I was going to title this post “Why we chose Bethania
Lutheran School”, but then I realised that when we chose the school we knew
very little about it. We were living in
Edens Landing at the time and I stumbled across this tiny school in the next
suburb and I remember loving how green it all was. I was taken on a tour and it just felt right. We applied for admission, had an interview
with Dr Marks, the principal, and we were in.
We have now been part of the Bethania Lutheran community for
almost eight years, since our daughter started Prep. This year she finishes Grade 7 and although
she is very excited to move on to high school, this milestone has caused me to
wonder whether we will love our new school as much as we have loved Bethania. Will I feel like they are part of my team as
a parent? Will they know my daughter
almost as well as I do? Will they care
about her almost as much as I do?
There will be many parents in the
Bethania/Waterford/Holmview/Edens Landings area looking for a school for Prep
next year. If you have found this blog,
I want to tell you why I am glad that we chose Bethania Lutheran School.
Disclaimer: The school
did not ask me to write this! I have
written it because the school has helped my family in many ways over the last
eight years, and this is my way of repaying the favour.
School Size
One of the things that appeals to me most is the small
school size. We get the personal touch
right from the front office, from the teachers, from the grounds staff, from
the chaplain, from the librarian, from the sports teacher, and from the
principal.
My observation has been that every teacher knows every
child. The principal knows every
child. The children know the principal
and the deputy principal personally because they go on camps and spend a lot of
time in the playground talking to the kids.
The front office lady, Margaret, knows who I am by name (some
might say that is usually not a good thing!)
She knows who my children are and what grades they are in.
The principal and the deputy principal both know me by
name. I have to point out that this is
not due to my kids getting in trouble!
The librarian knows who I am when I occasionally drop in,
and is happy to lend books to parents.
She also gave me personal recommendations that she thought my son would
enjoy based on what he had been reading.
The chaplain, who is also the sports teacher, attends as many
of the camps as possible. He is that fun
teacher that the kids all love but is not afraid to be serious with the kids
and tell them when they are out of line.
Dedicated teachers
Bethania has amazing teachers. The year that my son was diagnosed with
Aspergers, he had a teacher who was so patient with him, but also firm enough
to help him make a phenomenal amount of progress. He could have so easily been labelled as “just
naughty”. His teachers since then have
also been great about being understanding but firm, which is what he needs. Another teacher took the time to look into
possible options for helping to improve his handwriting.
I don’t know if other parents feel this, but with Bethania I
feel like I have this team of people that want to help me to turn my kids in
productive, confident and decent human beings.
When I am worried about something that they are doing at home, all I
have to do it mention it to their teacher or the chaplain and they are on it. It is clear that they genuinely care and
despite how busy they must be just trying to make it through the curriculum,
they take the time to watch over the emotional and mental health of my kids.
Opportunities for
leadership
One of the other benefits of a small school is that the kids
have a greater chance of being asked to take on leadership roles. We have school captains, house captains,
music captains, and a student council. I
would venture to guess that most of the grade 6 and 7s have some kind of
leadership role. My daughter gets to
stand in front of the whole school and open carnivals, lead assemblies, lay
memorial wreaths, and meet local politicians.
She is gaining confidence and experience that will help her now and in
the future.
Music Program
Bethania has an amazing music program. I understand that almost 30% of the students
are enrolled in the music program. My
daughter takes both piano and voice lessons.
Last night I watched her stand up at the microphone and sing confidently
in front of a room full of parents. She
certainly did not get that from me!
When my son started piano lessons I was not sure that he
would be able to sit still for the half hour lesson each week. His piano tutor manages it somehow, and last
night I had the opportunity to do a piano duet with him at the semi-annual
school music concert. I was way more
nervous than he was!
The music tutors put an enormous amount of effort into these
concerts and again the kids are gaining so much confidence from these
experiences.
Sports Program
The sports carnivals are so well organised and all of the
kids are encouraged to improve on their personal bests, no matter what that
might be.
I have watched the sports program grow and change over the
last eight years and I am grateful for the opportunities that it has given my
children. The sports teacher has
conducted extra training sessions before and after school and this teaches the
kids that if they want to improve they need to put in the effort. Another boy has done very well in the State swimming
championships and I know that the sports teacher has put in hours of
out-of-school time with this boy.
The kids also get to participate in all kinds of sports in
friendly tournaments with LORDS (in Ormeau) and have played not only
traditional sports like netball, but also interesting ones like Ultimate
Frisbee. They are taught that being
active is fun and the variety of sports allows different kids to shine in
different sports.
Academic Support
I have one child that receives academic support through
extension work, and one that receives support through an IEP. As best I can tell, no-one is made to feel “less
than” anyone else by attending the academic support services.
No matter what level the children are at, they are
encouraged to stretch themselves and work to the best of their ability. They are encouraged to enter external competitions
like ICAS. My daughter has also attended
extra workshops at other schools.
Teaching of values
We are not Lutheran.
To be honest I haven’t done a detailed comparison with their doctrines
but I’m sure there are some points that we would not agree on. However I am so happy that our kids have the
opportunity to have Christian values of service, selflessness, honesty, and so
many others underlying everything that they do at school. This term my daughter has been learning about
some of the humanitarian issues in Cambodia using information provided by the Australian
Lutheran World Service. I think it is
fantastic that they have access to this information and that they are
encouraged to foster a sense of responsibility to help those who are in need
around the world.
They attend chapel every Friday and sing up-beat songs about
Jesus and being a good person – way more up-beat than we have at our
services. I think it is great that they
get to experience another religion first-hand and I think the songs help them
to keep our common values in mind as they figure out what is important to them.
The local Lutheran congregation offers all kinds of support
to the school. The Worship Centre is
used not only for chapel, but for movie nights, school music concerts, and for
a fortnightly afternoon activity for the Grade 6 & 7s (BLAYZ). I can never stay but I believe that they also
help with morning teas after chapel.
Pastor Mike is well known in the school and he also knows the kids and
many of the families.
My children are not made to feel embarrassed that they have
a different religion. I feel that there
is a genuine culture of acceptance at the school.
Commitment to resolve
issues
I don’t intend to give the impression that nothing ever goes
wrong. We are all human. The school has made mistakes. I have made mistakes. Thankfully, they have not held them against
me or my kids. Let’s just say I learned
the hard way that when something happens at school, I get the story through the
eyes of my child only and I’ve learned to assume that there is much more to the
story! I have come to expect the same
level of latitude from the teachers who I am sure hear all kinds of stories
about what happens in our home.
When I raised concerns about a change that I didn’t like,
the acting principal spoke to me the very next day about it (my daughter came
running out of school yelling “Mrs Jessen wants to talk to yooouuuu in
the office!”). I was not having a
good week at all and had probably made a bigger deal out of it than I needed
to, but the acting principal wanted to iron it out quickly.
There are things that I don’t like. Decisions that I don’t agree with. Changes that I wish were not necessary. But I recognise that a school cannot please everyone all of the time and that no matter what, they do everything with the
best intentions for the kids.
To sum up
As my daughter rapidly changes from an adorable little girl
into a teenager I often look at her and reflect on who she is and how she came
to be the person that she is. I am
grateful for the many good influences that she has in her life, including
family members, friends and church leaders.
I am certain that the staff at Bethania have been a significant positive
influence in her life, and that her experiences at Bethania have given her a
solid foundation to allow her to move forward and make a positive contribution
to her community.
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