Vision and Values
Balwyn High School strives to stay at the forefront of education and to be the benchmark for educational excellence. It is committed to maintaining an outstanding reputation for fostering intellectual growth and personal development as a foundation of future success for all students. Our mission is to support our students to grow to love learning, become lifelong learners, be confident, generous and responsible global citizens, and be capable of facing the future with resilience and optimism.
The skills, attributes, knowledge and personal qualities we nurture include:
- A set of values as articulated in our Graduation Profile
- A capacity to be flexible and adapt to change, derived from knowing how to learn
- A belief in lifelong learning and the capacity for learning to learn
- The capacity to solve problems, to think creatively and to think critically
- The capacity to work effectively as a member of a team and to demonstrate initiative
- High self-esteem, optimism and a commitment to excellence
- An international perspective characterised by compassion and empathy
- An active concern for others and for the environment, reflecting an understanding of their roles as responsible global citizens
Balwyn High School’s values are enshrined in our four Pillars of Learning, Graduation Profile and our Shared Learning Norms:
Term One – Learning to Live Together
Term Two – Learning to Think, Know and Understand
Term Three – Learning to Do
Term Four – Learning to Be
Our Shared Learning Norms, co-created by our community members in 2016, provide the framework for highly effective learning and wellbeing for all students and staff members:
- We enter each class prepared and willing to actively contribute
- We view mistakes as learning opportunities
- We challenge ourselves and support others
- We give and receive respectful and constructive feedback
- We critique ideas not people
- We value thinking to support learning
and form the basis of our Learner Profile for all year levels.
Students are given the opportunity to develop their behaviours that are reflected in this Profile which is regularly reported to them and their families to monitor progress. These Shared Learning Norms also form the protocols for all staff team collaborations.
The following diagram shows how Balwyn High School’s vision is integrated with its emphasis on personal and educational excellence.
