| Principal | Ms Jenny Williams |
|---|---|
| Year levels | P to 12 |
| Enrolment numbers | 977 |
| Boarding or day | boarding |
| Website | http://www.firbank.vic.edu.au |
| Phone | (03) 9591 5188 |
| Fax | (03) 9593 1745 |
| Postal address | 51 Outer Crescent, Brighton, 3186 |
| Address | 51 Outer Cres, Brighton VIC 3186 |
Founded in the Anglican tradition, Firbank was established in 1909 as a day and boarding school for girls. The Senior School and our girls only Junior School are located in Brighton while our Sandringham campus offers a co-educational primary education. The boarding House welcomes students from rural areas and overseas. As a school, we value learning, initiative, endeavour, achievement, responsibility integrity, respect, creativity, spirituality, flexibility and diversity. All students are encouraged to discover and develop their individual talents and interests. Recognising that students bring different knowledge and life experiences to new learning challenges and learn in different ways, there is an emphasis on diversity in the scope and the delivery of the academic curriculum and in the co-curriculum programs offered. At all levels, the curriculum places a strong emphasis on the key areas of literacy and numeracy. We take pride in our students’ achievements, in particular our consistently outstanding VCE results. Our Junior Schools teach the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate. In the Senior School the key principles of this program are continued in our emphasis on inquiry and experiential learning. A sequential program of outdoor camps and expeditions provides unique age-appropriate experiences at each level from Year 3 to Year 10. An overarching goal is to help students to become more independent and grow as individuals with a strong understanding of their own and a respect for others’ capacities and interests. In programs, such as the Year 9 Residential Experience in Thailand, our students are given opportunities to learn to collaborate, communicate, negotiate and strive to understand the perspectives of others. These programs provide learning situations which are authentic and motivational and develop the skills students need in the 21st century. Community involvement programs, which allow students to make a contribution to the local and global communities, teach responsibility and respect. Structured programs at Years 9 and 10 create awareness and a desire to help others which is then given expression in whole school activities, designed and conducted by the students, to support children in other parts of the world. The School is proactive in the area of sustainability: educating, raising awareness and implementing sustainable programs. Firbank has a strong record in understanding the potential of applying technology to enhance students’ learning. We have a clear vision and strategic plan for the use of technology in the School. Our current focus is on developing ways to integrate learning with mobile technologies and in virtual environments. Our emphasis is on using technology to provide experiences which allow differentiation and are not bound by time, space or traditional pedagogy. These learning opportunities are designed to develop students’ skills in critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making. Firbank is currently involved in a state-wide pilot program looking at e-safety. All staff are supported with a range of professional learning opportunities. These may be specific to individual teachers or in line with strategic goals identified each year. All teaching staff are invited to apply for the annual Staff Scholarship to support overseas travel for professional learning. While we believe that human resources are the most important, we also strive to provide the best possible learning spaces. Recent developments include a lecture theatre, additional computer laboratories including a purpose-built Mac Lab for students studying Multimedia and new social and private study spaces for senior students. A complete refurbishment of the Junior School in Brighton has allowed us to create flexible spaces, purposefully designed to support staff in catering for different learning styles. These spaces reflect our philosophy of collaboration between all learners.