Belgrave Heights Christian School

Belgrave Heights Christian School grew out of the vision and prayers of parents looking for a local Christian School back as early as 1978. Through these prayers and the hard work of Lynette Thompson, Jenny McCallam and Isabel Bell, Belgrave Heights Christian School became more than just a vision and is the school you see before you today.

Set in pleasant bush surroundings, it is an outstanding school with a warm friendly atmosphere. The work of commencing the school was a true community effort, with many individuals committing their time and resources. The school officially began in 1983 as a Primary School.

In 2002, the School began its journey into becoming both a Primary and Secondary School progressively adding secondary year levels over time. In 2013, the Kindergarten was opened providing a purpose-built facility.

What was once a ‘secret’ in the hills became something families sought after.  Enrolment numbers continued to grow and this growth saw the development of our first architecturally designed buildings including outstanding classroom facilities. Extensive landscaping completes all these facilities, making the most of the beautiful natural surrounds.

In Kinder, we believe that the best way to be responsive to each child’s needs is to give them opportunities to explore what is relevant, interesting and meaningful to them. Incorporated into this is our Bush Kinder Program, which takes learning outside into our nature based and outdoor learning space giving children exciting new experiences. We also offer specialised group experiences such as French and Library classes.

An ideal way to describe the aims for our Kinder children is “Belonging, Being, Becoming. Belonging: We want young children to experience a sense of belonging to the Kindergarten, to have a sense of responsibility, to care for their Kinder, and their classmates.  We want children to feel that they 'have a say' and that they can direct their own learning.  We want them to celebrate Easter, Christmas, birthdays and new discoveries in a meaningful and joyful way.

Being: We want children to use their senses to explore their world, experience the excitement of catching rain drops on their tongue, learn for the first time that a ball bounces back, or that soil and water make mud that can be molded. We want them to love being three and four and five years old.

Becoming: We want to celebrate children’s discoveries, and to lead them onto new ones.  We want to develop the whole child, helping them to learn about new topics, how to understand emotions, how to look after others and about a God who loves them. Most of all, we want children to love their Kinder, each other, and learning.

Our aim Exploring God's world in wonder together. Our mission  To create a warm and nurturing environment, where children and grown-ups support each other to learn and discover, to use play, investigation, interaction and thoughtfulness to explore God, self, family, community and the world around us. *The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

Junior School provides students with a friendly environment where imaginations are kept active and social skills are developed. We understand that young children learn best when they are highly engaged and remain motivated. For this reason, our students are encouraged to actively explore and investigate their learning environments.

Teaching is approached using a variety of instructional techniques geared to moving students progressively towards a stronger understanding of and, ultimately, a greater independence in, their learning process. Prep to Year 1 has a focus on investigative learning, where their everyday environment becomes the platform for learning, while fully inclusive Maths, and Reading and Writing programs, are in place for students in Prep to Year 6.

Our aim is to develop children to their fullest potential in an authentic and meaningful way. In line with this, our ‘special fit’ learning spaces facilitate lots of concrete, hands-on learning experiences. A range of programs exists to provide students with a sound foundation across a range of academic subjects. These specifically include an emphasis on investigative learning in Prep and Year 1.

Our outside areas provide students with plenty of opportunities for play and include great climbing equipment, slides and cubbies. An amazing vegetable garden and ‘Cluckingham Palace’, the royal residence of our beloved chickens, presents students with opportunities to learn both nature and nurture. The School’s 'Discovery Centre' further presents students with a great space where they can engage in quiet reading, meeting with their friends or playing games. Junior School seeks to nurture students while allowing their learning experiences to prepare them for the academics of Middle School.

Our Middle School learning spaces are designed to be innovative and flexible. Rooms contain an array of furniture options as well as moveable wall panels, creating flexible environments for learning and teaching.

In terms of outdoor space, we have a mix of active and passive areas, including elements such as a giant chessboard, a competition sized concrete table tennis table, a six metre high climbing web, basketball ring and a rock amphitheatre.  Staffing is structured to ensure homeroom teachers take their class for a large proportion of the core subjects. This gives teachers a greater opportunity to get to know their students, which in turn allows them to offer improved pastoral care.

At both Years 9 and 10, students are also given a good range of electives to choose from including but not limited to Art, Literature, Politics and French to Robotics and Photography to name just a few. Electives provide an opportunity for students to focus on a subject they may plan to take in VCE or to choose something they haven't tried before.