An energising junior curriculum, taught by specialists, inspires curiosity at every step.
The Head and Deputy of the Junior School are hands on, working alongside class teachers across the grades.
Additional teachers join class teachers to teach literacy and numeracy across each grade. This extra resource means smaller, fluid groups for targeted teaching of specific literacy and numeracy skills.
Specialist teachers bring their expertise and enthusiasm to Languages, Library, Music, Sport and Visual Art lessons, right from Kindergarten. This means children experience a variety of teaching styles and classroom teachers have time off class to collaborate, assess and liaise with parents.
A coordinator for each grade leads collaborative programming and supervises their team of teachers on the grade, assuring quality and consistency of the learning experience.
The curriculum is enriched with an evolving range of excursions and incursions that make learning real and relevant.
Parents can make an appointment to see their child’s class teacher at any time.
Numeracy
We combine a variety of programs and a mix of hands on equipment, concrete learning materials, visual tools and integrated digital technology to get junior students excited about Mathematics.
Literacy
Juniors are immersed in a literacy environment through a variety of reading and writing programs. Specialist library teachers nurture a love of reading, develop information literacy and teach enquiry based learning skills during a weekly visit to the library.
Art
Art opens our youngest minds to higher order thinking skills associated with creativity and is taught by specialist Art teachers right from Kindy (60 minutes per week). Students investigate a wide range of media, which often directly relate to the topics being explored with their class teacher. A purpose built junior art room and kiln offer lots of opportunities for junior artists to get creative.
Languages other than English (LOTE)
Children learn French from K to 4 and Japanese in Years 5 to 6 (30 minutes per week in Kindergarten and 60 minutes per week in Years 1 to 6). Specialist teachers focus on cultural aspects as well as gaining a grasp of languages in a fun and interactive way.
Music
Music is taught by specialist teachers for 60 minutes per week K to 2 and 90 minutes in Years 3 to 6. Music classes incorporate influences from philosophies of Kodaly, Orff and others. Students play instruments, sing and move to music as well as listening to various styles and creating their own.
The instrumental program runs in Year 3 (strings) and Year 4 (band) where every student learns to play their own instrument in small group tutorials and ensemble lessons. In Years 5 and 6 students perform on classroom instruments including percussion, keyboard, guitar and singing, as well as more advanced listening and use of laptops for composition and research activities.
Find out more about additional extensive cocurricular Music programs including a wide range of ensembles and optional private music lessons.
Outdoor Education
The Infants Camp in K to 2 prepares children for our dynamic Outdoor Education program of annual camps which is led by professional outdoor educators accompanied by CCGS teachers.
Personal Development, Health & Physical Education (PDHPE)
All students participate in house sport carnivals and have a Health lesson (60 minutes) each fortnight and a PDHPE lesson (60 minutes) with specialist PDHPE teachers every week.
K to 2 also come together once a week for a rotation of sport games with their classroom teachers to encourage team spirit and participation.
Years 3 to 6 enjoy Friday afternoon sport, on and off site, usually with professional external coaches, where they rotate between two sport codes per term including:
- Dance
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Hockey
- Ice-skating
- Martial arts
- Netball
- Rock climbing
- Pilates
- Rugby
- Surf Life Saving
- Swimming
Find out more about additional extensive cocurricular Sport programs that start right from Kindergarten.
History and Geography
The class teacher explores enquiry driven understanding of places and spaces. Kindergarten often start with their family history and where they live, with learning expanded to encompass a whole world view by the time students reach Year 6. A focus on indigenous culture and heritage is interwoven into learning from the youngest years, igniting an interest in Australian history.
Science and Technology
Class teachers foster a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world around them through lessons that build enquiry and problem solving skills. Students develop knowledge of the natural world, the built environment and new digital technologies, as well as the importance of using evidence and reason to engage with scientific and technological ideas.
Digital Literacy
CCGS is a technology rich learning environment. Learn more about our K to 12 Digital Literacy curriculum and the use of digital technology in the classroom.
Learning across the curriculum
Literacy and numeracy are often integrated across the curriculum together with an understanding of contemporary issues and the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours for success identified by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). Often a thematic focus like rainforests or cultural identity will involve learning in literacy and numeracy, creative arts, science, geography, history, science and technology.