About our school

The term Whole Child Learning is commonly used at Christie Downs Primary School to describe the philosophy underpinning school practices. Adjectives such as; safe, engaged and supported are frequently used to describe the culture within each classroom.

At Christie Downs Primary School we recognise that inclusive education “requires recognising impairment as one of many forms of human diversity, and welcoming and viewing diversity as a recourse rather than a problem. Inclusive education, therefore, creates a situation where all children can be valued and experience a sense of belonging and where all children are encouraged to reach their full potential in all areas for development.” (Cologon, 2013).

Our Vision; Dream, Believe, Achieve and Values; Respect, Responsibility and Teamwork commit us, as a community, to our agreed approach to our students and their learning. They also explicitly endorse high expectations of student success.

“Developing creativity is the premise for making the most of what is learnable but not teachable. It is the heart of innovation and creating a sustainable society. It is a cure for the uniformity produced by globalisation“  Andrea Ginzburg

LEARNING ACROSS ALL ENVIRONMENTS

Teachers at Christie Downs Primary School plan, programme, assess and report using the Australian Curriculum, Early Years

Learning Framework, Respect, Reflect, Relate Framework and ABLES

At our school a student’s success is measured by individual academic growth, set against a backdrop of state and national educational benchmarks. Measuring academic achievement in the form of Department for Education Standards of Educational Achievement, such as NAPLAN, are important and necessary. However, these measurements are not to be interpreted in isolation. Here, the adjectives that describe the characteristics of the classroom at Christie Downs Primary School: through Berry Street approach we hope our students are present, centred, grounded.

engaged and supported, must also be acknowledged.

When a child is engaged in learning they are actively participating as recipients of knowledge and as meaning makers. When a child is supported in their learning, they are then willing to take risks with their learning, as they understand that the journey to acquiring new skills involves persistence, resilience, and a commitment to ‘not giving up’.

Thank You,

Gail Evans, Principal