Bethany Lutheran Primary School

Bethany is an alive, vibrant school community. We have experienced a huge amount of change over the life of the school and the journey that we have travelled has been immense. The challenges that we have faced since 1982 when the school started have served to refine our understanding of what we want our school to be and to do for our students.

Bethany school staff members are dedicated to sharing their passion for learning with the students. This is done in a way that is grounded in developing them as people. We want to help children with values and standards formation that will carry them through life. We want our children to grow up to be great people that we can all be proud to know.

Our teachers are Christian and have completed studies in Christian Education. They are all accredited as Lutheran teachers. They are committed to providing a quality Christian education assisting children to develop an enjoyment of learning and growing in maturity. Teachers design units of work which challenge students within the context of building strong relationships. Through the Christian Studies Program and the Behavioural Management/Restorative Practices Program, children are taught the value of developing positive ways of working together.

Children today need to have excellent skills in the core learning areas and be ready for the wide variety of opportunities and challenges which the changing world will bring. Technology is one of the many tools which students use in their learning to find, construct and apply knowledge purposefully.

As you step into our school through our website, we hope that you are able to gain a glimpse of the special nature of our school and the school community. It is an exciting, happy learning community which is warm and supportive while maintaining high standards in academic achievement, yet accepting the individual needs of students.

Mission Statement Centred on Christ, providing quality education, empowering students to serve and achieve.  Vision Statement Be acknowledged as an innovator of Christian primary education, with vibrant community partnerships.

At Bethany, we believe that the family is very important and we want to work closely with you. By working as a team and supporting one another students are assisted to achieve their best in both their work and in the way that they conduct themselves. At Bethany we place great importance on student behaviour. Through their conduct, students tell us who they are and they are assisted to see the role that they play in gaining the friendship and respect of others.

Bethany Lutheran Primary School offers an educational experience in a smaller school setting..... a community where your child is KNOWN, VALUED and NURTURED to succeed.

The school functions under the requirements for registration as set down by the Queensland Department of Education, but maintains the right to teach the curriculum from a Christian perspective. At Bethany, we use the Australian Curriculum, adapting it where necessary to meet our aims and the needs of the children. A wide range of teaching materials and resources are used by teachers in preparing the units of study undertaken by the children. The staff support students in their growth and development as a whole person, in laying a strong foundation for lifelong skills in all spheres of life. While the curriculum drives learning, ICT and skills in applying strategies, knowledge and values are taught to assist students in negotiating their way forward in the working and social world of the future.

We are conscious of the need to prepare our children to attend a wide variety of secondary schools, both state and independent. The teaching staff, working together, plan the program with care, aiming to bring each child to the highest level of which he or she is capable. We aim to assist each child to achieve a high level of literacy, numeracy and communication abilities, while providing a rich variety of experience throughout all areas of the curriculum.

Through this curriculum, students have the opportunity to evaluate the values and standards of the society around them and have a choice in the values that they adopt for living with others. Our children are receiving a vast array of messages from the TV and the media, messages which should not be simply accepted as their moral values. Real life issues are managed through our spiritual understandings. Our young people need to be connected to values that build a positive community.

These areas are vital to the development of learning in all other areas. Our students need to be literate in so many ways today. Students need to develop skills in finding, evaluating and processing information. They need to work with others and be able to share understandings, debate them and use skills and process to solve problems. Our students more than ever need to be well-rounded people with high level thinking skills. A narrow, purely academic curriculum will not serve children well in the future they are facing.