History:
St Bernadette鈥檚 Catholic Primary School, The Basin, is a Prep to Year 6 school with an enrolment of approximately 209 students. The majority of children are from English-speaking families, although many parents are bilingual. The children are drawn from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
The school is located in the outer-eastern suburbs of 吃瓜不打烊, in a rustic setting at the foot of Mt Dandenong. The school opened in 1983, and most classrooms are in permanent buildings. Many classrooms have walls opening to adjoining rooms and there is a library in the main building. The school has one relocatable classroom, which is used as an Art and LOTE room. With the recent Australian Government Building the Education Revolution (BER) grants, we have built a 'state of the art' Library Discovery Centre with an up-to-date Information Technology room.
Currently the staff consists of a principal, 11 classroom teachers, a teacher/librarian, and part-time teachers of Physical Education, Italian, Art and Performing Arts. We also have a number of ancillary staff who assist in the classroom. The staff exhibit a broad profile in terms of experience and skill development.
The class groupings are all multi-age 鈥� we are a development learning school. The structure is divided into three areas, Junior 0鈥�2, Middle 3鈥�4 and Senior 5鈥�6.
Description:
Nestled in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, we are part of the parish of Boronia, providing a Catholic and comprehensive education for primary school students.
We believe the purpose of a Catholic primary school is to give children a foundation of faith, values, knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for lifelong learning. St Bernadette鈥檚 is a place where teachers aim to create a safe and happy environment, where children are valued, praised and encouraged to 鈥榟ave a go鈥�.
At St Bernadette鈥檚 the curriculum is planned carefully to ensure that it caters for the diverse needs of all children. It is based upon the principles of developmental learning, where children are engaged in meaningful and relevant learning activities.
Our programs include Religious Education, art, music, library, computer technology, physical education and drama. Our LOTE language is Italian. We offer bike education, interschool sports, swimming, Chess Club, instrumental music instruction, Seasons (a grief support program), extension programs for gifted students including GATEWAYS, and student wellbeing programs including Bounce Back; Protective Behaviours; Stop, Think, Do; and Cyber-safety. Recently we have established 'Cafe Kids' which is run by the children.
We offer:
鈥� a Catholic education centred on gospel values
鈥� a broad, balanced curriculum
鈥� the best of current thinking and practice
鈥� a friendly, welcoming atmosphere, where parents and teachers work as a team.
鈥� A family environment centred on our three school rules:
Respect yourself.
Respect others.
Respect property.
Features:
From the beginning years, St Bernadette鈥檚 has encouraged widespread community participation in the decision-making process. St Bernadette鈥檚 has a policy of shared leadership and its structure encourages active participation of many members of the school community. This has taken a variety of forms, ranging from formal committee meetings to ongoing informal feedback.