At Good News Lutheran College, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the means and motivation for inviting, encouraging and developing acceptable student behaviour. Since Christian behaviour and attitudes are not inherent to human nature, teachers will present the Christian life-style through instruction, admonition and example. This will be done in a positive, loving and caring environment in order to reinforce Christian values and to encourage positive attitudes and behaviours.
Our goal is to build a safe and caring community where people live in relationship with each other, recognising these relationships are damaged by conflict or wrong doing. Restorative Practices have been incorporated into a whole school approach and is represented by a range of informal and formal strategies, such as the use of effective language and restorative conversations.
Restorative Practices involve the use of transferable values and principles to promote social equity in relationships, empathy and personal accountability.
Restorative Practice forms the cornerstone of our Behaviour Management and Bullying Prevention in the Junior School. We choose to use Restorative Practice when things go wrong because the Bible tells us that all people are born sinners. We all do things that are either antisocial or mean at some point in our lives – these are our sins. Our sins cause damage or hurt God, others or ourselves.
We believe that Jesus came to earth to reconcile our relationship with God by taking the punishment we deserve for our sin. We are so thankful to Jesus and we want to be like him. While we can’t remove sin from the world, we can do our best to fix the damage that is caused by bad behaviour.
Throughout the College, there is a strong focus on healthy lifestyles, personal wellbeing, mental health, cyber-safety, protective behaviours and generally caring for self. In addition to the learning programs, we have a well-equipped First Aid Centre with fully trained staff members. They provide immediate first aid and care during the School day. We also have a College Counsellor and Chaplain, who provide support for students across the College, as required.
Making a valuable contribution to the lives of others helps build character and a strong sense of self. All students are encouraged to participate in community initiatives - within the College community or the wider local or global community. Throughout the year, the College provides support to a number of different causes.
Leadership is formal and informal throughout the School with elected positions in Junior, Middle and Senior Years.