What we do
What’s unique about us?
Morning Meetings
One of the things that makes Lance Holt truly special is our morning meetings. All students are encouraged to participate by sharing stories, achievements, or even the occasional impromptu performance. The democratic nature of our meetings means that everyone has an opportunity to be heard, to be valued and to be respected. This long standing school tradition results in students having better self-esteem, increased empathy for others, and the ability to speak confidently to people of all age groups. Parents are more than welcome and encouraged to attend.
Excursions
Our school takes full advantage of opportunities to learn beyond the classroom. Excursions are an important part of every student’s experience at Lance Holt. We regularly attend points of interest such as: The Esplanade Park, Bathers Beach, Fremantle Council, Fremantle Library, The Maritime Museum, art galleries, the markets and the harbour. The convenience of the Cat Bus allows us to travel all around Fremantle, and the train station links us with establishments in the City, such as: SciTech, the WA Art Gallery and the WA Museum. Excursions are not ‘rare events’ for us, we embark on them on a regular basis.
Camps
Every year the school goes on a camp together. This includes not just the teachers and the children, but also their parents. Every second year the camp is held on Rottnest Island. The school rents several streets of cottages on the island and lives together as a close community. Throughout the week children are involved in a range of learning activities directly related to sustainability and environmental awareness, such as: salt-lake biology, beach combing and litter collection, and touring the island’s recycling and renewable energy technologies and facilities. While the camps are educational, they are also lots of fun. Real enjoyment comes from spending time together, eating together, bike-riding, fishing for herring off the jetty and sharing sing-alongs in the evenings. Another highlight is the traditional talent night, when children put on song and dance routines, magic tricks and comedy acts for the entertainment and amusement of all.
Names. Uniforms. Tuckshop
First Names As part of our strong egalitarian ethos, our students call their teachers by their first name. This fosters a culture of mutual respect, friendliness and thoughtful relationships between teachers and students.
Uniforms Our “non-institutional” approach to learning means that students aren’t required to wear a school uniform. We believe that giving children the freedom to choose their own clothing, enables them to exhibit their full range of personal expression, autonomy, and unique individual character to the world.
Tuckshop Once a week the kitchen is transformed into a ‘tuck-shop’. Every Wednesday you can see rostered parents prepare a healthy meal, which is then enjoyed by everyone – students, teachers and visitors alike. This weekly ritual creates further opportunities for connectedness and familial bonding within our school environment.
Sustainability
We believe that we are called to be guardians of the natural world – to care for it, and to appreciate its role as a teacher in our lives. We encourage our students to be better custodians of the natural environment by devising learning opportunities that further connect them with nature.
Our sustainable journey continues with the whole school involved in developing practices that help manage our resources more effectively. Our aim is to motivate everyone to live more sustainably into the future.
Partnerships with families
Every child’s education is a partnership between home and school. This partnership is vital to the child’s success at school and our teachers greatly value the shared commitment to the child’s progress. One of Lance Holt School’s strengths is the importance placed on relationships within the school community and with Fremantle. As a small community school, we have a real focus on the wellbeing of our children (and their families). Over the years we have developed some very practical ways of working to ensure that each child feels valued as an individual and is also aware of their connection to others – of their rights and responsibilities as part of a school and of the wider community.
