For full information regarding learning areas in Primary and Secondary, please navigate to their respective pages.
Prep
At MBC Prep is considered our first year of school. We have two Prep classes. Each Prep room has twenty four girls and two teachers; one a fully qualified early childhood teacher; the second a qualified, full time teacher aide.
The girls work in very spacious purpose-built Prep classrooms with their own bathrooms and locker areas. They share a beautiful outside area, equipped with sandpit, climbing fort and a fairy garden, which is a lovely cool forested area to play in.
Each day at Prep, the girls are involved in learning opportunities which support and enhance their physical, cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual growth. The children are able to select activities ranging from painting, drawing and collage to woodworking and clay modelling. They also have access to a large block area and home corner, as well as construction, computing and puzzle areas. Music, dancing and stories are also a part of our day. Early literacy and numeracy skills are practised daily. Outdoors, the children can climb, run, jump and dig. We have a vegetable garden and water play areas to compliment our sandpit and climbing frames. We are part of the Primary School and visit the music, religion, library and physical education spaces for specialist lessons. A combination of both group and individual experiences are available as children are encouraged to interact with their peers and investigate the world around them by using concrete materials in the ways they choose.
The children are not restricted to a regimented timetable. Our program provides plenty of time, space and materials and the girls are encouraged to learn through play. Teachers take an active role in the play experiences to support and extend the learning. In this way, our girls become active learners, critical thinkers and are prepared well for their Primary and Secondary schooling.
The Moreton Bay College Prep aims to provide a relaxed, caring, Christian environment which will support learning through play and will allow children to grow and develop at their own pace.
Partnerships between home and school are actively promoted to ensure the best possible educational and social outcomes for each child.
We believe:
- Prep is an integral part of the lifelong learning process
- children learn best by being involved in meaningful experiences in a flexible learning environment
- children learn when they are intrinsically motivated and have access to quality materials and resources
- teachers need to support and encourage learning at all levels
- collaboration and communication with families supports the learning process.
Moreton Bay College is renowned for providing well rounded educational programs, for promoting academic, sporting and cultural excellence. Prep aims to follow these traditions and maintain the high standards through our innovative program and quality early childhood practices.
The key components of an effective Prep program are: understanding children, building partnerships, establishing flexible learning environments, what children learn and the contexts for learning. Our program is developed with these principles in mind and incorporates the Early Learning Areas of: social and personal learning, health and physical learning, language learning and communication, early mathematical understandings and active learning processes. (Early Years Curriculum Guidelines, QSA, 2006)
As a result of this integrated approach to curriculum, Prep students will learn to: negotiate and cooperate, create and imagine, solve problems, talk about ideas, investigate their world, try out different community roles, use literacy and numeracy, make plans and carry them out.
The Prep staff are involved in: planning, interacting, reflecting, monitoring and assessing.
The Prep program operates from 8.45am - 2.15pm (Monday to Friday) with classrooms opened each morning from 8.30am. There is an Outside School Hours Care program available for students of Moreton Bay College (Prep – Year 7). Before and After School Care operates Monday to Friday during Term Time. Vacation Care is available during school holidays and pupil free days.
We seek to establish positive partnerships with parents through regular communication. Prep Daily News is sent via email daily and Prep newsletters are sent fortnightly. Parent Evenings and Individual Interviews are conducted throughout the year to supplement the communication process. Early in Term Two the girls receive their first report in the form of an Early Learning Record. Parent/Teacher interviews are held in Term 3 with the girls’ second report available at these meetings. Student Portfolios are also sent home for perusal and comments throughout the year.
The girls visit the Moreton Bay Boys College Prep for play days across the year and the boys reciprocate by visiting us. We explore our own wonderful campus and have community education and cultural shows visit us.
Primary
Growing and learning is inevitable in a rich and stimulating environment. The students at Moreton Bay College are part of a unique learning community. We are all learners…students, teachers and parents, in our daily life and communicating how and what we learn helps us to be reflective and set goals for ourselves.
The girls are central to every decision we make in the Primary Years. Each year we aim to provide opportunities that offer experiences to grow in all areas of learning…academically, spiritually, physically, socially, emotionally and culturally.
We continue to ensure a well rounded approach to ensure that the girls are equipped with the knowledge and understanding, the skills and the attitudes to confront the issues and challenges that evolve in daily life…both now and in the future. An authentic comprehensive curriculum, that teaches for understanding is essential if we are to look beyond memory and recall as a measure of learning. Excellence is certainly about more than IQ. We must look to the ability to transfer knowledge, collaborate and negotiate, create and innovate, organize and motivate.
In our academic program our girls continue to demonstrate success and this is evident in their daily activities and confirmed in external measures such as NAPLAN. Moreton Bay College continues to achieve highly in this area, with results consistently above the state average. However, this is only a point in time test that is developed by educators who are removed from the MBC culture and context. The real evidence of learning is in the quality of the communication of understanding, as the girls respond to everyday tasks.
Our high quality arts program has enabled students to have a variety of experience to explore their talent and interest in Visual Arts, Music and Drama. We have enjoyed a variety of performances, concerts and exhibits where girls have been able to experience and value growth in the area of how we express ourselves.
There is much research providing evidence that there are direct connections to increased brain function and physical movement. We have enjoyed a rich sporting environment that is evident in our curriculum program, our Andrew’s Cup inter-schools competition and our broad co-curricular opportunities. The girls are very lucky to have the open spaces provided and the chance to ‘have-a-go’ at such a variety of physical endeavours.
Recently we have had many opportunities to challenge our thinking about the way we approach the teaching and learning program. As a staff we have made a commitment to being reflective of our practice in the endeavour to deliver 'best practice' in teaching and learning. We have a whole school curriculum program which reflects State and National guidelines, allowing us to ensure a cohesive progression and sequence of learning for the girls as they journey through the Primary Years.
The teachers in the Primary School at Moreton Bay College have a strong collegial environment and a positive and enthusiastic approach to excellence in teaching and learning. As vital partners in the education of the girls, our aim is to have strong and open avenues of communication to ensure we can work together to maximize the learning potential of each individual. We truly value parent contribution in all forms, and with the girls in our hearts, we aim to celebrate the uniqueness of each individual.
Secondary
The lower Secondary curriculum (Years 8-10) is framed around nine learning areas: English, Mathematics, Science, Studies of Society and the Environment, The Arts, Personal Development, Technology, Languages and Business.
