A message from our School Captains for 2021- Victoria and Zara.
Hello we are Zara and Victoria the 2021 School Captains. We have been at Dookie PS since we started in prep and it has been the best and most memorable experience ever. Even though Dookie Primary is a small school you will soon realise that everyone here are your friends. We have made so many friends and our school has the best teachers. Our teachers believe in us and everything we put our minds to. We are so grateful to have such caring and awesome teachers.
Our 5 school values are:
Care for ourselves
Care for each other
Care for our school
Care for our learning
Care for our equipment
When you join our school you will always feel welcomed and you will fit in right away. Each year we go on school excursions, school camps, compete in sports. Dookie PS is the right fit for everyone.
Come and experience Dookie PS for yourself.
Reading
Dookie Primary School prides itself on delivering quality educational programs that are tailored to the individual needs of every student. School starts at 8:55am with our Reading block starting at 9am with the teacher to starting the formal instruction of the session. Reading blocks consist of teacher prepared activities that are designed for your child to work on skills that are at their next point of need. Students at Dookie Primary School are always required to work at their zone of proximal development to allow them to develop their skills at an effective and appropriate pace. A strong focus is placed on the CAFÉ approach to reading (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary) these skills have been identified as the key understandings that underpin successful reading development.
Writing
Writing block starts at 10am. Students begin this session with the SMART spelling program before moving on to the daily writing program. During writing sessions students will work on their own, in pairs or in small groups that are designed to increase each individual students writing ability. Our approach to writing at Dookie PS is supported by the 6+1 Traits writing program which breaks the writing process down into 7 sections allowing students to focus on developing their writing where they need it most.
The M100W (Magic 100 Words) are the 100 frequently occurring words that make up, on average, half the words found in reading. Learning these words makes learning to read much easier. There are seven levels of words: Gold, Blue, Red, Green, Orange, Indigo and Violet. Your child will be provided with a word list that we ask you to practise each night at home after you listen to their reader. When you child has learnt these words, they will be tested and moved onto the next set of words. Initially you will need to read these words to your child and begin with a small number of words. Flash cards and games such as memory can be a fun way of learning to read the words.
Home readers—as part of reading development it is beneficial for children to read regularly. Home readers are designed as a homework task and are sent home daily. All books are levelled and studies have shown that students who participate in reading regularly have significantly higher rates of development in their reading accuracy and fluency as well as their ability to comprehend information from text a greater levels than students who do not read as frequently.
Reading Eggs is a computer based program that students can work with at home. Each child will be provided with a login and password when they start school. Students are encouraged to access this great resource as often as they can.
Numeracy
The students from Dookie Primary School won the National Mathletics Competition for 2017 which was a result of every student’s participation and confidence in their mathematical ability. At Dookie Primary School we rely on accurately tracking each individual students progress. Our classes for numeracy understanding give all of our students the opportunity to extend their understanding and progress at their own pace. Sessions allow for fluid grouping of students with both mixed and like abilities to work with a range of teachers to develop and refine their understanding of mathematical concepts.
We focus on using a range of hands on techniques such as using concrete materials, teacher guided learning, digital programs such as Essential Assessment and Mathletics, as well as, open ended tasks to allow our students to reach their full potential.
Classroom teachers develop their individual programs that focus on all of the strands of mathematics within their own classrooms. These subjects lend themselves to being hands on and fun. Topics such as 3D shapes are often taught alongside kitchen sessions where children can apply and further develop their knowledge. The staff at Dookie Primary School regularly have visiting teachers from a range of schools in North East Victoria visit our classrooms to further develop their understanding of quality mathematical approaches to teaching and learning. We believe that by sharing our teaching methods we can impact the learning beyond our own school and improve educational outcomes for a broader range of students.
Mathletics is an online resource that your child can access from home. Teachers will set tasks for students to work through to practice and improve their skills. Students have the added competitive bonus of receiving points and certificates for completing tasks. The more they participate the more points they receive. Students are provided with a login and password when they start school.
AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language)
At Dookie PS our students have the opportunity to learn a language. Sign languages, much like spoken languages, have a different languages and dialects for various countries and regions around the world. AUSLAN is the language of Australia’s Deaf community. During these sessions students will not only have the opportunity to learn how to sign and communicate in AUSLAN but they will also have the opportunity to learn about the Deaf community, it’s culture, history and how AUSLAN is similar or different to other sign languages from around the world.
Kitchen Garden
Dookie Primary School has an extensive garden to supports our students to make healthy food in our kitchen. Students have weekly sessions in the garden where they learn about how to grow, harvest and use their own fruit and vegetables. We also have a large range of pick and eat fruit trees on our grounds such as mulberries, strawberries, mandarins, oranges, pomegranates and snow peas. Students regularly will be seen during our breaks picking fresh produce straight from the garden for a snack. We grow all of our fruit and vegetables from seed and keep our gardens in line with seasonal crops. Our students regularly set up garden produce stalls on a Friday afternoon to sell excess stock including watermelons, pumpkin, zucchini, tomatoes, eggs and fresh and dried herbs just to name a few.