Welcome to Village School
I would like to extend a warm welcome to you and your family to Village School.
Our bushland setting
We’re a small ‘boutique’ style school tucked away in a bushland environment on the banks of the Brushy Creek.
This place was chosen because it gives the children the space to play and build cubbies using natural materials.
It also means the children learn to understand and respect their environment as they interact with animals and planting programs as part of the school curriculum.
We believe combining the academic program with farm work, horse riding and gardening develops resourcefulness, reliability and resilience.
Empowerment
These programs also empower a greater variety of students to be leaders in our community, alongside those who naturally step up through our classroom programs, sport or the arts.
Empowerment is a keyword at Village School.
The children run their daily meetings, their group meetings and their whole school meetings.
The teachers and the children often brainstorm ideas for their ‘big picture’ focus for each term.
Consultation and democratic processes shape the ongoing activities in the school and the children are often instigators of fundraisers, event days, ideas for performances and rules around the school.
The arts
The arts play a strong role in Village School. One term each year has a whole school performance as the main focus.
The teaching themes will relate to the theme of the performance and the whole school will be involved in making props, costumes, sets and backdrops.
The older children design the tickets, the program cover and content and design the advertising for our immediate community.
Real life learning means giving a real-life context for the children’s tasks and the performance supplies the best vehicle for this.
Looking to the future
The challenge for all schools in the 21st century is not only to keep abreast of all the technological changes and innovations, but also to keep sight of the bigger picture; educating the whole child for life.
Practices will come and go, robots will become teachers, curriculum content will vary as generations change, but principles and ethics are timeless.
Our vision
Our aim is that each child leaves Village School with the belief that they have the ability and the means to make real choices about their futures.
They learn that not only do they have rights but so do all the people around them.
If we can help our children start to develop a ‘world view’ of inclusiveness and sustainability, showing care and empathy for others and feeling confident about their own worth and their place in the scheme of things, then we’ll know we’ve done a good job.
~ Ashley Penny, Principal