Our numeracy program strives to develop students who question, estimate and investigate within a variety of real life mathematical contexts. We endeavour to help all of our students to become confident and competent mathematical thinkers, equipped for life beyond the classroom. Numeracy throughout the school consists of a one-hour numeracy session four to five times a week.
At Sacred Heart, teachers:
- Use a variety of assessment tools to inform teaching and learning.
- Plan small focused teaching groups, independent work and group activities appropriate to the students’ needs.
- Analyse data from assessments in order to track the growth of students’ knowledge and skills.
- Endeavour to create a classroom environment where students feel confident to co-operate, communicate, inquire and take risks as they are learning.
At Sacred Heart, students:
- Are engaged in teacher groups catered to the learning needs of each group.
- Are involved in independent learning activities that reinforce and complement the work taught in the small group teaching sessions.
- Are encouraged to articulate strategies used to solve problems, and evaluate if the most efficient strategies have been applied.
- Have access to a wide range of appropriate and contemporary resources, including interactive whiteboards and laptops.
- Have opportunities to experience success by being members of a community that fosters investigators, risk-takers and decision-makers.
Mathematics Intervention Specialist Project
In 2010, Sacred Heart became part of the Prep to Year 4 Mathematics Intervention Specialist Project. This program of professional learning is provided by the Catholic Education Office Melbourne and Professor Robert Wright, an Adjunct Professor of the Southern Cross University, New South Wales. Sacred Heart is fortunate to have had Professor Robert Wright work at our school on a number of occasions.
The Maths Intervention Program at Sacred Heart:
- Involves Videotaped Interview-based Assessment (VIBA) which allows the Maths Intervention Teacher to analyse a student’s current number knowledge and strategies.
- Involves selecting a group of students with whom the Maths Intervention Teacher will work with, either in small group, or on an individual basis, four times a week, for a period of ten weeks.
- Involves implementing effective teaching procedures and incorporating appropriate resources in order to cater for the students’ needs in the areas of:
- Number Words and Numerals
- Stages of Early Arithmetic Learning
- Structuring Numbers
- Conceptual Place Value
- Addition and Subtraction
- Multiplication and Division
- Fractions
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- Has strongly influenced classroom teaching, as all teachers are using Maths Intervention procedures and resources in their classrooms.
- Provides opportunities for children to experience success and independence in Number.