History:
Holy Family School was established in 1955. It is one of three parish schools belonging to St Michael’s Parish incorporating the Churches of Holy Family, Bell Park, Saints Peter and Paul’s, Geelong West and Holy Spirit, Manifold Heights. The original parish of Holy Family opened in 1953 and Holy Family School opened in 1955 with 180 P-4 students. The school was the parish centre – a school during the week and a centre for Mass and community events at the weekend. Holy Family School has a long history of association with the Sisters of Mercy. In 2000 the Mercy Order handed over the administration to a lay principal.
Description:
Our School Vision:
The Holy Family is our inspiration as we strive to live out Catholic Gospel values and promote a diverse and challenging curriculum which prepares and empowers students for an ever-changing world.
We are an adaptable, hope-filled community accountable for empowering growth and developing the ‘whole person’ in shaping a sustainable future. At Holy Family School we use the model of the ‘Holy Family’ as our foundation and we are committed to the Christian vision of the dignity and potential of each human person. We are fortunate to have a strong history of a large culturally diverse community, where all people are valued.
Holy Family School is situated in Bell Park, one of the northern suburbs of Geelong. Bell Park has traditionally been a settling place for migrant groups moving into Geelong for employment in local industry with a very strong population growth period in the 1950s and 1960s.
Over recent years there has been a significant increase in enrolment numbers including refugee students from the Middle East regions of Iraq and Syria.
Features:
The 2.18 hectare site offers an environment that caters for creative and explorative play. Children are able to socialise in our garden area, use the sporting field and courts, the adventure playground and a wide variety of areas to play creatively.
The students are grouped across four learning areas including the Prep Learning Area (Foundation), Junior Learning Area (Years 1/2), Middle Learning Area (Years 3/4) and Senior Learning Area (Years 5/6). The 3-4 and 5-6 Learning Teams work in open and collaborative spaces with an emphasis on student-led learning. Holy Family seeks to develop motivated, creative and independent learners who demonstrate strong social values and whose leadership, resilience and self-esteem is evident when interacting with the community.
The school provides a comprehensive curriculum with a strong focus on literacy and numeracy and Religious Education. Curriculum initiatives include personalised and differentiated programs to meet the needs of all learners that are in line with contemporary learning and teaching practices. An integrated classroom curriculum addresses the domains of Science, Humanities/History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, Design Technology and Health.