Fernbrook School
About Fernbrook School
Fernbrook School came to be, because a small group of passionate people held a common belief. We observed from experience, that the ways children learn are many and varied. Children need to move, play and explore. They need to feel a connection; to people, to place and to what they are learning. We found that these things are not being considered or provided for in many current educational models and settings.
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Our mission is to create a dynamic, creative, engaging learning place for all children. A place where they can feel connected and valued.
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The true joy of an independent school is that we have the freedom to reflect on what we see as best practice from around the world and are then able to weave these practices together in such a way that we create an intricate tapestry of teaching and learning.
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The beauty of the tapestry is best appreciated through experience rather than words, which is why we invite you to visit us and spend time in our learning environment to see it for yourself. Please, come and see!
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Fernbrook School is a dynamic, lively, and engaging school with a strong focus on social interactions and multi-age learning. Children and families enrolled at Fernbrook School are expected and encouraged to abide by the underlying philosophies of the school that have a strong focus on child led learning, multi-age social interactions, multidisciplinary learning and dynamic learning environments. We assess and report according to the guidelines of the Victorian Curriculum.
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At Fernbrook School we broaden the scope of learning by viewing it as a series of experiences, whether they are pre-planned or fortuitous. Some of these experiences are described below.
Bushland and Sustainability
We are very fortunate to be nestled into beautiful bushland from where our learning takes place on a regular basis both deliberately and spontaneously. Our community are passionate and inquisitive about local flora and fauna, which organically integrates into our learning here at Fernbrook.
Each Friday afternoon you will see students and staff learning about our environment and sustainable practices as we educate ourselves and work towards receiving a 5-star rating with Resource Smart Schools - Sustainability Victoria.
Clubs
Another Friday event our students and staff look forward to is Clubs. Clubs is a whole school, interest-based initiative that sees students collaborate to learn, create and connect around a specific topic or activity. The clubs we run are nominated by the students and change each term. Some of these clubs include bike riding, cooking, gaming, art, hair and beauty, rollerblading, and many others. The potential these experiences provide is enormous and we cannot wait to see what students choose to pursue next! We relish the opportunity to go off site during these sessions, to seek out real-life applications to the learning and discussion that is happening at school.
Patch to Plate - School Lunches
Patch to Plate is our kitchen-garden program that provides healthy, delicious meals each school day for our students and staff. We see enormous nutritional and social benefits in providing a meal each day. Students also assist in the kitchen each day to promote safe and rich learning experiences about nutrition and all of the wonderful incidental lessons we experience when cooking.
Comfortable and Flexible Learning Spaces
Each classroom has been carefully considered to provide flexible learning arrangements. We know students choose an array of seating positions and locations within our spaces. Accommodating comfortability by providing large tables, soft sofas and floor space, we see an increase in engagement in learning.
School Policies
