All students, regardless of race, age, gender, by virtue of their dignity as human persons, have a right to an education that is suited to their particular needs and adapted to this ability. Gravissimum Educationis NL, 1965 (Declaration on Christian Education), Pope Paul V
Our beliefs and values:
- All students can be successful learners.
- Students learn in differing ways and at differing rates.
- Students learn best when teachers develop particular learning program to meet their needs.
- The development of literacy and numeracy skills is ongoing and cumulative and takes place across all learning areas.
- The development of a school attitude towards excellence will encourage all students to achieve their full potential.
As a school community, St Jude’s welcomes students from diverse cultural, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds. We understand that it is vital for our students to gain the literacy and numeracy skills that are necessary for them to be able to fully participate and contribute meaningfully in today’s world. Our staff appreciate that children learn and develop at different rates; accordingly, we ensure that our students access appropriate resources and support when needed so that they can thrive in their learning. In partnership with families, our highly qualified staff consider each child’s overall abilities and interests to provide programs that extend their identified strengths, and intervene where there are gaps in their learning. St Jude’s also provides support programs for students where English is not their first language.
Enrichment Program
In addition to the extension programs available to students in each classroom, St Jude’s offers a Challenge and Enrichment Program to students in Years 3-6 who meet the school-based criteria to identify strengths in literacy, numeracy and critical thinking. These students attend a class weekly where they participate in an extension and enrichment program that focuses on challenging students and developing critical and creative thinking skills. This year, students will engage in a number of inquiry based projects. Students will also participate in their first ‘Genius Hour’, an inquiry based approach where students will use critical and creative thinking to invent solutions to everyday problems. This will involve planning, research, developing a prototype and presenting their solutions.