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Our Students

St John's Primary School Clifton Hill

Developing relationships is at the core of all that we do at St John’s. Every interaction, every problem that arises and every resolution that is negotiated, is an opportunity to develop positive respectful relationships with our students.

 

At St John’s we strive to provide learning environments where students feel safe, connected, respected and engaged in their learning.

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Celebrating Diversity

At St John’s we celebrate our diversity in relation to our different cultures and traditions, but also our diversity as individuals. Each of our students is unique and diverse. The way we learn, the way we socialise, the way we speak and interact, the way we pray and live our different faiths are all examples of diversity in our context at St John’s.  We are a richer environment for this, as it allows us to appreciate different perspectives and draw stronger conclusions and challenges our students to consider different perspectives, how to interact with their peers on a social level, and equip them with skills they’ll use for the rest of their life.

 

Diversity improves critical-thinking skills, builds empathy and encourages students to think differently. It is the exploration and incorporation of these differences to enrich learning in our classroom, as we prepare our students for a life beyond the classroom. Diversity in the classroom builds better thinkers with research showing that we’re more likely to think harder about an issue when we’re talking to someone who is different than us. So diversity also breeds innovation.

It also improves academic outcomes by encouraging academic confidence.​

In keeping with our Catholic ethos, St John’s celebrates the diversity of its small community. An understanding of different cultures and life situations helps us to appreciate the sacredness of each person we encounter.

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Social Emotional Learning

Social and Emotional Learning is a core component of our weekly curriculum as we nurture and value the connection between social and emotional wellbeing and academic success. Student Wellbeing discussions form the basis of every Staff and Professional Team Meeting as we share a whole school understanding that in knowing the needs of our students, we can more effectively cater to their individual needs.

To nurture the safe, secure and respected learning environment we implement the following programs and initiatives:

  • University of Melbourne SEL Curriculum - Rights, Responsibilities & Respectful Relationships

  • Restorative practices for conflict resolution such as Circle Time.

  • School Wide Positive Behaviour program including Student Merit & “Gotcha” Awards

  • Drug education

  • Water Safety

  • Student leadership and Student representative council (SRC)

  • Orientation to school (for new students and their families)

  • Buddy program (prep- 6)

  • Transition to secondary school (for Yr 6)

  • Personalised transition programs for students with additional needs.

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Positive School Wide Behaviour

At St John’s we aim to provide an environment where every student feels safe, happy, respected and engaged in their learning.

 

At the beginning of the year each class starts with a 'Welcome Unit' where the students discuss the rights and responsibilities of everyone in our community; students, parents, and teachers.

 

We do not tolerate bullying and we use restorative practices to promote positive behaviour. As a school, we conduct restorative conversations between students, staff and where required, parents. We also ensure that we are consistent and fair in our delivery of consequences around negative behaviour.

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Buddies

Based upon the model from the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, Better Buddies program, at St John’s we use our Buddy program as a way to ensure every one of our new students feels safe, valued and connected to us.

 

Being a Buddy teaches students the values of caring for others, friendliness, respect, valuing difference, including others and responsibility. It aims to create positive behaviour, as well as build students’ self-esteem, connectedness, social skills, trust and sense of community.

 

In 2021, we will be extending our Buddy program to kindergartens in our local area to support them in their transition to school.

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Leadership

Students at St John's have the opportunity to experience a variety of leadership roles during their primary school years.

Students from Year 6 are elected each year by their peers to a number of positions representing the school. These roles include School captains, house captains, Social Justice captain, STEM captain and SRC Leader.

Other opportunities also arise for students to develop their leadership skills through taking responsibility in extracurricular groups such as Mini Vinnies and the Green Group.

Students are also elected from each class as Student Representative Council members to represent their class for the year.

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Lunch Time Clubs

Throughout the week, different clubs run during lunchtimes according to student interest and need.

 

Some clubs are run by teachers, others are run by students under the supervision of teachers.  In 2020, we had:

 

  • Colouring club

  • Music Club

  • Dance Club

  • STEM Club

  • Mini Vinnies Club

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