The students’ learning is at the heart of our daily work. Our dedicated teachers are highly qualified professionals who are passionate about our students’ learning.
Our teachers truly enjoy sharing the children’s learning journey. Being part of the children’s growth, helping them become proficient in particular skills, sharing their successes and challenges, together motivates our teachers to assist the children to reach their potential.
St Mary’s is a Professional Learning Community. Our vision for learning states that we are a staff who:
- dialogue to plan action and embrace change to achieve results.
- share a passion for learning and are committed to working collaboratively to ensure success for all.
Our professional learning framework is grounded in contemporary educational research. Research from authors including Sergiovanni, Hattie, Timperley, Robinson, Du Four, Du Four, Fullan and Hargreaves heavily informs our school’s vision for learning.
Clearly focussed and deliberate teaching is directly aimed at the students’ specific needs. High expectations for student learning coupled with a supportive environment challenges the children to achieve their personal best.
A collaborative approach to learning is evident at St Mary’s. Groups of teachers regularly meet in their Learning Teams to share their wisdom with the end goal being to improve student learning.
How do we respond when some students don’t learn? Some students require more time to acquire certain skills. Our structured approach, “Closing the Gap”, uses the expertise of our teaching staff to address the difficulties some students may be experiencing. A pyramid of interventions is applied to support our students’ learning.
How do we respond when some students already know it? Our classroom teachers cater for our gifted, talented and capable students by differentiating the curriculum through enriching learning opportunities. Such learning opportunities are embedded in classroom practice and may also include specific enrichment programs, e.g. ‘Come On Kids’ and Maths Challenge for Young Australians.
Our school values its collaborative culture of continuous improvement. A strong emphasis on student and adult learning is evident at St Mary’s.