Holy Spirit Primary School
http://ceo-web.parra.catholic.edu.au/holyspirit

History

Holy Spirit Primary School was established when St Clair was a new and developing suburb. It commenced with four classrooms with a Sister of Mercy of the Parramatta Congregation as its founding principal.

The present, lay and third principal at Holy Spirit followed a Sister of Mercy who completed her principalship during 1996.

The school is a three-stream school with a present enrolment of some 605 children and a projected enrolment of 630. The student population is a rich tapestry of cultures including children from anglo-celtic, filipino, indian, sri-lankan, and maltese backgrounds. A very dedicated staff of some 39 persons combines to provide a sound yet developing education program within the context of our Catholic faith tradition.

Our parent body, through it various structures, both formal and informal, is actively involved in the life of the school. We highly value their input and support.

Religious Dimension

The Religious Dimension of our school is very much reflected in our loving interpersonal relationships. This love is demonstrated by our staff to the children in our care, and through the respect and support shown for each other and for the children's parents.

Community Dimension

As a parish school we are responsive to the hopes and dreams of the local faith community. We see ourselves very much part of parish and are happy to find ourselves with the spiritual guidance and support of the Augustinians who provide three priests to our community.

We recognise parents as the prime educators of their children in faith and in life. We work in partnership with them to provide the most holistic education program that we can work within the resources available to us.

We have an open door policy in the school encouraging parents to be involved where possible and where appropriate to enhance the teaching and learning program. This is reflected in parents as reading tutors, sports helpers, craft helpers, library aides, classroom helpers, etc.

Educational Dimension

At Holy Spirit School we regard ourselves as a community of learners. We believe that learning is a life long process.

We constantly review our teaching and learning programs as we try to provide the highest quality teaching and learning opportunities.

As teachers we collaboratively plan and implement learning programs.

Our school developed and implemented a Whole School Literacy Strategy. This requires that each class teacher provide a two hour literacy block in their room between 9am and 11am each day. Interruptions to this learning block are to be kept to a minimum. Each teacher provides a variety of learning centres within their room.

Another of our current focus areas is that of learning technologies. We have worked hard, with the support of the parent community, to ensure that we remain at the forefront of this dimension of teaching and learning as we move towards the next century.

We acknowledge that each child is unique and that each learns in a variety of ways and at different rates. We acknowledge that some children have learning difficulties whilst others are gifted. We believe that one of the reflections of the Catholicity of our school is the way in which we endeavour to meet the needs of these children through our Special Education and Literacy Support Team. This support team provides services in class and through a withdrawal mode.

Pastoral Care and Pupil Management

At Holy Spirit Primary School Pastoral Care refers to the total care of each person in our school community. It is a term used to describe both an attitude and a process, and is based upon a belief in the dignity of the person. It forms part of our concern for the welfare of all those in the school community.

Building Program

In the Year 2000 our school will undertake a Building Program through the Catholic Education office which will see our facilities significantly upgraded with a new library and new classrooms to replace existing demountables. This will be an exciting time in the short history of Holy Spirit School.