Earthwatch Australia Teach Live

Toongabbie Primary School is situated in a rural community 20km northeast of Traralgon in Gippsland. The current enrolment is 73 students. The school serves the local community and has pride in providing a comprehensive curriculum for its students. The school engages well with the community. It has an active school council and excellent parent involvement in a range of school activities.

The school has a very experienced staff with many individual skills and talents that are used to enhance student learning. The staff, working as a team, assists in the education of the whole child. A positive rapport between staff and students is evident. Literacy and Numeracy skills have a very high focus at Toongabbie Primary School, and the school has initiated many programs to increase student achievement in these areas.

Science is very prominent at Toongabbie Primary. The school has an ongoing relationship with the Central Gippsland Bug Blitz Group. Many hands on and student initiated activities and investigations are encouraged and developed. This year students are being introduced to Earthwatch and its programs and research with particular emphasis on Climate Change and the research being done in China.

The school is proud to offer its students the opportunity to learn a language other than English. This year marks the initiation of German as our specialist area of study for our students.

There is a fully functional automated library with four computers for student access, catalogue access from classrooms, a school netbook pod and student access to 12 other computers in the classrooms. A comprehensive Information Technology program is run throughout the classes, allowing the students to access and develop many computer skills. Robotics in the senior years gives them a means to develop programming skills.

The ‘You Can Do It’ program helps children achieve Social-Emotional-Behavioural Well-Being and is one of the main focuses of our curriculum. Students are encouraged to develop their social skills and are given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. The school has an active Junior School Council, one of their main responsibilities being that of fundraising to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital, State Schools Relief and the school’s Indonesian foster child.

A comprehensive camping and excursion program goes hand in hand with the schools social and humanities programs.