Physical Education

The Physical Education program at BSDS supports students to move in as many ways as possible.

By participating in a range of games, physical activities, and sports, students develop their confidence and ability to perform a range of different movements and skills, which in turn improves their strength, endurance, and coordination.

Students are supported to learn how to participate in games alongside their peers, learning about teamwork, fair play, and following the rules of a game. The PE specialists at BSDS collaborate with Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, and Physiotherapists, to ensure that activities are functional, provide students with a better understanding of how their bodies move, and are catered to the individual needs of students.

Some of the special PE programs running at BSDS include:

Perceptual Motor Program (PMP): PMP is a station based program aimed to teach Early Years students about waiting and turn taking whilst developing fundamental movement skills like catching, throwing, jumping, rolling, skipping, crawling, balancing and climbing.

Specialised Coaching: This program brings in specialised coaches from different sporting organisations to teach students about a range of different sports. Coaches teach sport specific skills as students participate in games.   This program provides students with the opportunity to practise cooperation skills with their peers in a fun and exciting sporting environment.

Swimming: Every year we run a school-wide swimming program that gives our students the opportunity to develop their skills whilst out in the community.  Students learn about water safety and swimming skills from qualified AUSTSWIM instructors. A significant focus within this program is providing students with the time and support needed to develop their dressing skills as they put on and take off swimming attire and their school uniform in the change rooms.  It is always a week filled with fun and learning, from which students can take home a new set of skills to enjoy when out in the community with their families.

The Art program provides students with regular opportunities to learn through the exploration and creative use of a diverse range of materials.

Art activities provide sensory stimulation to promote learning and development through fun and engaging experiences. Sensory experiences provide open-ended opportunities where the process is more important than the product - how children use the materials is much more important than what they make with them. Language development is also supported whilst making art, often by just talking about what is being created. Art provides opportunities to learn words for colours, shapes and actions.

Social and communication skills are also developed when working with a peer, a member of staff or within a group and through the sharing of materials and tools. Art is a great vehicle for promoting achievement. Showcasing student work can enhance self-esteem and contribute to a sense of inclusion. The development of creative thinking skills and expressing individuality are important self-esteem builders. 

At the centre of the Performing Arts curriculum is communication allowing students to connect with and understand their peers in new ways.

Literacy

Broadmeadows SDS provides some specialised individual and small group literacy programs for selected students.

Comprehension and reading for meaning provide a strong focus for the literacy program and students reflect on their reading by asking and answering questions. Students are encouraged to use technology to increase their knowledge on writing topics and as a medium to publish or present their written works. All of these literacy programs are tailored to the individual needs of the students and relate back to their PSG goals. These programs include intensive letter and sound recognition, with a focus on phonics to assist with reading and writing.

Students practise basic reading to build an understanding of sentence structure and to increase sight word recognition and general vocabulary. They engage in language games and activities as well as a range of fine motor activities to improve hand-eye coordination and promote handwriting skills. Students are encouraged to share personal experiences to build confidence in oral language and social conversational skills. They also record their experiences in writing journals where they use wordlists and dictionaries to assist with spelling.

RDA

Riding Develops Abilities at Oaklands Junction is a program accessed by some students weekly.

Included physical benefits:
• Improved balance
• Strengthened muscles
• Stretching muscles
• Increased range of motion in joints
• Sensory integration

DIR Floortime

Learn to Play

The aim of Learn to Play Therapy is to build the spontaneous pretend play ability of children, and to give a child the ability to play by him/herself and with others.

As children grow in their ability, they generalise their play ability skills to home, friends and school settings.

Learn to Play focuses on pretend play, as this type of play is the most complex and mature form of play. Pretend play also impacts on language (particularly narrative language), social interaction, and emotional integration of the child’s experiences.

The play skills that are the focus of Learn to Play Therapy are:
• Ability to spontaneously self-initiate play
• Sequencing play actions logically
• Using objects as something else (object substitution or symbols in play)
• Engaging with a doll or teddy character outside of themselves
• Integrating their play so a clear play script is evident
• Role play
• Socially interacting using play