Vision 

Students at T.P.S see themselves as readers. They value reading within and beyond the classroom. They are passionate, self-motivated and curious. Students at T.P.S are empowered and have the skills necessary to fully engage in text. Students at T.P.S understand the purpose of reading and are confident making decisions about what they read and why they are reading.

Values

At Thomastown PS we value:

• Time for students to read independently.
• Equitable access to a range of quality reading texts. 
• Student choice in reading materials.
• Well stocked and vibrant classroom libraries.
• A consistently implemented lesson structure for reading instruction.
• Explicit teaching of reading strategies.
• Consistency of reading instruction across all classes.
• Targeted small group instruction.
• Individual learning goals.
• The use of formative assessment data to inform teaching instruction and map student progress. 
• A home/school partnership.

Vision

Students as T.P.S see themselves as writers. They enjoy writing and are confident in their ability to write indepedently. Students understand purpose, audience and use writing in their everyday lives. They appreciate and understand the quality and traits of good writing. Students use standard written forms and include the appropriate conventions. 

Values

At Thomastown PS we value:

• Time for writing – dedicated, uninterrupted times for writing that occur daily.
• Explicit teaching the features of good writing using mentor texts and exemplars.
• Modelling the features of good writing through mentor texts and exemplars.
• The use of mentor or model texts to focus explicitly on the structure and the language of the text.
• Experiences with a rich variety of texts.
• Uses rich authentic texts as mentor or model texts.
• Many opportunities to listen to,  to read and to discuss mentor texts.
• The reading-writing connection – reading like a writer.
• Scaffolded teaching which breaks down writing tasks a scaffolded approach where large tasks are broken down to doable chunks.
• A consistently implemented lesson structure for writing instruction.
• Consistency of writing instruction across all classes.
• Individual learning goals.
• The use of formative assessment data to inform teaching instruction and map student progress.
• Collaborative assessment of student work through moderation.
• Peer assessment and coaching.
• Students self-assessment – students who know what they need to do to improve and monitor their own progress.
• Clear learning intentions and success criteria.
• Co-construction of success criteria / rubrics / assessment criteria.
• Explicit feedback.
• Student ownership of their learning. 
• Students writing with a clear purpose (students know why they are writing, writing for authentic audiences and purposes).
• Students understand how texts are structured.
• Use of ICT.
• Student choice and ownership of their writing - individual interest and choice are fundamental to students becoming independent writers.
• View of writing as a process.