Based at Wahroonga, St Lucy's is a Catholic Dominican co-educational primary school offering an education of great quality for children having physical disabilities. It has satellite classes being run on the Northern Wahroong Beaches. They are truly convinced of the fact that the St Lucy's children were created in God’s image, and that they are also endowed with pure innocence, honesty, authenticity and unconditional love. They also are convinced that all who are coming to St Lucy's, including you have been brought there through the Holy Spirit.
St Lucy's Vision
St Lucy's is a specialist independent Catholic School as well as a community. They are endeavoring to stretch out to small children having disabilities who we fully appreciate that they got the right of enjoying a rich education giving them similar openings just like the other children to be able to lead a full life that is fulfilling.
The School’s Dominican tradition promotes a desire and love for acquiring learning; a liking of the aesthetic. It encourages the spreading of the Gospel message comprising of justice, truth, joy plus inclusion.
As a child’s with cognitive disabilities specialized school, they seek:
- Innovation and excellence in education to enable the understanding of our kids and share the knowledge we have.
- To become a school affirming and celebrating the children through exploring together with them their numerous and varied 'languages' including their capacity for joy and love.
- For everybody to value the special manner through which kids display the real face of Jesus Christ and how they are bringing the Kingdom of God to be amidst us.
They are fully convinced that by the timely provision of an educational experience catering for individual requirements and dissimilarities within a supportive and caring atmosphere, kids are going to develop in the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for their later life.
An enduring and strong dedication to joint processes of making decision, cooperation with parents and continuing professional staff growth will make sure that kid's potential and gifts are developed and recognized.
Christian values are what underpins the entire underpin the St Lucy's educational endeavour. The kids are being guided to developing in a loving and compassionate relationship with God, and learning from that environment to learn how to respect themselves, all the other persons and all of God’s Creation.
Through shared and lived experience, kids are being guided in a consciousness of their true self-worth, motivated to take pride in themselves, and in addition to feel enabled to assume their rightful community place.
St Lucy's School Values
The St Lucy's School values are based on the universal teaching of the Catholic Church and St Dominic. The long-held noble values have been modeled by the displayed behaviour; articulated in the school decisions, taught to all the kids and put into practice in the relationships.
Truth
God is truth and is reflected through prayer and study.
Community
They are open to everybody particularly the unnoticed, the unwanted, and the stranger, caring and welcoming for each other in Christ and greatly valuing the uniqueness that each individual is bringing along.
Individuality
Each individual is unique and precious made in God’s image and they celebrate and rejoice in differences; accepting and knowing each one's gifts.
Joyfulness
Experiencing joy is the true way to God.
Justice
Jesus Christ calls us to be compassionate with others who are in need standing with them.
Knowledge
They uphold the Dominican value for thirsting for understanding, carefully evaluating new ideas, thoughts and movements before passing any judgement.
Peace and peacefulness
They are dedicated to reconciliation and healing between peoples founded on justice.
The Aesthetic
They explore and value artistic and creative as a true expression of the Creator's being.
Unity of Creation
As an element of creation, they accept responsibility for the fair sharing of world resources.
Prayer and Contemplation
They seek to nurture the inner spiritual life of children and to meet that hunger for the holy that is in everybody, deeply exploring forms of worship and prayer that are meaningful and God pleasing.
The St Lucy's School History
St Lucy's School started when the Dominican Sisters in the year 1938 responded to an appeal coming from the Catholic Church to set up a special school for kids that are born blind, just similar to the initiative previously taken for deaf children. In the beginning located at Homebush, the school was established under the St Lucy patronage. The school transferred in 1959 to Wahroonga next to the Prouille School and the Dominican Convent.
Over the passage of time, the school’s direction has moved from just providing education for children who are blind to encompass more children having a variety of disabilities. Similarly, the school has over the years has been physically altered through the playground development and the inclusion of specialist facilities while it has more than doubled its intake in numbers.
St Lucy's School is now providing an educational approach that is based on the philosophy of Reggio Emilia having a focal point on the emerging creative arts and a renewed dedication towards realizing the stated conviction that all kids are created in God’s image. The aim is to become a great school of beauty and joy which all kids would desire to attend. That forms the School’s equality vision.
Ways of Helping
There are several imaginative ways of helping St Lucy's:
- Booking a table during the Parliament House St Lucy's Lunch on Friday 6th March 2015that will feature Malcolm Turnbull
- Being part of the Week Without Words initiative whose activities run throughout 2015
- Creating your individual fundraising event
- Donating
- Organizing your company’s a Corporate Day
- Volunteering
- Including the School in your Will
- Giving towards the Scholarship Fund (Jack Betteridge)