St John's Lutheran Primary School - Portland

The staff at St. John's want to get to know your child's and your family's story. We pride ourselves on small classes, well-resourced rooms, well-maintained grounds, and staff who work in partnership with you and do that little bit extra. We are guided by our simple yet powerful motto of Praise, Love, Serve. These three words make us reflect on the following:

• Praise: Our Brand and Identity Who we are? What do we stand for?
• Love: Community Who are the members of the St. John's Community.
• Serve: Learning the purpose What we believe about learning and learners.

We welcome you to be a part of our community. Being part of a Lutheran School means being part of a giant family. 39,000 Aussie kids are in Lutheran Schools. 89 schools all up! I can travel to any State or Territory and find 'family' – people I know, people who care about kids. This 'family' is visionary. We see an Australia full of educated, confident, thoughtful, tolerant, loving, faithful, and humble, and together we work towards that.

"Being a new teacher at a Lutheran school has been an amazing experience for me. Everybody is so welcoming, and you feel a sense of love and belonging. It gives you a sense of community amongst not just those at the school but the broader community. It is a great place to be, and I am so very grateful to be working at St John's Lutheran Primary School." Sarah Sewell - Year 3/4 Teacher.

As one of our parents recently told us, "It is like walking into a warm, friendly home. Apart from many of the comforts of home, the other features of our community are:

• Our multi-function Unity Centre - a flexible learning space for Performing Arts, Sport, and Assemblies.
• A large, well-landscaped play space provides plenty of opportunities for creative play that encourages children to interact across a variety of ages.
• Spacious, well-resourced classrooms.

At St John's, we pride ourselves upon being Connected for Learning. We are Connected with Technology through a small device to student ratio, and most importantly, our small class sizes mean that our staff is connected to each child's need. With capped classes, we have more time to tailor each student's learning and support them as they reach their full potential. Our students love to learn because we love to learn. Every week is ended with a celebration assembly where classes share their achievements from the weekend, and students receive many opportunities to share their work.

Since the school opened in 1980, St John's has been a significant contributor to the Portland community. Our students vigorously participate in community events such as Interschool Sport, Anzac Day March, Up Welling festival, and inter-school sport. Our senior students also represent themselves, Portland, and Victoria on their camps to Melbourne and Canberra.