Teaching and Learning at The River School
Australian Curriculum
The River School follows the current Australian Curriculum using a Neohumanist framework to inform the way in which we teach. At The River School, a play-based and inquiry approach to learning is embedded within our classrooms.
Our child-centred education is provided in a supportive environment with a strong focus on environmental sciences and the arts. We embrace daily meditation and yoga practices within our Neohumanist school with our core focus being on developing the whole child.
Learning in Action
Effective and deep learning comes from applying concepts through a variety of engaging methods. The River School constantly strives to find inventive ways for our students to embed new concepts through enquiry based learning.
Assessment & Reporting
The River School’s reporting is informed by ACARA and aligns with Australian reporting expectations. Students receive biannual report cards and parent and teacher interviews are offered in alternate terms.
Formative and summative assessment is used to inform teaching and to closely monitor students to ensure they are appropriately supported. Classroom assessment is conducted in a calm and encouraging environment.
Neohumanist Education in Action
At The River School we recognise that our responsibility as educators goes beyond the Australian Curriculum. The goal of a Neohumanist Education is to expand gradually a student’s sense of community: from self, to family, locality, country, humanity, life on earth and ultimately the entire universe.
A Neohumanist education is also an ‘education for the whole child’, that is, for the physical, mental and spiritual child. It is about doing (activity in the world), knowing (learning) and being (entering one’s inner world). A successful education leads to a deep desire for further learning which then continues throughout life. However, there is abundant evidence that the kindergarten and primary school years are supremely important because they lay foundations for the rest of one’s life.
Photo credit: Ketakii Jewson-Brown
Yoga and Meditation
At The River School we consider Yoga and Meditation to be a significant and valued aspect of our curriculum.
We teach meditation and yoga at The River School to:
- Help children utilise their full potential
- Give our minds a “rest”
- Help children find happiness and contentment within, so they don’t feel only material objects can fulfill them
- Create peace and relaxation to enhance the ability to learn
- Create an environment so that children may have a genuine taste of spiritual bliss and peace.
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Every child, from ECC to Year 6, participate in weekly yoga and meditation classes. The Primary School classrooms also incorporate Quiet Time into each and every school day. At the River School we value being able to involve our children in these grounding activities to reap the benefits of obtaining the skills of relaxing the mind and body.Every person’s experience of meditation is different. Some find it easier to go deeper than others. The first rule of the meditator: never compare yourself to others! The second rule of the meditator: set aside all judgements about how ‘good’ you are at meditation – it does not work like that! Meditation helps you to deal with stress and to maintain mental balance.
Some meditation techniques use a mantra, some not. From the point of view of Neohumanist schools, there are a few key factors that are considered important:
- The technique should acknowledge a spiritual purpose. The physical and mental health benefits of meditation are a bonus!
- The technique should acknowledge the four skills of sense withdrawal, concentration, contemplation and absorption in the infinite, although these need not be introduced explicitly.
- The technique should use a mantra. A mantra serves two purposes. It is a device that helps to focus the mind. And second, the mantra must convey an idea that has no bound or limitation.
The Arts Curriculum
Art at The River School incorporate a revolutionary pedagogical approach to developing problem solving abilities, critical thinking skills, and innovative ideas that can be transferred to other subject areas.
The key point of difference is The River School uses art to closely align, compliment and deepen the children’s learning in the classroom. There’s also plenty of room for collaboration with local artists, art shows, galleries and even parents.
Where some schools are cutting back on the Arts because there’s so much pressure to go to the academia – maths and literacy – The River School, along with recent research, believe that the more children are exposed to art in the curriculum, the more their maths and literacy abilities increase alongside their sense of wellbeing.
The River School Arts Curriculum encompasses Visual Arts, Media Studies, Music, Drama and Dance.
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Latest school events
There are always so many exciting and enriching events and activities happening at The River School. Take a look at some of the latest news from around school and beyond...
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Latest school events
There are always so many exciting and enriching events and activities happening at The River School. Take a look at some of the latest news from around school and beyond...