Principal and Deputy Principal.

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Visual Arts The exciting world of Visual Art is opened up to our students in many ways through our vibrant Visual Arts Program. Painting, Drawing, Printing, Modelling, Construction, Clay work and Textiles are all on the agenda for our students to explore. At St. Patrick’s we believe Art is for everyone. Learning basic techniques within these core areas, and building up skills as the years progress, enables our students to gain a well-rounded understanding of Visual Arts practices and exposes students to many different art forms. Immersion in a Visual Arts program generates opportunities for students to develop their creative abilities, express their ideas and experiment with new materials and techniques, as well as learning to work collaboratively with their peers and problem solve. Artist studies and Art Appreciation develop curiosity, ignite interest and enhance self-esteem as students respond to art works, have opinions, use Arts Language and express thoughts, reactions and observations about their world.

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Prayer Prayer is a personal response to God’s presence and is a form of communicating with God. It fosters a personal and living relationship with God and nourishes the spiritual growth of all members of the school community. Each class takes time out of the day to pray. There are many ways of communicating with God. Students are encouraged to participate and lead prayers at assemblies, in classrooms during liturgical celebrations and at Mass. All students have opportunities to experience prayer situations, which are: • FORMAL - to learn words, songs and gestures that will help students to pray. • PUBLIC - to share aloud a prayer or prayer intention. • PRIVATE - to listen as well as speak to God personally. • SILENT - to engage in reflection, meditation or times of silence. Classes begin the day with either Christian Meditation or Prayer. All members of the school community are invited to participate in Christian Meditation and Prayer at the beginning of the day. Prayer commences with The Sign of the Cross and a scripture reading. Prayer concludes with St Patrick pray for us and we always remember to pray for one another. The staff, Parents and Friends Committee and School Advisory Council commence their meetings with prayer. Sacred Space/Prayer Table A prominent place in learning spaces is provided as a focus for prayer and a constant reminder of the presence and closeness of God. A different colour cloth is displayed for each of the liturgical seasons. The following is placed on every prayer table: a Bible, Crucifix, Candle to represent the light of Christ present during class prayer time and Resources – prayer book, biblical pictures, children’s Bible stories. Various religious icons and artefacts brought in by students can be placed on prayer tables. Morning Prayer Morning Prayer occurs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students pray before lunch and at the end of the school day. Prayer may also occur at other times throughout the day. At the beginning of every school year, each class creates their own class prayer to start their morning prayer. Christian Meditation On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we commence the day with Christian Meditation that is a form of Contemplative Prayer. The whole school sits in quietness and stillness. This allows all to continue to build a relationship with God while slowing down one’s breathing. The purpose is to clear one’s mind of outside concerns so that God’s voice may be more easily heard. Meal time prayer Year Prep and Year One students are encouraged to pray a simple prayer before the lunch time meal. Students in Year Two to Year 6 say grace using a traditional prayer. End of school day prayer Classes are encouraged to pray the traditional prayer of Hail Mary or Our Father to conclude the day. School prayer St Patrick's has a school prayer which is part of the daily prayers undertaken in the school. It is as follows: Let us remember we are in the Holy presence of God and each other. Au nom du père, du fils et du Saint-Esprit. Amen Upon this ancient land of the Taungurung people, we pray together: Loving God, Inspire us to learn with each other in the community. Give us strength to show love and compassion like the Mercy Sisters and Marist Brothers. We honour all those who have come before us. Help us flourish in all that we do. In the way of Mary, help us to be strong and true. St Patrick and St Marcellin, Priez pour nous. Mary our good mother, pray for us. And may we always remember to... pray for one another. In the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. About St Patrick St Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland and credited with bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland. St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world's most popular saints. He was born in Roman Britain. When he was fourteen or so, he was captured by Irish pirates during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. At the time, Ireland was a land of Druids and pagans but Patrick turned to God and wrote his memoir, The Confession. In The Confession, he wrote: "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain." Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain and was reunited with his family. A few years after returning home, Patrick saw a vision he described in his memoir: "I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: 'The Voice of the Irish.' As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea-and they cried out, as with one voice: 'We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'" The vision prompted his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years, and was later ordained a bishop and sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. Patrick arrived in Slane, Ireland on March 25, 433. There are several legends about what happened next, with the most prominent claiming he met the chieftan of one of the druid tribes, who tried to kill him. After an intervention from God, Patrick was able to convert the chieftain and preach the Gospel throughout Ireland. There, he converted many people -eventually thousands - and he began building churches across the country. He often used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity and entire kingdoms were eventually converted to Christianity after hearing Patrick's message. Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461. He died at Saul, where he had built the first Irish church. He is believed to be buried in Down Cathedral, Downpatrick. His grave was marked in 1990 with a granite stone. In His Footsteps: Patrick was a humble, pious, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us. So complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission, he feared nothing -not even death. "The Breastplate," Patrick's poem of faith and trust in God: "Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger." Source: www.catholic.org St Patrick's School Song

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Enrolment Criteria St Patrick's is an inclusive Catholic primary school that welcomes families from all faith backgrounds. St Patrick's provides a wholistic approach to education that focuses on developing the whole child, including academics as well as the social and emotional skills. As a feeder school to Assumption College, we also have a strong connection and transition program with the College. 2025 Enrolments Limited places are a vailable in in some year levels. Go to the Enrolment tab to Book a Tour, make an Enrolment Enquiry or Request a Prospectus Enrolment Criteria Enrolment at St Patrick's is done so in accordance with the school's Enrolment Policy, a copy of which can be found here . Priority for enrolment at St Patrick's is given to Catholic students. Enrolments are also invited for children from non-Catholic families. The student should be a resident in the Parish and within the catchment zone for St Patrick’s Primary School Kilmore. Parents/guardian, as the prime educators of their children in faith, must demonstrate a commitment to upholding the teachings of the Catholic Church in practical ways and agree to support the school in all aspects of the total education of their child. Other circumstances may be considered. Catchment Zones With two schools in the St Patrick's Parish (the other being Our Lady of the Way in Wallan), there are two separate catchment areas for primary school enrolments within the Parish of St Patrick’s Kilmore (see below). Families who live in the Kilmore, Kilmore East, Bylands, Broadford, Pyalong, Wandong and Heathcote Junction areas are zoned for enrolment at St Patrick’s Primary School Kilmore. New families who live in the Wallan, Wallan East, Beveridge and Darraweit Guim areas are invited to apply for a position at Our Lady of the Way Wallan . Where either school has a year level that is full, it may be possible to enrol at the other school if there is a vacancy. Enrolment Forms and Supporting Documentation All applications should be made online through our website. In the enrolments tab, select "Apply Now" and complete the online application form. For anyone that as previously requested a prospectus, booked a school tour or completed an enrolment enquiry, you should use the same email address and many of the fields will be pre-populated for you. Please remember that you will need a copy of your child’s Birth, Baptism (child/parent where applicable) and immunisation certificates. These are required before the enrolment process can be completed. Copies of immunisation certificates can be obtained by phoning 1800 653 809 or by visiting their website here . Copies of Baptism Certificates can be obtained by contacting the Parish in which the child/parent was Baptised. For non-prep enrolments, copies of the last two school reports are also required. For all enrolments, copies of all other relevant reports (speech, medical specialists etc) or documentation (court orders etc) are also required

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. School Uniform At St Patrick's Primary School we value our school uniform. The school uniform should be worn as a badge of pride that creates a sense of community, identity and belonging. It also helps students "buy-in" to the school ethos of pride in your appearance, and more importantly, removes peer pressure about what clothes a student wears to school - a school uniform ensures everyone dresses the same and puts everyone on an equal footing. School uniforms can be purchased at the uniform shop (in the netball building) on Tuesdays from 8:00am to 11:00am or Thursdays from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Uniforms can also be ordered online on the link below (select the school and use the password "kilmore"), or through Academy Uniforms , 71 Potter Street, Craigieburn (Ph: 9768 0344). A copy of the price list can be found on the button below. In addition to the uniform below, students must also have the embroidered school bag, and are required to have a library bag and art smock. For sports uniform, houses and colours are: McAuley (blue) , Morrison (green) , O'Rourke (yellow) and Chisholm (red) . The school's uniform policy can be found here: Price List Uniform and Grooming Policy Online Ordering

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. School Canteen St Patrick’s values healthy eating practices for students, staff and the wider school community, and aim to provide an effective canteen service that provides choices of healthy food in a manner that complies with all health regulations and requirements When? St Patrick's provides a school canteen service to its students five days a week , through a lunch order system and over-the-counter sales at recess and lunch. How? Lunch orders are now ordered by parents through the Flexischools app. Parents can create an account for each child and order and pay online. It also makes reordering the same weekly lunch order very simple. Once ordered, if you have a reusable lunch bag (highly recommended to keep food warm), the children places the lunch bag into the lunch order tub. That tub is then delivered to the canteen at the start of each school day. The lunch orders are then fulfilled and returned to the classes in the same lunch order tubs. Menu? The canteen menu is reviewed by the canteen manager each term and a copy of the current canteen menu can be found on the blue button below: Over-the-counter items are not available for purchase through the lunch order system. Lunch bags? Reusable lunch order bags can be purchased from the Parents and Friends Association through the front office for $15.00. The reusable lunch order bags are insulated and come in a range of colours, They have a dedicated space for the name and class details, to help ensure orders go to the right classroom. More information about the lunch bags can be found here . Other information? The school canteen is operated by an independent operator under an access agreement, pursuant to the school's Canteen Policy. A copy of the Canteen Policy can be found here . The canteen is operated in line with the Victorian Department of Education's 'Go for your life’ Healthy Canteen Kit – Food planner guidelines. A copy of the guidelines can be found here . For more information, or to contact the canteen, you can email: canteen@spkilmore.catholic.edu.au Canteen Menu Like the St Patrick's Canteen Facebook page here:

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. First Aid St Patrick's Primary School values students' safety and as such employ a first aid officer during school hours, being 8:30 to 3:30pm, who present to the first aid office/sick bay. Our First Aid Officer holds certificates in First Aid (Level 2), CPR, Anaphylaxis, Asthma management, as well as participating in ongoing professional development in areas such as diabetes, haemophilia and epilepsy, but should students attend with a specific health need, additional training will be provided. Asthma For students that suffer from Asthma, the school requires an Asthma Management Plan to be completed by the student's medical practitioner and returned to school by the start of Term 1 via the SIMON Everywhere and the Parent Access Module (PAM) or in hard copy to the office. Copies of the Asthma Management Plan document can be found here . Anaphylaxis For students that suffer from anaphylaxis, the school requires an Anaphylaxis Management Plan to be completed by the student's medical practitioner and returned to school by the start of Term 1 via the SIMON Everywhere and the Parent Access Module (PAM) or in hard copy to the office. Copies of the Anaphylaxis Management Plan document can be found here . Some of the risk management strategies we ask all families to remember are; No food is to be shared at school. When celebrating a birthday, food cannot be shared or handed out. Alternatively children may like to bring some stickers, stamps or pencils to share. Although the school does not ban any particular foods, we do ask all parents to be mindful of other students allergies when packing lunchboxes, particularly if there is a child with an allergy in the same class.

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic education provider in Kilmore, Victoria where we work collaboratively to maximise student outcomes. Literacy At St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, we not only value the teaching of English but believe that it is paramount in providing students with the skills and understandings to fully access the curriculum and develop as divergent, critical thinkers. Through the integration of the three strands: Reading & Viewing, Writing & Spelling and Speaking & Listening, the students are provided with learning experiences that enable them to develop skills and strategies to be competent and confident users of the English language. Literacy skills are best taught through modelled, guided and independent learning experiences, based on explicit teaching. Therefore we provide a differentiated curriculum that caters for the diverse needs of the learner through effective, relevant and challenging learning and teaching opportunities. The English curriculum aims to ensure that students: learn to listen to, read, view, speak, write, create and reflect on increasingly complex and sophisticated spoken, written and multimodal texts across a growing range of contexts with accuracy, fluency and purpose appreciate, enjoy and use the English language in all its variations and develop a sense of its richness and power to evoke feelings, convey information, form ideas, facilitate interaction with others, entertain, persuade and argue understand how Standard Australian English works in its spoken and written forms and in combination with non-linguistic forms of communication to create meaning develop interest and skills in inquiring into the aesthetic aspects of texts, and develop an informed appreciation of literature. Reading and Viewing At St Patrick’s, we aim to provide an evidence space based approach focusing on the ‘Science of Reading.’ We aim to encourage classroom environments which promote a love of books and reading where students feel inspired to read. Each classroom and digital platform is a language rich environment. Books are given their rightful place throughout the school. Library borrowing is scheduled once per week for every class from Prep to Year Six. Students are explicitly taught how to select ‘Good Fit Texts’ from the Library. Teachers ensure students are exposed to a wide range of reading material across genres including print and multimedia. St Patrick’s has implemented the program in the context of a Response to Intervention Framework. InitiaLit is a Tier 1 program and is designed to be delivered to whole classes by classroom teachers. Prep to Year Two use the InitiaLit Literacy Program. InitiaLit is an evidence-based whole-class literacy program which provides all students (Prep - Year Two) with essential core knowledge to become successful readers. Year Three - Six use an evidence-based instructional reading model based on the Science of Reading. Explicit teaching of reading strategies, vocabulary, grammar and spelling. InitiaLit is an evidence-based whole-class literacy program providing all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and writers. InitiaLit is a three-year program, covering the first three years of school (Prep to Year 2). InitiaLit–Prep incorporates the key components necessary for early reading instruction – phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. InitiaLit–1 continues on from InitiaLit–Prep in providing an explicit and effective model for teaching reading, spelling and related skills to children in their second year of schooling. The program incorporates daily lessons in reading and spelling, as well as rich language instruction using children’s literature. As with InitiaLit–Prep, a set of decodable InitiaLit Readers (Levels 10-16), have been developed to align with the InitiaLit–1 instructional sequence. These readers, used alongside the program, will help students generalise and consolidate their skills. By Year 2, most children will be well on their way to reading independence. The program builds on the skills taught in InitiaLit–Prep and InitiaLit–1, with the focus shifting now to consolidating children’s reading and spelling skills, working specifically on reading comprehension, fluency, spelling and vocabulary. MiniLit and MacqLit The MiniLit and MacqLit programs are literacy intervention programs. MiniLit is aimed at Prep to Year 2 and comprises 80 lessons, delivered 4 times per week, for one hour per lesson. A placement test will indicate the ideal starting point on the program for each student, with criteria provided for grouping students according to instructional level. Regular assessments administered throughout the program will monitor progress. Each lesson comprises three main components: Sounds and Words Activities Text Reading Story Book Reading MacqLit is aimed at Years 3-6 and is an explicit and systematic reading intervention program for small groups of older low-progress readers. It is a comprehensive sequence of lessons that includes all the key components necessary for effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Writing and Spelling At St Patrick’s, we aim to provide a classroom environment which promotes opportunities to support the whole of the writing process from the planning stage through to publishing. The explicit teaching of the thinking processes involved through Modelled, Shared, Guided and Interactive Writing are clearly demonstrated so that students can apply them in their own independent writing and take place across the school from Prep to Year Six. Prep to Year Two use the InitaLit Literacy Program. InitiaLit is an evidence-based whole-class literacy program which provides all students with essential core knowledge to become successful writers. Prep to Year Two spelling is incorporated through the InitiaLit Literacy Program. The Seven Steps are the building blocks to great writing and they break down writing into simple chunks so students aren’t overwhelmed by writing a whole piece straight away. Instead, they gain confidence with each Step they learn, to become creative and engaging writers. Eventually they will learn how to put it all together and write complete texts independently. Year Three - Year Six are explicitly taught the Steps to Writing Success strategies to improve writing skills and student engagement. Students are provided with opportunities to write both purposeful and authentic pieces. Teachers plan activities that provide opportunities for students to explore current digital technologies within the writing program. Seven Steps Step 1: Plan for Success Step 2: Sizzling Starts Step 3: Tightening Tension Step 4: Dynamic Dialogue Step 5: Show, Don’t Tell Step 6: Ban the Boring Step 7: Exciting Endings/Ending with Impact Speaking and Listening At St. Patrick’s we seek to develop the oral language competence of students across the school. Teachers plan and implement strategies which specifically target the development of oral language skills. Language and the ability to communicate effectively is a key foundation to students’ capacity to learn in most general ways. A better developed knowledge of language and how it is used means a greater capacity to learn and to manage and to direct one’s activity as a learner (Munro, 2005) Students participate in Show and Tell, 1 minute talks, debates and oral presentations of their work. Oral language permeates throughout