Literacy
CAFÉ Reading
In the Junior School we implement CAFE Reading. This involves Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary when reading. It’s a fun way for the students to remember reading strategies and to sustain read for longer periods of time. The students love the reading characters and have found a real passion for reading, using their new strategies.
Reading eggs
Reading Eggs is an on-line program that supports each child with their reading. It supports learning by offering individual lessons that allow children to progress at their own rate. The program has been developed by highly experienced educators and focuses on a core reading curriculum of phonics, spelling and sight words using strategies that promote reading success. The children enjoy using interactive animations, games, songs and rewards to motivate them and make learning to read enjoyable. Reading Express is an additional component of the program that caters for students from Prep to Grade 6 and focuses on building reading vocabulary, fluency and comprehension using books from a digital library. These programs are also accessible for families to use at home.
Numeracy
In the junior school section of the College, students engage in a variety of learning tasks to extend their numeracy skills. They also use Mathletics and MyNumeracy to support learning within the classroom. Students access Mathletics Live to assist with the accuracy of their number fact recall. During this time they can compete against students from around the world or with students from their class or simply compete against the computer. They also engage in various curriculum-aligned Maths content and receive instant feedback which encourages independent learning.
Specialist Classes
At junior school level, the students have access to specialist classes in Art, Humanities, Science, Foods, Technology and Integrated Studies. There is a Personal Learning curriculum provided by the Resilience Project which encourages students to become grateful, empathetic and resilient people.
Developmental Play
Developmental Play is based on rigorous research and theory. It looks at developing the whole child and provides opportunity for active learning from the world around them. It encourages language development, social skills, risk taking, problem solving, creativity and fine-motor skills as well as working towards improving literacy and numeracy skills. Developmental Play provides a range of opportunities for children to explore, investigate and engage in purposeful and meaningful experiences such as using a reading corner, writing activities, role-plays, dress-ups, interest tables, constructions, art, mathematics, science and sensory areas to name a few. It reinforces concepts and tasks being taught formally in the areas of literacy and numeracy in a more relaxed and enjoyable way. Students are asked to reflect on their learning to their peers and teacher.
7-10 Electives program
At 7/10 level students are provided with an electives program where they select 3 subjects to study each semester. Each subject has a two-period allocation per week.
Depending on the staff available each semester, students can select from: Ag & Hort, Art, food, golf, lawn bowling, LOTE, STEM, singing, photography, automotive, and project-based learning.
Senior Pathways – VM
Rainbow P-12 College offers an extensive range of VCE subjects. The College uses the unique process of shaping the subject blockings on the basis of student choice. This allows for small classes that are tailored to meet the career paths of each individual student. If there is a chance that the College cannot offer the subject we explore access to video-conferencing and distant education options.
Senior Pathways – VCE
Rainbow P-12 College offers an extensive range of VCE subjects. The College uses the unique process of shaping the subject blockings on the basis of student choice. This allows for small classes that are tailored to meet the career paths of each individual student. If there is a chance that the College cannot offer the subject we ensure access to video-conferencing and distant education options.
Rainbow P-12 College provides a number of support structures to assist students who need extra support with their learning. These include:
Individual Education Plans
This IEP initiative provides literacy and numeracy teaching support to help ensure students have the literacy and numeracy skills they need for future work or study. Students on an IEP will receive extra support that is specifically designed and based on their precise learning needs. The aim of this program is to increase their knowledge and results in a 12-month period.
Quicksmart
The Quicksmart program is an intervention strategy that addresses both literacy and numeracy outcomes for educationally disadvantaged students. Its purpose is to provide necessary tuition and support to students who are currently experiencing difficulties in these areas within a motivational learning environment. The intervention aims to improve student’s information retrieval times to levels that free working memory capacity from an excessive focus on routine tasks. This allows students to refocus their brain on higher-order mental processing.
MultiLit
MultiLit (Making Up for Lost Time in Literacy) is an intensive one-on-one literacy program for low progress readers. It focuses on accuracy in reading and spelling and uses such strategies as word attack skills, reinforced reading and sight words.
Tutoring
In 2021 the College implemented a Tutoring Program to extend students in particular focus areas including English, Maths, Science and Organisational skills.
Victorian High Ability Program
VHAP is a virtual program, delivered by Virtual School Victoria, focuses on extending and developing students’ mathematical and English abilities.
The VHAP classroom provides students with the opportunity to:
-Explore and express their ideas freely
-Make their own decisions about their work
-Be inspired and challenged by each other
-Gain confidence in their choices and abilities
-Feel excited by their learning.
Fountas & Pinnell Levelled Literacy Intervention (LLI)
The Levelled Literacy Intervention program is a small group supplementary intervention designed for students who find reading and writing difficult. The goal of the intervention is to bring the students to grade level achievement. It is a short term intervention that provides instruction in reading, writing, phonics and word study. It is based on the Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) Text Level Gradient and students are selected using the F&P benchmark testing program.
Rainbow P-12 College has a commitment to the whole student, this includes not only their academic development but also their social and emotional growth. Rainbow P-12 has a variety of student wellbeing programs that combine to support our above commitment.
Berry Street Education Model
The Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) is a practical approach to teaching and learning that enables teachers to increase engagement with students with complex, unmet learning needs and successfully improve all students’ self-regulation, growth and academic achievement. The teaching strategies incorporate evidence-based trauma-aware teaching, positive education, and well-being practices.
BSEM focuses on five domains that achieve academic and personal growth. The five domains of the Berry Street Education Model correspond with child-development capacities that each student must build in order to be ‘ready to learn’. When considering how to best meet the needs of students, we focus on building self-regulatory ability, relational capacity and then nurture a willingness to engage in learning.
Resilience Project
Through presentations, student curriculum, teacher resources and digital content, The Resilience Project’s Education Programs support mental health in the classroom, staffroom and family home. TRP focuses on three key pillars that have been proven to cultivate positive emotion; Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (GEM), with Emotional Literacy being a foundational skill to practice these strategies.
Royal Far West
Royal Far West supports children’s developmental, mental, and behavioural health so they can reach their full potential.
RFW offers health, education, and disability services for country students and their families virtually via Telecare. RFW delivers speech, occupational therapy, and psychological assessment and therapy directly to schools.
The Man Cave & Flourish Girl
At Rainbow P-12 College we believe it is important for students to develop their social and emotional health. To achieve this aim the College has established an ongoing relationship with the organisations The Man Cave and Flourish Girl to provide workshops each year to discuss issues and concerns and to check in on how our students ae travelling.
Better Buddies
The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework is an initiative designed to create a friendly and caring junior school community where bullying is reduced. Through the program students in Prep/1 and 5/6 of the junior school buddy up and learn the values: caring for others, friendliness, respect, valuing differences, including others and responsibility via a number of activities during transition, at the start of the year and throughout the year. The highlight is always the very well catered for Teddy Bears picnic.
Guys & Girls
Guys and Girls is a self-esteem program run by West Wimmera Health Service (WWHS) at Grade 5/6 level. The sessions include activities and discussions on; nutrition, exercise, friendship, bullying, body image, changing negative self-talk into positive self-talk and being an individual. The aim of the program is to develop a positive self-image “I always like being me”. The sessions run fortnightly for 14 weeks.
DET provision
Students may also be referred to DET Student Services for specialised support with speech pathology, counselling or for assessment of their learning needs.