A LEADing Learning School

Our Aspiration

Our aspiration is to provide a world-class Catholic school where there are opportunities for all students, staff and parents to flourish.

At Infant Jesus School, we are working together as a community that is entirely focused on meeting the contemporary needs of our students, parents, staff and school community in these rapidly changing times.

Our aspiration challenges us as a school to empower leaders, teachers and staff members to rise to the challenges of the 21st Century whilst creating the very best educational environment for their students.

A LEADing Learning School

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in the development of the whole child and that our children must be equipped for the future. We understand that the children of today do not live in the world of yesterday and as such believe in an innovative, curiosity driven education based upon traditional and new pedagogy and understanding. Education of the past was formed during the 18th and 19th centuries, but does not equip the child of today with the skills that they need. Today’s world promises new educational opportunities where educators can engage directly with student experience and different learning styles to ensure that new technologies empower all children.

21st century learning skills are skills that our children need to be able to live in a digital world. Tomorrow’s citizens need to have the ability to solve problems, think creatively and analytically, collaborate, and communicate. They need to have an ethical understanding of the world and be accountable for themselves.

Innovation is working to create and solve new problems or facing unforeseen challenges head on. Innovation is embracing change and being reluctant to submit to difficulty. Children of today need to learn the skills, knowledge and mental strategies in order to be successful for tomorrow’s world.

As a school, we are working together in to meet the contemporary needs of our students, parents, staff and school community in rapidly changing times.  As a school we strive to support and empower every staff member and student on their journey.

We Are Called 

Everything we do in our Catholic schools is about bringing the light of Christ’s Gospel to children’s learning in all its dimensions. We are called to let the joy of our faith shine through the gifts and talents we bring to our work. We are challenged to bring out the best in one another and in the children entrusted to our care.

Jesus calls us to discipleship. Discipleship means involvement. In our calling, as disciples, and as educators in a Catholic school, we make the Good News visible to all through our words and actions.

Catholic Learners

Infant Jesus School is a welcoming and reflective community coming together to live out our Faith. Our very reason for existing is to provide an authentic Catholic Education for all families. We emphasis the development of each child as a unique human being.

The family is the first and most important influence in the development of religious faith in the child. Parents who enrol children at our school are asking us to share with them the responsibility of bringing up their children as Christians under the guidance of the teachings of the Catholic Church. The school supports parents in this important role.
We challenge children to find, through God, meaning and value in their lives and we form an integral part of a church community in which all generations live, worship and grow together.

At Infant Jesus School, we support our children to:

• Develop a relationship with Jesus.
• Develop a synthesis of faith and culture and faith and life.
• Participate in prayer and celebration of the Eucharist in community.
• Engage in their faith development in a conducive environment.
• Engage in Religious Education Programs which support them to grow in understanding of their faith.
• Attain the beliefs, values, attitudes, knowledge, skills and practices, which will enable them to achieve Christ’s vision of the human person.
• Share a positive relationship between the local parish and school community.
• Develop a commitment to social justice and active Christian service.

Connected Learners

At Infant Jesus School, we provide a safe school environment where parents, teachers and students are working together to provide a supportive and connected school culture.

All parents of children in the school are members of the P & F Association. This Association is a community-based group, which has the primary function of supporting, providing community gatherings and parent involvement in the school.

It is essential for parents and teachers to cooperate for the good of the child. By showing interest in the child’s activities at school and by involving themselves in the school community parents will ensure that their child receives the full bene ts of a Christian education.

It is important that parents support the school and ensure that their child is well prepared for each day. This support from the home helps fosters pride in the child, their family and in their school.

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in:

• A culture of excellence as evidenced by high expectations and expressed through a shared vision.
• Encouraging relationships of mutual respect with one another, by developing empathy and care.
• Striving to develop skills to equip students with the necessary social etiquette and expectations to navigate their world both digitally and physically.
• A learning community that builds relationships and trust.
• Developing and maintaining a healthy partnership between the home, parish and school.
• Encouraging students of all ages to work alongside each other to form an Infant Jesus family and #ExpectGreatThings.

Contemporary Learners

A contemporary learning approach is personalised, responding to the learning needs, interests and experiences of each student. Contemporary learning aims to empower students with the knowledge, skills and capacities to respond creatively to the challenges of their world.

Today’s world promises new educational opportunities for our students and
we strive to develop an enhance new technologies and learning styles that will empower all children to flourish.

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in:

• Providing opportunities for children to work in flexible learning spaces that accommodate their individual learning styles.
• Encouraging movement and interaction where the role of the teacher facilitates and supports learning.
• Children making decisions and choices to suit their learning needs.
• A rich curriculum that engages the contemporary learner.
• Children working independently and collaboratively and taking ownership of their actions.
• A culture of learning that builds capacity to deepen insight and meaning.
• A pedagogy designed to empower the learner.
• A learning community built on strong partnerships that connect, challenge and collaborate to #ExpectGreatThings

Innovative Learners

At Infant Jesus School, we provide opportunities for our children to be creative and lateral thinkers who pursue their curiosities and problem solve.

Technology is infused into the children’s day to support the learning that is occurring in the classroom. It is not used as a substitution for what we have always done, but as a way of redefining what we do.

Throughout a child’s time at Infant Jesus they will continue to develop the skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity through a constantly evolving environment, curriculum and pedagogies. Children are encouraged to develop solutions for problems that arise and integrate their knowledge of STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering,
Arts and Mathematics) into creating solutions for global problems.

Children are encouraged to think independently and problem solve effectively in learning environments that cater for their various needs. Through adapting the furniture and the space inside and outside of the classroom the children will develop creativity in the way they think and present their work.

At Infant Jesus School, we strive to create environments where:

• Technology is used as a tool to enhance the learning.
• Learning is collaborative and personalised.
• Physical spaces provide opportunities to enable practical hands-on experiences.
• Children are challenged to be lateral thinkers and innovative problem solvers.
• Children, teachers and parents collaborate to #ExpectGreatThings.

Leaders as Learners

“The power of collective capacity is that it enables ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. – for two reasons. One is that knowledge about effective practice becomes more widely available and accessible on a daily basis. The second reason is more powerful still – working together generates commitment.” Michael Fullan (McKinsey & Company Report).

Each child at Infant Jesus School, is encouraged to be a global citizen, who understands their actions contribute
to building their community’s values
and practices. The children have opportunities to develop sustainable habits and an appreciation for our world. Social justice is promoted throughout the school and all of the children are encouraged to share their gifts and talents with the community.

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in:

• A continual focus on leadership for learning.
• Empowering all students to be leaders.
• Developing high standards of professional practice, and strong instructional leadership.
• Setting high expectations and promoting a community of learners who share explicit and articulated learning goals.
• Developing a passion for learning, knowledge of current research and the concept of continuous improvement.
• Developing leaders who are motivated to inspire and engage others in articulating the shared vision of #ExpectGreatThings.

Life-Long Learners

At Infant Jesus School, we celebrate parents as the first and most influential educators and recognize that strong collaborative partnerships between the parents and the school are essential. The staff of the school work collaboratively with parents to foster children’s spiritual, cognitive, physical and social and emotional learning and growth.

Students are taught to become lifelong learners by focusing on information literacy skills, inquiry and research processes. Students are encouraged
to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand. We give children opportunities to construct their knowledge in a positive relationship with others and for each child to be open to different ways of learning.

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in:

• Implementing a pedagogy that is purposeful, meaningful and relevant.
• Challenging the intellectual, imaginative and spiritual capacities of all learners.
• The importance of developing problem solving and thinking strategies.
• Developing skills of collaboration, communication and creativity.
• Planning the environment that young children can experience the world.
• Encouraging children to take risks and persist with their learning.
• Engaging children in meaningful and purposeful tasks.
• Allowing children to be actively in the learning process of; learn, act and reflect.
• Challenging children to aspire to #ExpectGreatThings.

Motivated Learners

At Infant Jesus School, we are continually asking children to do their personal best. Excellence is a core value that motivates children to expect great things of themselves and of each other.

Alan McLean in his book “Motivating Every Learner” (2011) states that “motivation is the glue that holds everything together, the hub around which most school developments can be considered. It’s a way of thinking that needs to permeate the whole school about the power of motivation in the classroom and about the core conditions for effective teaching and learning. It is both pupil and teacher motivation. It resonates with, supports and wraps around many current initiatives and so is a unifying focus to schools and authorities.”

The purpose of education is to prepare people for a meaningful life. At Infant Jesus School, our goal is to develop
a learning community which fosters lifelong learning and an attitude which promotes achievement of full potential in an environment embedded in our Gospel values.

At Infant Jesus School, we believe that:

• Children are competent and bring a wealth of experiences
and knowledge to the learning task.
• Learning is a life-long process.
• Our community fosters an attitude which promotes achievement of the full potential of all individuals in an environment embedded in our Gospel Values.
• Children work independently and collaboratively on their individual learning journey.
• Learning is individualised. Each person is supported to
take risks and develop an attitude of responsibility for
their own learning.
• Motivated students make the classroom more engaging and inspire them to #ExpectGreatThings.

Nurtured Learners

We believe that people need to be nurtured, so they feel safe and are con dent to take risks. It is important that teachers, students and parents at Infant Jesus School feel as though they are “part of something.”

Our Vision is to develop the whole person to seek the truth through the teachings of Christ in Faith, Hope and Love.

We aim to maximise learning and growth to develop the beliefs, values, attitudes, knowledge, skills and practices to enable all to become responsible, inner-directed contributing members of God’s family.

We believe that the culture of the Catholic school permeates all aspects of school life. The full dignity of the person is enhanced when all elements are interlinked. Our policies, practice and curriculum implementation are centred around the dignity of the human person within our community.

At Infant Jesus School, we strive to:

• Care for each other and help each other learn.
• Co-operate with each other.
• Show consistency in what we say and what we do.
• Be nurturing and supportive of all those within the community.
• Provide a happy learning environment in which every student feels safe and has the opportunity to participate in all activities.
• Build positive relationships with each other and #ExpectGreatThings.

Play-Based Learners

Early Childhood Education lays the foundation for further schooling and provides the initial interface between home and school in a child’s life. Recognising parents as the first educators of their children, early childhood education seeks to build upon home learning. In establishing programs for young children, it is important to remember that Catholic schooling is intentionally directed to the holistic development of children from within, assisting them to become fully integrated human persons.

Our program:

• Recognises, values and builds upon the child’s prior knowledge.
• Understands the importance of developing problem solving and thinking strategies through play.
• Listens to children and their families, respecting their values, cultures and experiences to provide opportunities which support learning.
• Closely observes, describes and records the children’s efforts and achievements by monitoring progress and planning experiences which build on their knowledge, understandings, skills, attitudes and values.

Facilitates a challenging environment which motivates and enriches learning and gives the child the opportunity to experience:

• Independence and guidance.
• Free choice and direction.
• Incidental moments and planned activities.
• Child initiated and teacher navigated.
• Individual and group work.
• Free inquiry and explicit teaching.

The aims of our Early Childhood Education Program are to encourage children to:

• Develop a positive self-image.
• Love learning and value their individual learning styles.
• Be responsible for their learning.
• Respect their own knowledge, background and culture.
• Take risks, persist and be self-paced with their learning.
• Know, understand and use their personality, talents, and personal ways of being creative.
• Learn through problem based play activities by doing and being actively involved.
• Learn through adults and others who scaffold their endeavours.
• Respect, value and accept all people.
• Experience the joy in the mystery and wonder of the universe.
• Feel valued and safe.