Primary School

At Port Vila International School learning in our Primary School focuses on building critical and creative thinkers who will become life long learners and active global citizens.

Using the Australian Curriculum as the basis for teaching and learning, students experience learning opportunities in a range of subjects including English, Mathematics, Science, HASS, Design and Digital Technologies, HPE and The Arts.

Our students are offered a range of rich and varied learning experiences in and outside of the classroom. These include co-curricular activities of student leadership activities, swimming lessons, house and syndicate sports, cultural days, Book Week and many more.

For further information regarding the Australian Curriculum, please visit https://www.acara.edu.au/

COMPOSITE MODEL

PVIS utilises the composite model of primary school classes from Year 1 to Year 6.  A copy of the 2019 information letter to parents is available here

We have:

• 1 x Founddation class (not composite)
• 2 x Year 1&2 classes
• 3 x Year 3&4 classes
• 3 x Year 5&6 classes

We value the composite model because:

• it suits the diverse range of students at PVIS (age, ethnicity, prior education system, English as an Additional Language for the child and/or parent) and their needs by supporting those that need additional assistance, and providing the opportunity for extension and modelling for all
• the ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority) curriculum is mapped across stages (ie 1&2, 3&4, 5&6) which mean that teaching and learning programs directly align
• it allows for more effective differentiation in our diverse context (“when a teacher plans a lesson that adjusts either the content being discussed, the process used to learn or the product expected from students to ensure that learners at different starting points can receive the instruction they need to grow and succeed”);
• it supports and ensures strong collaborative practice between teachers as same year teachers have set time programmed to work together (somewhat offsetting our limited capacity to access teacher professional development, which has been further exacerbated by Covid-19)
• the model was well suited to the unique needs of 2020 and our response to Covid-19
• it is a decision informed by evidence and best practice that puts our students at the centre of decision making (Collective Teacher Efficacy), highlighting that PVIS is a school aiming to be the best and supporting their teachers to achieve that. This:
  • was driven by the teachers of the children, who have also implemented the approach recognising and honouring their expertise, agency and commitment to their students.
  • (Professor John Hattie) Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) is the collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students (“the belief that it us that causes learning, not just the students”). Collective Teacher Efficacy is strongly correlated with student achievement. Prof Hattie research ranks CTE as the “new number one” influence related to student achievement (per Hattie, the effect size of CTE is more than two times bigger than feedback and three times bigger than the effect of classroom management)