Learning in Primary

Welcome to NBCS Primary
– We Love Learning

Our mission to provide Excellence in Education, Christianity in Action, is realised in our vibrant, creative and inspiring learning environment.

At NBCS Primary our students are well-known, well-loved and well-taught. Students here on our campus are encouraged to make connections, think together and question their world, while developing firm foundations for a life of growth and discovery – to Love Learning.

Nestled in the bushland of Terrey Hills, NBCS Primary is a thriving coeducational learning environment, providing a comprehensive, inclusive education within a safe and nurturing Christian community.

Excellence in Learning

As our Mission states, we strive for excellence in all areas of learning. Our Primary motto, Northern Beaches = Excellence, or NB=E, reflects our aim for high academic outcomes, for our students to explore and grow their gifts, to take risks, upholding our values of Gratitude, Courage, Respect, Compassion and Commitment in their interactions with others.

We’re teaching our students the tools, skills and flexibility they need for the journey ahead. We know that journey will look different for every student, but our hope that each individual learning journey will be shaped by curiosity and discovery so that students can connect the known to the unknown. We want our students to approach the complexity and volatility of the future world with confidence and the required problem solving and critical thinking skills they will need along the way, to be resilient, resourceful and agile learners.

Committed to Improve Learning

We are committed to improving student learning in all aspects of school life, especially in literacy and numeracy. To help us achieve this we:

Provide a Christian worldview to help students understand the world, as well as their purpose and place in it.

Use assessment and data to drive conversations with our students to understand how they best learn and identify their strengths, gifts and talents.

Develop a shared language and framework to articulate what successful learning at NBCS looks like.

Create and maintain an attractive and stimulating physical environment that supports and promotes learning, positive relationships, resilience, health and well-being.

Implementation of research based interventions to support and enrich student learning.

Value and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, perspectives and histories.

Use a teaching model that includes a blend of explicit instruction and building mastery for students.

Following the NESA Curriculum, our key learning areas in Primary include English, Mathematics, PDHPE, HSIE, Science & Technology, Music and French. Within this framework we are flexible in our delivery of lessons to ensure content is exciting, enriching and engaging. Our specialist teachers deliver PDHPE, Music and French lessons, providing a depth and richness to our campus and often give us opportunities to connect with Secondary students and teachers within our learning community.

All in all, our hope is that every child who comes to NBCS loves learning, feels connected and part of a larger learning community that is able to make valuable contributions to the world around them. We hope that all of our students know that God has a purpose for their life and that they can fulfil their potential and capacity. This is an excellent foundation to build in Primary for our students so that transition into our Secondary school is able to be navigated smoothly.

Love Learning at NBCS

Staged-based approach

NBCS provides co-teaching models within our staged-based learning spaces to enhance the two-year NESA Curriculum cycle. Collaborating closely, our Primary team provide a comprehensive program, developing extensive teaching and learning activities across all curriculum areas. Based on current research NBCS is proud to provide learning enrichment across the diverse range of abilities of our students so that they feel confident and capable to take part in their learning.

Our Primary staged-based classes enable greater flexibility in learning, allowing us to group students of similar ability together, for more focused learning. Differentiated grouping includes mixed ability, streaming, gender based, year group and friendship, encourages high levels of engagement and motivation as well as providing opportunities for extra support, or extension and challenge.

Our stages are structured as follows:

Kindergarten
Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)
Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)
Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6)

Learning Enrichment and Support

Working alongside our teachers, our Learning Enrichment team provides research-based interventions and collaborative programming to meet the diverse learning needs of our students, both supporting and enriching learning opportunities.

Our team includes specialist teachers, occupational and speech therapists who support our teachers to assess and identify needs of our students and work one-on-one or in groups with these students in extension or learning support classes.

Our Primary academic extension programs include extension reading in Stage 1, extension writing in Years 3-6 and extension Mathematics from Stage 1. There are many competition opportunities for students to be selected to represent NBCS, including the Ethics Olympiad, Da Vinci Decathlon, Tournament of the Minds and interschool debating.

A continual school journey

The learning journey of your child is greatly enhanced when your child is confident about who they are, where they belong and where they are going to. Starting at a young age at NBCS automatically prepares your child for the journey ahead. They will have friends who do this journey with them, they will know where to go and who the teachers are that love and support them.

As a thriving, coeducational K-12 school, we love and appreciate our shared spaces and resources. Co-habiting spaces enables younger students to build positive relationships with older students, which makes transitioning to Secondary less daunting and more exciting.

Purpose-built facilities and technology

Our commitment to ‘Excellence in Education’ is reflected in the stunning design of NBCS learning spaces. Purposefully designed to bring our learning values to life, spaces are flexible, open and dynamic, inspiring our students to learn with greater agility and engagement.

We employ leading educational technology to integrate with our learning program. During their time at NBCS, students will have extensive opportunities to create, share and engage with others through powerful tools and services. Our dedicated Primary online learning environment, Seesaw (Kindy and Stage 1), Google Classroom (Stage 2) and CANVAS (Stage 3), is the digital ‘learning space’ for students, with projects, activities, information and resources connected to each Stage’s learning programs.

We also share with parents the responsibility to educate students to be safe, thoughtful users of technology and to learn to communicate within and beyond our community. This integrated approach prepares students for the reality of living in a digital and globally connected world.