Philosophy

The Junior Preparatory School aims to develop the child as a whole, educationally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  It encompasses the essence of a holistic learning environment that is inclusive and multi cultural.  Learning is based on the principles of Constructivism incorporating a   multimodal approach to Literacy.  Each child’s individual needs and talents are taken into consideration.  We seek to implement life long values, a stable academic platform to work from and sound self esteem.

All children come to school with different experiences, attitudes, skills and   knowledge and each child has individual needs. We aim to make sure that all children have the opportunity to learn at their own rate and so achieve their individual potential. From the beginning, the child will work through a natural process of experimentation and risk taking in an environment where he/she has control, choice and support. Our St Stithians Junior Prep environment allows all children the freedom to build on their prior experiences. Young children learn in ways that come naturally.  We arrange the environment so that every child experiences success as a learner.

Academic policy

As we move into the 21st century our society is changing in many ways including an enormous growth in information, rapid technological advances and changes in employment practises.  One of the changes is in the choice and method of learning.  Children need to learn to be more versatile and need to be equipped to deal with increased diversity. In order to do this we use the advances in knowledge in recent years about how we learn, how the brain functions and how this helps us understand the nature of human learning.

An important part of the schools philosophy is providing for the development of basic skills in key learning areas that form the foundation of all future learning.  We aim to plant the seeds for future study and instil a desire to continue the journey of learning.

The curriculum is based on OBE principles and a constructivist approach to learning. It places strong emphasis on teaching children the foundation skills that will be needed in their future educational pursuits. This includes numeracy, language skills, problem solving, independent thought and a cultivation of the child's natural desire to learn and succeed. Our emphasis is on "Learning to Learn".