School Profile
Antonio Park Primary School was established in 1960 and is located on the border of Ringwood and Mitcham. The unique environment bordering the Antonio Park is home to not only 356 students, 31 staff and over 250 very friendly and supportive families, but also to a variety of native birds including lorikeets, eastern rosellas, galahs and owls and the occasional echidna. We’ve even had the odd visit from the local koala. We enjoy a reputation as one of Australia’s leading schools in Environmental Education with the school achieving accreditation as a 5 Star Sustainable School in 2006. We hosted the national launch of this program in 2004 and are currently one of only 32 Sustainable Schools in Australia. No wonder the school has experienced continued strong growth in enrolments in recent years and that this growth is expected to continue in the future.
Visitors often comment not just on our beautiful bushland setting but also on the great feel of the school and the positive energy that permeates through classrooms. This atmosphere is in part generated by a staff that is bright and cheery, is passionate about education, has a great sense of fun, exhibits strong levels of support for colleagues and displays warmth in its interactions with others. The school encourages an ‘open door’ approach where parent and community contribution and participation are valued. Whilst there is a strong sense of community everywhere you look, for many the school is more like a family. Our enthusiastic, caring and dedicated staff has embraced the many changes that are so much a feature of today’s education and greatly value the wonderful support from parents and strong links to local community groups.
Several community events are evidence of long standing traditions of this sense of community and of the mutual support between home and school. Annual events include Athletics Sports, Tour De Park, Swimming Sports, the Fete and the School Production. An excellent camping program is offered to all children from year 1 to year 6. In recent years through the hard work of parents and staff we have established a most successful Walking School Bus Program and a very popular play group for school families with pre school aged children.
The strong partnership between home and school is seen as the foundation of successful learning for all children. Through the promotion of our school values of respect, honesty, caring, perseverance, loyalty, tolerance, courage and responsibility children are encouraged to develop a sense of wellbeing and are supported in developing healthy relationships with others. They are encouraged to be independent, accept increasing responsibility for their learning and to do their best. Their successes are acknowledged in many ways but no more so than through our weekly assembly where students are encouraged to participate and where achievements of our students, staff and parents are recognised and celebrated.
Our school motto ‘caring and innovative’, promotes and encourages:
• close cooperation between home and school
• trust, cooperation and respect among all members of the school community
• the valuing of each student’s individual learning, and the development of special talents
• students to be risk-takers, to be creative and to take personal responsibility for their learning
• cheerfulness, courtesy, caring, and high levels of understanding and tolerance
• the achievement of academic, social and sporting achievements inside and outside the school environment.
Parent participation in the school programs can be seen by the large numbers of parents who assist classroom teachers each day during literacy and numeracy times, the number who assist with excursions, camps and the great support we receive with our school production. Our parent community and particularly our School Council are committed to improving the school, its grounds and facilities in order to help us provide the best learning environment possible for our students.
The school is arranged in four levels made up of fifteen grades. While straight grades operate in preps all other grades are based around the original CSF levels with class sizes varying between 20 and 25 students. Staff plan in teams using an Integrated Curriculum approach and programs are delivered through a 2-year inquiry based Curriculum Plan incorporating thinking skills. Classroom programs are supported by specialist teachers in Indonesian, Library, Physical Education, Visual Arts and Music. In addition support programs are offered in Reading Recovery and Additional Assistance. A wide variety of extra curricula activities including Aerobics, Artists in Schools, Junior and Senior Choir, private music tuition, GATEways and Tournament of Minds ensure that there is something for every child. Parents are supported through programs such as Developing Literacy Partnerships, Developing Numeracy Partnerships, Classroom Helpers and a variety of information nights on student wellbeing and classroom programs throughout the year.
A strong Integration Program supports several students funded under the Department of Education and Early Childhood’s Disability and Impairment program through the appointment of 6 Integration Aides who work in conjunction with teachers and families to support special needs. Weekly Life Skills sessions are a feature of the integration program.
The school supports families by operating a very successful Commonwealth funded Out of School Hours Care program. This program runs from Monday to Friday and caters for up to 70 students a day. A Holiday Program is offered for up to 45 students a day for most school holidays and curriculum days throughout the year. Childcare is also provided for many programs operating after hours enabling parents to make the most of opportunities that are on offer at various times of the year.
Over the last 7 years the school facilities have been transformed as 3 stages of our Capital Works Program have outstanding facilities at a cost of over $4.7m. The final stage covering the refurbishment of five classrooms, the staffroom and the library, the construction of a new art room, student toilets, several storage rooms, paths and covered ways, a basketball court and a staff car park was completed at the end of June 2008. The building program has provided a fantastic opportunity to incorporate environmentally innovative aspects into the overall design and construction including the installation of water tanks, energy efficient water heating and our hall built from recycled materials. The introduction of our new canteen in recent years not only provides a great service to our school community but also supports healthy eating habits through adherence to Government policy on nutrition. Whilst the protracted period of construction has presented many challenges, these have been overcome by careful planning, hard work, flexibility and a sense of humour by all members of the school community. Our wonderful new facilities are designed to meet the learning needs of our students both now and for many years to come.
The building program has also provided further opportunities to provide students and staff with state of the art Information and Communication Technologies including the installation of interactive whiteboards in classrooms, computers in all rooms, and the planned introduction of computers into our Library / Resource Centre as well as expansion of the school intranet site. Notebook computers are provided to all teachers. Professional development to improve staff expertise and enhance skills is continually being undertaken and will remain a priority in the future.
At Antonio Park Primary School our purpose as an effective learning community is to believe in the achievement of excellence and the fulfilment of potential in a happy, caring and safe environment where students, staff and families feel a strong connection to each other and the school. We are committed to fostering a lifelong love of learning. We actively engage students in a range of authentic learning experiences. Through these our children will develop understandings and competencies needed to be successful learners and citizens in a rapidly changing world.
Visitors often comment not just on our beautiful bushland setting but also on the great feel of the school and the positive energy that permeates through classrooms. This atmosphere is in part generated by a staff that is bright and cheery, is passionate about education, has a great sense of fun, exhibits strong levels of support for colleagues and displays warmth in its interactions with others. The school encourages an ‘open door’ approach where parent and community contribution and participation are valued. Whilst there is a strong sense of community everywhere you look, for many the school is more like a family. Our enthusiastic, caring and dedicated staff has embraced the many changes that are so much a feature of today’s education and greatly value the wonderful support from parents and strong links to local community groups.
Several community events are evidence of long standing traditions of this sense of community and of the mutual support between home and school. Annual events include Athletics Sports, Tour De Park, Swimming Sports, the Fete and the School Production. An excellent camping program is offered to all children from year 1 to year 6. In recent years through the hard work of parents and staff we have established a most successful Walking School Bus Program and a very popular play group for school families with pre school aged children.
The strong partnership between home and school is seen as the foundation of successful learning for all children. Through the promotion of our school values of respect, honesty, caring, perseverance, loyalty, tolerance, courage and responsibility children are encouraged to develop a sense of wellbeing and are supported in developing healthy relationships with others. They are encouraged to be independent, accept increasing responsibility for their learning and to do their best. Their successes are acknowledged in many ways but no more so than through our weekly assembly where students are encouraged to participate and where achievements of our students, staff and parents are recognised and celebrated.
Our school motto ‘caring and innovative’, promotes and encourages:
• close cooperation between home and school
• trust, cooperation and respect among all members of the school community
• the valuing of each student’s individual learning, and the development of special talents
• students to be risk-takers, to be creative and to take personal responsibility for their learning
• cheerfulness, courtesy, caring, and high levels of understanding and tolerance
• the achievement of academic, social and sporting achievements inside and outside the school environment.
Parent participation in the school programs can be seen by the large numbers of parents who assist classroom teachers each day during literacy and numeracy times, the number who assist with excursions, camps and the great support we receive with our school production. Our parent community and particularly our School Council are committed to improving the school, its grounds and facilities in order to help us provide the best learning environment possible for our students.
The school is arranged in four levels made up of fifteen grades. While straight grades operate in preps all other grades are based around the original CSF levels with class sizes varying between 20 and 25 students. Staff plan in teams using an Integrated Curriculum approach and programs are delivered through a 2-year inquiry based Curriculum Plan incorporating thinking skills. Classroom programs are supported by specialist teachers in Indonesian, Library, Physical Education, Visual Arts and Music. In addition support programs are offered in Reading Recovery and Additional Assistance. A wide variety of extra curricula activities including Aerobics, Artists in Schools, Junior and Senior Choir, private music tuition, GATEways and Tournament of Minds ensure that there is something for every child. Parents are supported through programs such as Developing Literacy Partnerships, Developing Numeracy Partnerships, Classroom Helpers and a variety of information nights on student wellbeing and classroom programs throughout the year.
A strong Integration Program supports several students funded under the Department of Education and Early Childhood’s Disability and Impairment program through the appointment of 6 Integration Aides who work in conjunction with teachers and families to support special needs. Weekly Life Skills sessions are a feature of the integration program.
The school supports families by operating a very successful Commonwealth funded Out of School Hours Care program. This program runs from Monday to Friday and caters for up to 70 students a day. A Holiday Program is offered for up to 45 students a day for most school holidays and curriculum days throughout the year. Childcare is also provided for many programs operating after hours enabling parents to make the most of opportunities that are on offer at various times of the year.
Over the last 7 years the school facilities have been transformed as 3 stages of our Capital Works Program have outstanding facilities at a cost of over $4.7m. The final stage covering the refurbishment of five classrooms, the staffroom and the library, the construction of a new art room, student toilets, several storage rooms, paths and covered ways, a basketball court and a staff car park was completed at the end of June 2008. The building program has provided a fantastic opportunity to incorporate environmentally innovative aspects into the overall design and construction including the installation of water tanks, energy efficient water heating and our hall built from recycled materials. The introduction of our new canteen in recent years not only provides a great service to our school community but also supports healthy eating habits through adherence to Government policy on nutrition. Whilst the protracted period of construction has presented many challenges, these have been overcome by careful planning, hard work, flexibility and a sense of humour by all members of the school community. Our wonderful new facilities are designed to meet the learning needs of our students both now and for many years to come.
The building program has also provided further opportunities to provide students and staff with state of the art Information and Communication Technologies including the installation of interactive whiteboards in classrooms, computers in all rooms, and the planned introduction of computers into our Library / Resource Centre as well as expansion of the school intranet site. Notebook computers are provided to all teachers. Professional development to improve staff expertise and enhance skills is continually being undertaken and will remain a priority in the future.
At Antonio Park Primary School our purpose as an effective learning community is to believe in the achievement of excellence and the fulfilment of potential in a happy, caring and safe environment where students, staff and families feel a strong connection to each other and the school. We are committed to fostering a lifelong love of learning. We actively engage students in a range of authentic learning experiences. Through these our children will develop understandings and competencies needed to be successful learners and citizens in a rapidly changing world.
