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Blue Gum Community School

Are you interested in working in an environment inspired and influenced by the practice and principles of the Reggio Emilia Educational Project? If so, we would love to hear from you. We are always on the lookout for passionate educators and university interns who want to collaborate with others in providing an educational experience that is marked by connection, community and deep research with others.

We represent two schools in Australia – one in Canberra (est. 1998) and one in Sydney (est. 2022). In our Canberra school, we welcome children in our Playgroup, Preschool and K-10 School. In Sydney, we welcome children in our Preschool and Primary School.

Inspired by Reggio Emilia’s invitation to consider how the ‘image of the child’ we carry informs how we relate and respond to children, at Blue Gum, we see all our students as competent, capable, creative, responsible, resourceful and resilient citizens of the present, with influence and responsibility in our school community. We recognise children as active and involved voices, and designers of curriculum.

Our communities are human places where people want to be, with learning environments that are intentionally designed to provoke wonder and invite thinking together. Our spaces carry traces of the students’ ongoing thinking, inviting relaunches into areas of inquiry, that often bring different perspectives into conversation with one another. We see learning ‘as a group’ as crucial, providing multiple opportunities every day for the students to bring their ideas together, so we can go deep in our understandings together.

Thinking together is something we expect of our educators as well as our students. We come together as a team regularly to think deeply about our work. We resist the notion of the school as a factory, instead we see school as a living, active and ever-changing community, where we learn together what it means to be more human! As such, we support students by recognising them as whole people, celebrating their strengths and challenges across the breadth of the human experience. We see difference as an opportunity (not a stumbling block) and as such design our experiences to bring out the importance of multiple perspectives with a humility that recognises others as essential to our own identities.

Would you like to explore the many opportunities Blue Gum offers educators:

  • Are you keen to explore new ideas with students, as co‐researchers and co‐learners?
  • Committed to interactive, collaborative, authentic learning?
  • Adept at creating inviting, inspiring & challenging learning environments?
  • Value social/emotional learning as highly as academic and physical pursuits?
  • Willing to question your own thinking, as well as your students’ thinking?

Additional info about the way we work:

  • All classes are multi-aged, co-ed classes.
  • Preschool offers 3 educators: 25 children.
  • Primary it is 2 educators: 25 children.
  • Secondary classes in Canberra have 13 students with a Core Teacher.
  • We see the wider community as a classroom. Being outdoors in all weather with the students, in the bush, in the gardens or in the local community is crucial to our work.
  • Blue Gum is not religion‐based, though families’ differing beliefs are respected.
  • Blue Gum’s ethos is grounded in the Australian tradition of ‘a fair go’ ‐a strong commitment to social justice, especially the right of each student to feel valued; develop a sense of belonging; and be equipped with the essential academic and interpersonal skills for success and a meaningful life with others.

Who are we looking for?

  • Educators – University qualified, Early Childhood to Secondary School
  • Diploma or Cert III Educators
  • Training teachers looking to be mentored and grow in their experience as they study! We offer paid internships for outstanding applicants, who are undertaking a teaching qualification at an Australian university.

How do I apply?

Please email your current CV with a covering letter to the appropriate contact below (depending on your location). In your covering letter, let us know a bit about you and why you would like to explore working with us at Blue Gum. We would like to gain an understanding of your personal educational philosophy and what you would bring to the team at Blue Gum, from your letter.

Although not required, a knowledge of emergent curriculum and social constructivist approaches to learning, is desirable. If you have had previous experience supporting students’ engagement with real‐life projects, please let us know!

Ability to meet, but also critically question, relevant Accreditation/Licensing/School Registration requirements, is essential.

Sophia Williams

Principal

Blue Gum Community School ACT

school@bluegum.act.edu.au

02 6230 6776

www.bluegum.act.edu.au

Jill McLachlan

Principal

Blue Gum Community School NSW

school@bluegum.nsw.edu.au

02 9138 2019

www.bluegum.nsw.edu.au