Curriculum

At Northside, we offer a Montessori curriculum which is an alternative curriculum to that offered by state schools.  That does not mean that the state curriculum is ignored, on the contrary our staff and school have taken part in the trialling of state curriculum handbooks and given feedback on the science and technology syllabus.

We take great care to incorporate the aims and required knowledge into our curriculum which is then presented using Montessori materials.  Our timing can be slightly different and in the early primary years there is a much greater emphasis on process rather than product.

Our teachers are constantly updating their knowledge and we attend Montessori workshops and conferences as well as workshops on the changing content of the NSW curriculum.

We are subject to regular visits from both the Board of Studies and our Department of Community Services advisor who check our curriculum, records, work samples and observe in the classrooms.

Pre-Primary

In the Montessori pre-school, there are five distinct areas which make up our prepared environment.

Practical Life which enhances the development of gross and fine motor control and helps the child develop independence by care of self, care of the environment and development of positive social interaction.

Sensorial which enables the child to order and classify sensorial impressions received by working with scientifically designed materials.

Mathematical materials enable the child to internalise concepts of number, symbol and sequence.

Language is mostly phonic based and various presentations are made that link sounds and letter symbols.  Oral language development is ongoing and taught through the use of all the classroom materials.

Cultural materials expose the child to geography, history, earth sciences, music and art.

Primary

The primary program offers a continuum based on pre-school experience.  Materials are still used but the child now begins to make the journey from working in the concrete to abstracting information.  We introduce the student to keys that will help them unlock the ever-growing bank of knowledge.  The child is now interested in how and why certain phenomena occur and we introduce the notion of research to help the child find answers.

Knowledge is presented as part of a large scale narrative that reveals the origins of the earth, life, human communities and history.  Formal scientific language and zoology, botany, anthropology, geography, geology is introduced in context, respecting the child's interests and intelligence.

Using connective narratives, the student is introduced to subjects in a clear concrete way which are normally not introduced until high school in conventional schools.

Advanced mathematical concepts, algebra and geometry are introduced using the specially designed materials so the child is able to work with them and move from the concrete to the abstract.

Using Montessori materials, the student becomes a proficient reader who understands grammar and studies the origin  of our language.  Work with different genre and interpretive reading of literature also takes place and the student is helped to move towards conventional spelling and use of punctuation.  Research skills are also emphasised so that students can undertake student-generated research using books and technological sources.

Primary students also use going out as a way of developing knowledge and they undertake eight excursions each year as well as inviting experts to visit the school.  The children are involved in excursion planning.

The schools curriculum includes the following special areas of interest: Japanese, French, music and sport.

NSW Board of Studies K-6 Curriculum...