This year focuses on consolidating essential literacy and numeracy skills, developing greater independence, and deepening understanding across all learning areas. Through explicit, structured teaching and regular practice, students master more complex reading and writing skills, extend their mathematical thinking, and explore the world with increasing curiosity. Year 1 learners develop resilience, collaboration skills, and a strong sense of themselves as successful students ready to tackle new challenges.
English – Students build fluency through systematic phonics, decodable texts and increasing engagement with authentic literature such as picture books, poetry and simple information texts. They read and view a wide range of texts to identify main ideas, recognise familiar language patterns and make connections to their own experiences. As writers, they create short texts for a variety of purposes, including descriptions, narratives, poetry, procedures, personal responses and information reports, forming sentences with appropriate punctuation and growing vocabulary. Oral language skills continue to develop through conversations, discussions and sharing ideas with different audiences.
Mathematics – Students build confidence working with numbers beyond two digits as they deepen their understanding of place value, skip counting and number patterns. They explore different ways to represent, partition and combine numbers, and solve addition and subtraction problems using a range of strategies, hands-on materials and simple diagrams. Through practical activities, they compare lengths, masses and capacities using informal units, and begin measuring in consistent ways. Students classify and transform two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional objects, recognise them in their environment and follow simple directions to describe movement and position. They also collect, sort and represent data through simple surveys, using their observations to explain the patterns they notice. Across all learning experiences, mathematical reasoning grows through explicit teaching, problem-solving and playful, inquiry-based exploration.
Humanities – In History, students explore personal and family histories, examining changes over time and sequencing events. They investigate how individuals and families have changed, and the significance of special days and commemorations. In Geography, students define places and describe natural and constructed features at a local scale, including weather and seasons. They identify how people are connected to different places, explain the value of places, and describe ways places can be cared for. Students collect and record geographical data, represent information in tables and labelled maps, and describe location using geographical terms.
Health and Physical Education – Students continue to develop their fundamental movement skills, refining actions, including rolling, leaping, skipping, galloping and dodging, and object control skills, such as striking and kicking objects from the ground or that are moving towards them. They learn simple ways to make healthy choices, understand how their bodies move and stay safe, and participate in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities. Through games and active play, students build confidence, coordination and enjoyment of physical activity.
Science – Through structured investigations, students explore how living things grow and change, everyday materials and their properties, and how light and sound are produced. Year 1 scientists ask questions, make predictions, conduct simple experiments, and record observations. They develop scientific vocabulary and understanding of cause and effect.
Social and Emotional Learning – Students learn to identify and manage their emotions, practice active listening, and use strategies for calming down when upset. They explore what makes a good friend, learn to work cooperatively in groups, and develop problem-solving skills for resolving conflicts peacefully. Students practice showing empathy, understanding different perspectives, and making responsible choices that consider others’ feelings.
Technologies – Students use digital tools with greater independence for creating, communicating, and accessing information. They learn about algorithms, following and creating simple sequences of instructions. In Design Technologies, students plan, create, and evaluate solutions to design challenges, selecting appropriate materials and techniques while developing problem-solving capabilities.
The Arts – Students develop artistic skills in Visual Arts through drawing, painting, printmaking, and construction, exploring color, line, shape, and texture. In Performing Arts, they create and perform drama pieces using voice, movement, and props; participate in music making through singing, playing instruments, and responding to music; and explore dance through movement sequences and creative expression. Students learn to respond to and appreciate their own and others’ artworks.
Our core learning areas are taught using structured, evidence-based practices aligned with the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 and the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0). Lessons follow the Mindalk Instructional Model with a clear learning pathway, with explicit teaching, guided practice, feedback, and opportunities to apply knowledge. Teachers differentiate instruction and adjust supports so every student can access and extend their learning. As students move through year levels, their knowledge and skills build in complexity, ensuring strong progression and deep understanding across all core subjects.
Year 1 Party Night is a much-loved milestone that gives students the excitement of a special after-hours school experience. Children enjoy shared activities, music and a celebratory dinner with peers and teachers. The evening helps build confidence, independence and a sense of belonging as students participate in a memorable event designed just for them. Party Night is a joyful highlight of the year and a stepping stone towards future camp experiences.
