Gone are the days of children being treated as empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge by the teacher.
Fintona Girls’ School understands that students come to school with a variety of ideas, knowledge and a keen sense of curiosity – something that should be nurtured, not overlooked.
Head of Fintona’s Early Learning Centre, Ms Cara Mearns, says her teachers see children as being strong, capable and confident learners.
“They are curious, they ask questions and can share their learning with others,” she says.
“And a rich learning environment fosters that curiosity and sets up foundations for the students to become life-long learners.”
And that is what sets Fintona Girls’ School apart from the rest.
Their quality programs, based on international approaches, teach an inquiry based curriculum.
They are influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach and follow the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, meaning they focus on big ideas.
“It expands children’s horizons and creates learning opportunities that are meaningful for the children,” Ms Mearns said.
“It is more than just looking at a topic, it is a concept driven curriculum and that means that the learning spans multiple disciplines, including music, science, art and drama.”
An example of this is students studying a unit on plants.
One of the concepts for that unit is ‘change’, and students look at plants from a multitude of perspectives.
They plant seeds, harvest and cook vegetables that grow in the garden, and study closely what plants need and what happens as they grow over time.
“Our curriculum is embedded in real life experiences and children have opportunities to see for themselves what really happens,” she said.
“We find when the students can touch, smell and feel what they are learning, they are able to make connections between what they are learning in the classroom and the world around them.”
Since opening their Early Learning Centre in 1995 for both girls and boys, Fintona has built a reputation for providing exceptional programs in a dynamic and stimulating environment.
