THERE is no mistaking it, something truly special is underway at All Saints Anglican School.
As students from Prep to Year 9 head out for a well-earned break, the campus is alive with calm, happy faces. Students move purposefully and jovially, smiling, laughing and always offering a friendly “good morning” if you meet their gaze.
With the school expanding to create new and innovative learning spaces, it’s clear that its core values have been deeply embedded in the culture in a remarkably short time. The enthusiasm of students, combined with positive feedback from last year’s parent and staff surveys, shows that the school’s leadership and teachers have made the most of the opportunity to create a thriving learning environment from day one, as Principal Jim Laussen noted last year:
“With 95 per cent of families rating the quality of teaching as either good or very good, staff overwhelmingly spoke about the sense of belonging and purpose they enjoy as part of our professional community.”
Bringing 20 years of teaching experience to her role as Head of Teaching and Learning, Myra Hardy joined All Saints last year when Year 8 commenced for the first time. Having previously worked in a new school, she said:
“I love starting schools from the ground up—having that fresh slate and the opportunity to build things intentionally. When I met Jim and heard him speak about the vision for All Saints, even before the school existed, I was immediately drawn to it.”
Describing the culture of teaching and learning, Myra added:
“Our staff genuinely love being in the classroom, and you can feel that warmth from the moment students arrive each day. Teachers are always greeting students, and there’s a strong sense of belonging even before learning begins.”
Year 3 teacher Kerryn Jarvis reinforced this sense of collaboration and community, as she said:
“We’re very much a community of teachers who all want the best for our students, not just academically but in terms of wellbeing. We plan learning programs together with a clear focus on differentiation, so children are supported at their point of need. We communicate regularly with parents to understand their children’s learning styles and the supports that work best for them. We also seek feedback from students about what they want to learn and how they learn best, and we incorporate that into our teaching programs.”
The school’s emphasis on student agency has led to impressive engagement in Middle School Humanities as Myra said:
“Across both Junior and Middle school, teachers have the flexibility to dive deeper into areas students are interested in while still meeting curriculum requirements. For example, if students have a strong interest in a topic, teachers can link that interest to broader science or history concepts. In Middle school, we’ve taken this further where last year, students chose whether to study the Viking Age or Medieval Europe. While teachers explicitly taught the required skills, students explored content through investigation and research.”
By embedding inclusivity, empowering student agency and encouraging students to strive for their personal best, All Saints has become a thriving hub of teaching collaboration and personalised, flexible learning.
“All Saints is a very open and inclusive learning community, and that’s one of the things I really love about the school,” Kerryn said.
