Curriculum

At Mary Glowrey, we are committed to caring for every student by teaching them a clear and consistent behaviour curriculum. This curriculum is designed to help students understand and live out the ‘Mary Glowrey Way’—a set of routines and expectations that guide positive behaviour at all times.

We believe that behaviour should be taught just like any other subject. By explicitly teaching the behaviours we want to see, we ensure that students know what is expected and feel supported in meeting those expectations.

At Mary Glowrey, this approach will foster an inclusive and respectful environment where being prepared to learn and standing up for what is right becomes the norm. Our goal is to create a community where every student feels safe, valued, and ready to thrive.

At Mary Glowrey, we are committed to providing every student with a high-quality education that meets the requirements of the Victorian Curriculum. Our curriculum will set clear expectations for what students should learn across all subject areas, ensuring consistency and excellence in learning. Our school will not only enact the Victorian Curriculum for all students, but we also design our teaching approach to be knowledge-rich. This means we focus on building strong foundations of essential knowledge and skills that help students understand the world deeply and think critically. Our framework for delivery will use domain-specific pedagogy—teaching methods tailored to the unique nature of each subject—so that learning is meaningful, engaging, and prepares students for success in future learning and life.

Reading is the gateway to meaning and knowledge, and at Mary Glowrey, we are committed to giving every child the strongest possible start. Our reading instruction is grounded in evidence and built around the “Big 6” essential components of literacy. Students will develop phonemic awareness —the ability to hear and work with sounds in words—and phonics, learning how letters and sounds connect so they can confidently decode words. We will nurture fluency so children read smoothly and with expression, while building a rich vocabulary to expand their understanding of language. Most importantl, we will teach comprehension strategies so students can make sense of what they read and enjoy the meaning behind the text. Our teachers use ongoing assessment and feedback to guide learning, and we strengthen memory through review and retrieval practices. By embedding these principles, we create a learning culture where every child can flourish—becoming confident, articulate readers prepared for success in school and life.

At Mary Glowrey, our mathematics instruction will be designed to embed several evidence-based practices from the MACS Vision for Instruction into every lesson:

Explicit Instruction: We will clearly teach new mathematical concepts, using step-by-step modellingand guided practice, especially when introducing more complex problem-solving strategies.

Concrete Materials: Students will use hands-on materials and visual representations to explore, manipulate, and grasp abstract mathematical ideas.

Focus on Number Sense and Fluency: We will dedicate time to teaching students what quantities and numbers mean (number sense) and ensuring they achieve fluency in basic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Problem-Solving Strategies: We will explicitly teach and encourage students to read problems, organise their thinking, and explain their work using precise mathematics language in both oral and written forms. This ensures students understand the 'why' and 'how' of mathematics.

At Mary Glowrey, we believe that a well-rounded education goes beyond the core subjects. That’swhy our specialist classes will provide students with rich learning experiences in the Arts, Science, Humanities, and Health and Human Development. Through the Arts, students will explore creativity and self-expression in music, visual art, and performance. In Science, they will investigate the wonders of the natural world, develop problem-solving skills, and learn how things work. Humanities will help students understand people, cultures, and history, fostering curiosity about the world and their place in it. Health and Human Development will empower students to make healthy choices and understand physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. These specialist programs are designed to spark interest, build confidence, and nurture talents, ensuring every child has opportunities to discover and grow in areas beyond the classroom.