Main Curriculum Focus
Term 2 Focus Areas: HASS (Economics & Business), Mathematics, Design & Technologies, Health, Civics & Citizenship, Visual Arts
Cross-curriculum Priorities: Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia, Sustainability
Term 3 Focus Areas: HASS (Geography & Civics), Science (Biological Sciences), English, Visual Arts, Technologies,
Cross-curriculum Priorities: Sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
Rostrata Primary School, an Independent Public School with more than 900 students, is a welcoming and vibrant learning community where students are nurtured, engaged, and challenged. Their school ethos is embodied in the motto C.A.R.E.: Co-operation, Achievement, Respect, and Endeavour. Every child at Rostrata Primary School is supported to reach their potential, becoming resilient, independent, and lifelong learners in an inclusive and empowering environment. The school places a strong focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), with the Arts highly valued across the community, providing students with rich opportunities for creative expression, collaboration, and deep learning.
Project overview:
TERM 2 Market Matters: What We Need to Feed a Nation
In this integrated project, Year 5 students explore the difference between needs and wants through the lens of food, culture, and trade. Students investigated how food markets operate in Australia and Asia, and considered how supply shortages, economics, and trade influence what’s available to communities. They included real-world Maths applications (budgeting, pricing, and data), cultural exploration of food traditions, and a creative challenge: designing and running a simulated multicultural food market at school.
Term 3 Life Above and Below the Swan River: What Do We Want to Protect?
Students explored the ecological and cultural importance of the Swan River and its surrounding environments. Through inquiry, research, and a range of creative hands-on activities, students investigated what needs protecting along the river and how humans, animals, and environments interact. They examined issues such as habitat loss, endangered species (like the Western Swamp Tortoise or Black Cockatoo), pollution, and urban development. The project ended with a student presentation and collaborative exhibition at the WA Museum about keeping the river ecosystem balanced, happy, and safe for the future.
How did we make the curriculum come alive?
We made the curriculum come alive by inviting parents, school leadership and other classes to our multicultural Food Market Day. Students explained their chosen cultural food fusion ideas, how they priced it (using their very own ST token currency) and what they learned about needs, wants, and economic choices.
In term 3 student students showcased their public awareness campaign at a collaborative exhibition at WA Museum. This demonstrated their learning about keeping the river ecosystem balanced, happy, and safe for the future/
How did we make the 5 Habits of Learning come alive?
Our first session was about finding the creative you. Students drew an image of themselves and labelled how they use the creative habits in their daily lives, thinking of a time when they collaborated (playing sports) or were persistent (green thumbs at growing veggies) or inquisitive (asking Google lots of questions) etc... they shared their drawing with the person sitting next to them which was a great way to get to know the group.
At the end of each session, students earned “creative school” tokens that represented one of the 5 habits of learning, which they stored in their money jars and spent to buy food at Multicultural Food Market Day.
In term 3, they created a reflection tool in the form of an animal they wanted to protect that lived above or below the Swan River using local sticks. They peeled off the bark with veggie peelers and stuck it together with brown craft tape. Each week, they wrapped a length of wool around their animal in the creative habits’ colours.
How did we activate student voice and learner agency?
We activated student voice and learner agency by giving students ownership of the entire design process—from ideation to market testing. They selected their own food fusion concepts, developed prototypes, and made key decisions about presentation, pricing, and marketing strategies for the market day.
This autonomy encouraged them to take creative risks, make critical choices, and reflect on real-world outcomes. By providing a simulated market environment, students experienced authentic responsibility and independence in bringing their ideas to life. Their confidence grew as they saw their prototypes come together, proudly displayed on paper plates, cups, and patty cases, ready for feedback from their peers and community.
How did you develop creative and critical thinking skills in the students?
We developed creative and critical thinking skills by guiding students through the process of creating a prototype of their food fusion idea to test the market before investing real materials or time. This step formed part of the design process—encouraging them to experiment, take risks, and reflect on outcomes. The market day acted as a safe simulation, a “testing ground for experimental ideas,” where students could trial their concepts without financial loss but gain genuine real-world experience.
Students presented their food prototypes on paper plates, cups, and patty cases while drying, and they looked absolutely amazing!
How did you link your project to the UN Sustainability goals?
Students connected their learning to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Looking at Goal 2: Zero Hunger, students explored how communities can achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030.
Through the project Life Above and Below the Swan River, students also engaged with Goal 14: Life Below Water and Goal 15: Life on Land, investigating how to protect the Swan River’s ecosystems and surrounding environments. They were inspired to consider how human actions affect both aquatic and terrestrial life, developing a deeper understanding of sustainability and their role as future caretakers of the planet.
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT?
Student: This project empowered students to think critically about their environment and take action to protect it. By investigating the ecosystems of the Swan River, they developed a deeper understanding of sustainability, biodiversity, and the interconnectedness of life above and below the water.
Students gained confidence in sharing their ideas, using their voices to advocate for change and inspire others to care for local habitats. The creative process strengthened their collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skills — helping them see themselves as active contributors to a more sustainable future.
Teacher: The project encouraged the teacher to adopt a more inquiry-based and student-led approach to learning. By stepping back and allowing students to take ownership of their ideas and investigations, the teacher observed higher levels of engagement, curiosity, and creativity in the classroom.
Creative Practitioner: These projects have expanded the creatives’ pedagogical skills, enabling them to work on meaningful projects that link to their arts practice. Action learning focuses on making a difference in the world, and using the UN Sustainable Development Goals has provided a framework for exploring more creative ways to demonstrate purposeful learning. It fosters personal growth, adaptability, and a sense of fulfilment as practitioners observe students engaging, experimenting, and developing their creativity in collaborative ways.
Quotes
“I think it’s invigorated the teachers involved in the program. It’s been a refreshing way for them to think differently about how they teach and how they approach different curriculum areas. It’s probably just been—yeah—a bit of a shift for them. It’s changed how they approach things, and what that means for them as teachers. It’s given them permission to let go a bit, to follow the students’ lead more, and not be too concerned about the end game, but to focus on the process of learning. We’ve just launched a new business plan, and one of the goals is around strengthening critical and creative thinking in the school. So, this is really the beginning of that journey for us. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but I see our involvement in Creative Schools as a bit of a launchpad. It’s helping us begin to think about what this could look like at Rostrata PS, and how we can contextualise that approach. We want to build a toolkit for teachers across the school to support critical and creative thinking—because right now, there isn’t an established pedagogy in that space. During our business plan consultation process, people reflected that this was a gap. So, it’s great that there’s now a shared awareness of the need, and we can work together to advance that—Creative Schools is just the starting point.” (Tamara Doig - Principal)
“Creative Schools is really, really good! It’s fun. The class is engaged in fun activities, but the learning is still getting done—which is great. That was something I worried about at first, but it’s turned out to be fine. They can definitely go hand-in-hand. Overall, it’s been a really nice experience, and Claire is lovely, which is also great. The Creative Schools professional learning was a really fun couple of days. Lots of cool tricks to keep in my toolkit for the future—even when I’m on my own, not working with the Creative. I found it all really helpful, to be honest. It’s also given me lots of opportunities to apply what I’ve learned in other areas, not just when I’m working with my Creative. But having that Creative partnership and support has been fantastic. Overall, I’ve been really enjoying it, and I think it’s benefitted the kids—which is the main thing.” (Nikki Barnett - Teacher)
“It’s really different from normal school. Usually, the teacher gives us instructions and we search things up on Safari. Creative Schools is different—you have to think a lot more. We have more choice and get to do things in our own way. It’s teaching us about the five habits of learning. That’s better for me because now I can learn how to use them—and then teach other people about them too.” (Student)
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