History:
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Primary School was officially opened on 29 January 1924, with Mother Evangeline, as Principal. The enrolment for that year was 62 pupils. The school numbers passed one hundred in 1927 and reached 150 in 1938 with classes from Prep to grade 8. By the mid60s three more classrooms were needed to accommodate the growing school population although enrolments fluctuated over the following years. The first lay teachers commenced at OLGC in 1951. The first school Board was established in 1971. The Sisters of the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) were associated with the school until 1981. Mrs Maureen Burke was the first lay Principal. In 2012, the parishes of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Deepdene and All Hallows, Balwyn amalgamated and All Hallows Primary School was closed. In 2016 the Parish boundary was extended to include Our Lady of Victories, Camberwell. Our Lady of Good Counsel Primary School is now the Catholic Primary School across the three suburbs of Deepdene, Balwyn and Camberwell.
Description:
In 2019, Our Lady of Good Counsel had an enrolment of 242 students. Of the current enrolment, 28% of students are from a language background other than English. The school’s socioeconomic status (SES) is 122 and the School ICSEA value is 1177. Students are arranged in 11 class groups.
The school offers a comprehensive curriculum, which is based on the Victorian Curriculum. Specialist programs are provided in Physical Education, Visual Arts, STEM and Italian. The school offers Reading Recovery along with targeted programs in Literacy and Maths to support the classroom program through intervention and extension. Students are encouraged to participate in the music program with specialist teachers available for private lessons for a range of instruments. Mandarin classes are offered after school.
There is a high level of parental support and involvement in the life of the school. Parents (and grandparents) actively participate in classroom literacy and numeracy activities, excursions, interschool sport. The Parish School Board and the Parents Association are valued and actively supported.
Our Lady of Good Counsel School and Parish are located on a site surrounded by beautiful trees and homes. The multi-storey building has an enclosed atrium space that serves as a gathering space for school activities. Outdoor areas encompass well-maintained and attractive spaces for active and passive play. Classrooms are well-resourced with technology updated regularly to meet the
educational needs of our students.
Today, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Primary School serves the Parishes of Deepdene & Balwyn and Camberwell. As “a leading faith community inspiring learners to shape tomorrow”, we take seriously our responsibility for catering for the individual learner, providing many opportunities for young people to engage and participate in a wide range of activities. Faith development is integral to the total education of the students. Our Lady of Good Counsel School has a moral, legal and mission driven responsibility to create nurturing school environments where children and young people are
respected, their voices are heard and where they are safe and feel safe.
Features:
OLGC remains committed to providing quality Catholic Education for all students in partnership with parents, parish and the wider community and is continually evaluating and planning in order to work towards achieving our goals. The school continues to maintain a strong reputation as a leading faith community.
Recommendations from the School Review shape the future directions for OLGC:
* Refine the school improvement agenda to include explicit and clear targets expressed in terms of the specific improvements sought in student outcomes across the school, with accompanying timelines, so that the agenda drives and focuses the work of leaders and teachers rigorously. Incorporate the establishment of achievable aspirational targets for all students. Communicate the agenda to students and parents.
* Create and implement a whole of school professional learning plan that takes account of all modes of professional learning opportunities, especially those within the school. Incorporate current practices into a comprehensive, systematic and strategic approach to the observation, feedback, mentoring and coaching of staff that includes clear protocols which ensure that there is a focus on reflection of practice, the cultivation of strong professional growth and consistency of classroom practice.
* Continue to develop a whole of school curriculum plan that includes social emotional learning and achieves a strong alignment between the overall scope and sequence, unit plans, classroom teaching and the assessment of student progress. Ensure that it pays attention to the vertical alignment and the continuity and progression of learning from one year level to the next and that planning processes and documentation provide a foundation for consistency of teaching practice. Communicate this to students and parents.
* Establish a clear and shared school-wide position on differentiation. Ensure that it is a key feature of classroom practice and that the adjustments are consistently documented in planning. Evaluate the effectiveness of the differentiation strategies and make sure that particular attention is paid to the needs and growth of high achieving students to provide them with the opportunity to reach their full potential.
* Establish an explicit and agreed position on the research-based teaching practices that need to be evident in every classroom. Support teachers in their understanding and implementation of the effective teaching methods subscribed to and ensure that there is consistency of practice evident in every classroom, every day.
As we help each other to build a relationship with God we will be guided by Our Lady of Good Counsel.