It is a requirement of the Queensland Government that the following information be posted on our website:
(also see other sections of the school's website)
School sector: Independent
School's address; 1 -3 Clachety St Stratford 4870
Total enrolments: 75
Year levels offered: Kinder/Preschool, Primary (Class 1 -7)
Coeducational
Distinctive curriculum offerings: see website for details
Extra-curricular activities: annual festival cycle; stringed instrument and piano teaching, school camps, massage in schools program; arts performances (on and off campus)
Staff development: inservice focus activities for 2005 include: bullying and values education, arts in the classroom, teaching literature.
Pastoral care: the school has written policies and procedures regarding child protection as well as behaviour management and anti-bullying procedures. Students can book in to dispute resolution meetings with staff when they need support in dealing with peer relationship issues.
Parental involvement: the school has a system of class carers. Carers liase between the class teacher and the class parents. They organise class social events and support for the class teacher. There is also a P&F and various other groups active within the school community e.g. a craft group. Parents organise the various annual festivals and the open day. Parents volunteer their services across a range of programs within the school. They are also involved in reading support.
The school will arrange government standardised testing for parents who wish their children to be involved. However the school does not philosophically support the standardised testing of children. Nor is it school policy to participate in these tests.
We prefer to foster an atmosphere of co-operation and collaboration rather than competition. The formatting of the tests suits the style of teaching in mainstream education but is not harmonious with Steiner's ideas about good teaching or testing practice.
Issues also exists in relation to the consistency of gradings across markers, the amount of time individual schools spend in preparing their students to sit the tests (time not spent in teaching valuable curriculum topics), socio-economic and cultural factors that will be reflected in test scores and so on.
We also have concerns about the labelling of children and the adverse effects this can have. Children who perform well on the day may become lax or egotistical. Those who perform poorly on the day may encounter unnecessary external pressures, be labelled and develop poor self esteem or lose motivation.
In our experience children's skills develop in spurts and starts and a result at one time is no reliable indication of the long term success and abilities of the individual. We prefer that children be allowed to develop at their own pace without external judgements being applied.
We issue written reports twice a year.
Parent
teacher interviews are organised on an ongoing basis. Parents can come at any
time and meet to discuss concerns with the class teacher.
Conversely, teachers may ask to meet parents at any time they feel they need to communicate. Parents can also address a letter of concern to the College of Teachers.
Government requirements state that parent teacher interviews are to be scheduled every semester. We prefer to meet with you more regularly than that so that we can deal with immediate issues as when they arise in a flexible and responsive manner.