Our Community

Positive partnerships with families are a trademark of our school and reinforce quality teaching and learning for students to maximise their potential as the ‘whole child.’ Family involvement is welcomed and embraced by the community through volunteering in classroom and school activities, the school board, the annual fete, fundraising and an active P&C.

We develop partnerships with families that support the learning and development of all children.

At our school the educators:

• work with families to support children’s learning and development at home and in the community through conferencing, open door policies, sharing work at key events such as learning journeys and parent/ carer information evenings;
• use families understanding of their children to support shared decision making about each child’s learning and development;
• create a welcoming and culturally inclusive environment where all families have a sense of belonging;
• involve families in active participation which contributes to children’s learning and development;
• are open, honest and objective, and provide families with information about their children’s learning and development, for example we provide specific ideas on what they can do to further support their children;
• use a holistic approach which respects children as capable, competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative and inquisitive people;
• actively engage children and families in planning children’s learning and development; and
• acknowledge the significance of transitions within and across early childhood services and schools and ensure that children understand the process and have an active role in preparing for these transitions. We use our unique model of a P-2 school environment and strong partnerships with the neighbouring ACT Education and Training Directorate schools, to support children’s transitions through their early years of learning.

We strive for high expectations and equity for all.

At our school the educators:

• establish high expectations for all children’s learning and development;
• support children’s learning and development through a combination of child-led, inquiry and intentional play-based learning;
• link explicit teaching to play-based learning, purposefully designed and driven by the children’s interests;
• ensure that every child experiences success in their learning and development;
• maximise opportunities for every child;
• provide differentiated learning for all;
• take advantage of our fabulous outdoor environment to provide stimulating and challenging outdoor educational experiences;
• carefully consider the indoor environment to develop a sense of wonder that is print-rich and readily adapted to accommodate children’s learning ideas; and
• encourage children to investigate, creatively examine, trial, cooperate and critically analyse solutions to real problems.

We have respect for diversity in our learning community.

At our school, the educators:

• recognise that multilingualism is an asset and ensure that children are supported to maintain their first language and learn English as an additional language or dialect;
• recognise Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders as the first peoples of this land and support children’s understanding of their cultures;
• recognise that children learn in diverse ways;
• develop cultural awareness and respect for the beliefs of others; and
• support children to develop a sense of place, identity and a connection to the land.

We enhance the learning and development of all children by engaging in ongoing learning and reflective practice.

At our school the educators:

• gather information that supports, informs, assesses and enriches decision-making about appropriate professional practices;
• have rich professional dialogue around children’s learning that informs our practice;
• continually develop our professional knowledge and skills to enable us to provide the best possible learning and development opportunities for all children;
• promote practices that have been shown to be successful in supporting children’s learning and development;
• assess children’s learning in ways that inform the educator’s practice; and
• use evidence to inform planning for early childhood experiences and practice.