Years 3 and 4

Our school has a pedagogical approach that is tailored to our students’ needs as Murrinhpatha speaking Aboriginal students in Wadeye and English as Additional Language learners. Our Middle Primary program has been developed in line with the Northern Territory Indigenous Languages and Cultures Curriculum (Band 2) and the Australian Curriculum (V9).

In Years 3 and 4, our students are supported to develop literacy skills in both languages, however, the main language of instruction becomes English. Teaching teams consist of non-local English teachers, local Murrinhpatha teachers and local Murrinhpatha speaking Assistant Teachers who have deep knowledge of local culture, families and the students’ learning context. 

Teaching teams deliver the InitiaLit program for English literacy instruction in Years 3 and 4, along with Shared Reading and Shared Writing practices within the Literacy Block. InitialLit is an evidence-based whole-class literacy program focused on teaching essential knowledge for Reading and Writing, with a clear focus  on synthetic phonics (breaking words into sounds).

Murrinhpatha sounds, Reading and Writing are taught every day in a structured literacy block. Students engage in Language and cultural learning centres around understanding kinship, country, being ‘on country’, Dreaming stories and bushcraft. 

Our dynamic teaching teams provide an engaging and rich curriculum that covers Mathematics, Health and Social Sciences, Science, Religion, Health and Physical Education and the Arts through integrated learning experiences. 

Students prepare for the Holy Sacrament of First Reconciliation, assisted by their teachers, school community, families and Parish.