Bethania Lutheran Primary School

Bethania Lutheran School is a Christ-centred community supporting the educational journey by providing dynamic, innovative teaching and learning, within  a nurturing environment. Not only do we offer an excellent all round education for your child, we offer a community. A real community where families are important and working together is central to all that we do. There is an old saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. We believe it takes a community to educate one! Research shows that families and school working together in partnership is one of the most effective ways for your child to achieve individual success.

But that’s not all there is to community. There is that feeling of belonging, a feeling of connectedness and the feeling that I am special. As a school we work hard at helping students and families connect to their class, their teachers and the whole school community. Belonging to a real community helps students feel safe enough to discover the unique person God created them to be, and helps parents play an important part in their child’s education. Our active P and F also strive to connect families through fun ‘friend raising’ activities in classes and across the whole school. This wonderful Bethania community grows very much out of our Christian beliefs.

Our school also understands that parents in our community work hard and make sacrifices to send their child to an independent Christian school such as ours. Our low, inclusive tuition fees reflect this. To further help our families we also offer discounts for on time payment of fees and sibling discounts.

While a German school had been operating in the area since the early 1900s the Bethania Lutheran School was opened in January 1976 with one teacher and eighteen pupils in Years 1 to 3. The school was officially opened in the church hall with the first teacher being installed, Mrs Betty Schultz. Conditions in the early history of the school were difficult. By 1977 the school was still operating in the church hall with 45 students and two teachers. The first building erected on the school property, teacher accommodation, was opened in October 1977. In May 1978 the first school building was dedicated and opened and the second school building opened in February 1979. By this time the pupils numbered 85. The school blossomed over the years and now has over 12 buildings and 200 students in a leafy and tranquil setting.

While there is a major focus on teaching and learning, each school strives to offer far more than that. When a family joins a Lutheran school they become part of a community which strives to be a secure place which offers warm, caring relationships and a safe environment. A Lutheran school sees each student as being unique with their own particular gifts and needs. The approach is not to ask what students and their families can do for the school, but what the school can do for them.

Lutheran schools have developed a special vision which is based on the teachings of the Bible. As a Christian learning community each school aspires to provide a culture and ethos permeated by the core values of love, justice, compassion, forgiveness, service, humility, courage, hope, quality and appreciation.

Bethania Lutheran School is a Christ centred community supporting the educational journey by providing dynamic, innovative teaching and learning within a nurturing environment.

We believe that every student is a unique individual created by God with their own special gifts, strengths and needs. In order for students to build their own positive image of themselves as learners and contributors to their communities they are provided with relevant, purposeful and appropriate learning experiences. These learning experiences are structured and presented in a variety of ways with opportunities for both success and personal challenge. Students are encouraged to take ownership of and contribute direction to the learning experience. The school facilitates this learning by providing timely and purposeful feedback and learning environments which pro$3,812.00mote a positive atmosphere of trust and safe risk taking.

Achievement and success is something we strive toward for all of our students, irrespective of the point at which they have begun their educational journey.

Success is hard fought and won and we celebrate personal achievements on a daily basis. Our students are supported by a vast array of learning enrichment approaches including one-on-one and small group tutoring, in class support, reading rescue, individualised programs, outside therapy services, and collaborative teaching support. We aim to encourage all children to achieve their personal best through support and extension, meeting each child where they are and growing their ability through individualised programmes. It is common to walk into the staffroom and hear a teacher gushing joyously about the latest DRA result or maths achievement of one of the students that they have been working with. The reward of knowing that you have made a significant difference to a child cannot be measured.

The Learning Enrichment team is made up of three specialist teachers, six teacher aides and a host of volunteers. Our volunteers come from all walks of life; we have parents, congregational members, friends from the local retirement facilities, and even a couple of university students with some spare time on their hands. When you consider that we are only a small school of approximately 260 students, we are so blessed to have so many wonderful people supporting our students and teachers. The African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ is never more true than in a place like our school. Parents, teachers, support staff and volunteers join together to shape the hearts, heads and lives of a very special group of children.