The Mission of our College

"We develop character and inspire hope."

Our Vision

"Saint Stephen's College will be a learning community centred on Christian principles. As such, it will foster self directed, determined, courageous and skilful people of substance who will make a positive difference to their communities while they are at school and when they graduate. Our students will leave Year 12 with a strong sense of who they are and with the courage and skills to thrive in the 21st Century."

Our Values

Personal attributes:

• Integrity/Commitment/Participation (to each other and to the promises we make)
• Abundance mentality/Graciousness (encouraging/recognising others) that flows from a commitment to something greater than ourselves.
• Maturity (the ability to tell the truth without offending others)
• Respect for self and others

Community attributes:

• Creativity and innovation
• Fun/enjoying learning/celebration /joyfulness
• Informed participation
• Love and Belonging
• Learning through natural consequences
• Personal safety

Educational attributes (essential learnings).

• An international perspective
• A futures (change) orientation
• The ability to apply knowledge
• An interdisciplinary perspective
• A capacity to work in teams
• Literacy, numeracy and communication skills (including an understanding of the language of science and technology)
• Spirituality
• Imagination/Creativity
• Personal mastery and character based leadership

Statement of Philosophy

The following statement of philosophy is intended to complement the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Saint Stephen’s College endorses the Declaration’s commitment to equity and excellence. The College community recognises the need for young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.

At Saint Stephen’s College we believe that the academic, spiritual, cultural and sporting dimensions of a child’s education are all important. These dimensions are developed so as to equip students of the College with the academic and social tools required to lead a successful life and to contribute positively to the broader community. The College community should be safe, happy and caring; healthy, active and dynamic; as well as academic, productive and achievement oriented.

While the College accepts students with varied religious backgrounds, it seeks to lead all students in their Christian faith development. This is achieved through the modelling of Christian values as well as explicit teaching. All members of staff are expected to support the College’s Christian ethos.

Students develop most effectively when they are aware of their community’s expectations, which are communicated informally or through College policies. Respect for self and others are fundamental expectations at Saint Stephen’s College. Consequently, persistent bullying, abuse of teachers, disruptive behaviour and failure to fulfil commitments is considered unacceptable and can lead to the termination of the student’s enrolment.

Persistent failure to submit work and failure to wear the College uniform correctly are also considered to be serious breaches of our mutual expectations.

The community at Saint Stephen’s College focuses on developing each person as a creative and optimistic individual who is ready to learn and solve problems while at the same time educating them to work collaboratively with others. The College seeks to engage with the community beyond its gates through active participation in projects that serve others.

The staff of the College understands the need to work with parents as they educate their child. Effective parenting is the single most important factor in the education of a school-aged child. It follows that collaboration between home and school is a vital contributor to the success of any child. To this end the College asks parents to support policies and to encourage their children to fulfil their commitments. Most importantly, the College asks each parent to show an interest in their child’s education through attendance at College events and by discussing what their child is learning when they are at home.

Children develop at different rates. The College’s teachers recognise the need to provide programmes that cater for the differing learning needs of children through such means as; classroom teachers offering differentiated curriculum experiences, grouping children of similar ability, providing special ability programmes and by providing alternative course options and community-linked experiences for older students.

While classroom teachers differentiate the curriculum to meet the different needs of children, it is also important for children to be placed in programmes with children of broadly similar abilities.

The needs of the child may be best served in multi-grade classrooms or by spending more than one year in a grade level during their schooling experience at the College. Consequently, each child’s progress through the College is linked to their competency in core curriculum areas.

Relationships between staff and students are at the heart of our College. These relationships are based on mutual respect and a preparedness to appreciate and support each other. This philosophy is not inconsistent with the expectation that students recognise the authority of staff as adults who have a responsibility for and an interest in their learning and welfare. The teacher’s goal is to ensure that each child performs to the best of their ability, and this may mean that they need to take the student outside of their comfort zone.

Teachers at Saint Stephen’s College are expected to be masters of their academic disciplines and well informed classroom practitioners. High levels of enthusiasm and a genuine love of children underpin these expectations.

The College’s teachers and other staff are expected to engage in professional development to ensure they apply best practice, including the integration of ICT into the teaching/learning process. While the College accepts that it has a major role to play in guiding this development, it also expects its teachers to be proactive in managing their own learning.