Staff Reflections on our New Building

Our new school is a beautiful space to work in and a very welcoming environment. It allows for all different sizes of working groups also - depending on what staff and students are working on. There are many spaces for quiet work and also the room to spread out when working in a larger group. It is great to see students breaking off into small teams to collaborate together.

The space allows more access to all class groups and to see what other year levels are working on. In this way, it has allowed me to see and learn from other staff on how they operate and teach the students.

This team environment allows me to capitalise on my strengths and learn from others through our close working environment. It allows staff, students and parents to all be on the same page with regards to learning and expectations.

Rebecca Davis-Gander Education Assistant

The open and flexible learning spaces at St Xavier’s are amazing to work in! The access to technology and opportunities for students to work independently, collaboratively or in small groups with the teacher makes teaching more meaningful and engaging for the students. It has given me greater opportunity to collaborate with and learn from my coworkers and allowed me to regularly differentiate my teaching to meet my students’ needs.

Brittany Reynolds Teacher

At St Xavier's, we are so incredibly lucky to work in such an exciting space. The openness of the shared area and beautiful natural light, creates a comforting environment for students to learn in. The double glass sliding doors leading into each classroom, ensures that all staff are still able to work collaboratively even when running small group sessions in the shared space.

Alex Howarth Education Assistant

The environment that has been created at St Xaviers is so welcoming, it's a calm space to interact with the students. At any given time there can be a number of different year groups using the collaborative spaces productively. Students love the opportunity to get into small groups to work outside the classroom. Being able to help with breakout groups or one on one with a student gives the opportunity to explore the students thoughts and ideas.

I have really enjoyed being part of the Year Six Team this year. I have been included in many areas and I particularly enjoy being involved in the planning on RFF days. The staff have been not only welcoming but so helpful when needed.

Nicola Jones Education Assistant

Working in the new space at St Xavier’s has been a great experience that has allowed me to learn and grow as a new teacher. The classrooms and shared spaces within the school allow for teachers to differentiate and provide their students with many different learning opportunities. The flexibility within the learning areas, allows for teachers and students to use the various spaces as needed. Whether it is for group work, one-on-one or independent learning. The collaborative teaching and learning environment thrives in the new classrooms and learning areas, as students have their learning needs catered for.

The communication, support and teamwork between coworkers fosters a proactive learning environment that is student-focused. Working with the team at St Xavier’s is fantastic as it provides so many different experiences to be shared together, if it is with your grade partner and Educational Assistant, your students, or another coworker.

Sarah Hamparsum Teacher

The recent re-build undertaken at St Xavier’s Primary School has paved the way for improved pedagogy that will benefit the students of St Xavier’s for many years to come. The construction included classrooms designed to be flexible-learning environments all linked to the heart of the new-build; the Shared Space. This is where the impact of the new build can be felt. At any given time during school hours, the Shared Space is a hive of activity accommodating groups of students from all grades, but not that you can hear it due to the state-of-the-art sound-proofing that has been included in the design!

Being able to teach at St Xavier’s is extremely rewarding. The collaborative approach we take towards the education on offer results in a true team work-ethic. Our staff are effective communicators and have the ability to bounce ideas off each other; something that does not always happen at other schools, and did not always happen when we were teaching in our own classroom. But greater than having another professional to plan with, is that our staff have another professional in the classroom with them to debrief and reflect with. This is where the collaborative approach is so important and which is why our academic results have been showing tremendous improvement across the last five years. Our collaborative approach means that we also have the people-power to effectively address the needs of our students, whether they be academic or well being-focussed, whilst still operating the lesson for the students that are ready to learn. It is for this reason that my wife and I would not have our nine-year-old son in any other learning environment than St Xavier’s, and why I am so happy to be a teacher at St Xavier’s.

Malcolm Frend Teacher

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