A Distinct Choice
Highfields attracts families who are searching for something more. To choose Highfields is to make a distinct choice about the sort of schooling you want for your child. Highfields provides a bespoke experience for students, from our youngest preschoolers to our Year 2 leaders.
We pride ourselves in being small.
Choosing to limit our numbers has always been our strength in the way it ensures every child feels a sense of belonging and is able and expected to contribute meaningfully to our learning community. Small classes allow for rich and collaborative learning experiences and enable educators to design opportunities that support the strengths of each individual child, and the group as a whole. Our size enables a tight-knit parent community, with families enjoying a warm and welcoming experience within the school and beyond.
Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man.
Aristotle made these words famous, highlighting the significance of early childhood as a distinct stage of life, a stage not to be underestimated or squandered. Early childhood is a time of massive transformation and growth – a time when identity is forming, core values are established and important habits are developed. Because of this the culture of schools is of paramount importance to young learners. At Highfields, we are very intentional about the learning culture and the expectations we have of children. We believe that setting high expectations in a context that encourages risk-taking, listening, experimentation, questioning and perseverance leads to strong learning dispositions in young children. Having a rich and empowering experience of learning in the early years of schooling sets children up for life.
I love learning! I am a learner!
We want every Highfielder to develop an insatiable love of learning and confidence in their ability to learn. Creating a context that fosters this deep love of learning and self-confidence is our specialty. To do this we design the educational experience around the learners themselves! Highfield’s programs and plans are developed in response to young children’s interests and honour children’s deeply inquisitive approach to the world. Instead of trying to encourage children to blindly follow and ‘comply’ within a system, our programs are designed to motivate and equip children to lead the way, learning how to learn through self-driven commitment to make connections, ask questions and develop understanding.
We are a collaborative, non-competitive school.
Foundational to our approach is our emphasis on learning with others. We explicitly value alternate perspectives, encouraging our students to respect difference and celebrate different ways of knowing. Children at Highfields are encouraged to consider multiple points of view in relation to their learning and in relation to their behaviour. Instead of being rewarded for ‘good behaviour’ we encourage children to reflect on the impact of their choices (good and bad), to support the development of mindfulness and intrinsically motivated pro-social behaviours. We avoid traditions and systems that set up children in competition with one another, choosing to celebrate success in other ways that are intentionally non-competitive. We do not use stickers or other extrinsic rewards to motivate children. Children learn daily in small groups by getting their hands dirty, playing with materials and ideas and through sophisticated and reflective experimentation. Learning is contextualised in real life situations and whenever possible children’s projects are positioned in real-life contexts.
Choosing Highfields
Highfields is a distinct choice for families who recognise that for children, developing a desire to learn and the confidence to ‘have a go’, is as important as learning facts along the way. By choosing Highfields you are choosing a school that will recognise and celebrate your child’s individuality, without compromising the importance of supporting your child to learn how to learn with others. If you would like to know more about what this choice might look like for your family please join us for a school tour or call the school office to make an appointment.