Children's House

Children's House established in 2003 and is located on Jimbaran Hill within the housing estate of Puri Gading. The school is home for about 150 students, 31 staff and over 100 very friendly and supportive families (January 2009).

We enjoy a reputation as one of Bali's leading private schools in many areas of academic, environment as well as social responsibilities. No wonder the school has experienced continued strong growth in enrolments in recent years and that this growth is expected to continue in the future.

Visitors often comment not just on our safe, small, intimate, caring and beautiful setting but also on the great feel of the school and the positive energy that permeates through classrooms. This atmosphere is in part generated by a staff that is bright and cheery, is passionate about education, has a great sense of fun, exhibits strong levels of support for colleagues and displays warmth in its interactions with others. The school encourages an 'open door' approach where parent and community contribution and participation are valued. Whilst there is a strong sense of community everywhere you look, for many the school is more like a family. Our enthusiastic, caring and dedicated staff has embraced the many changes that are so much a feature of today's education and greatly value the wonderful support from parents and strong links to local community groups.

Several community events are evidence of long standing traditions of this sense of community and of the mutual support between home and school. Annual events include marching band, fund raising for the needy, bazaar, etc.

The strong partnership between home and school is seen as the foundation of successful learning for all children. Through the promotion of our school values of respect, honesty, caring, perseverance, loyalty, tolerance, courage and responsibility children are encouraged to develop a sense of wellbeing and are supported in developing healthy relationships with others. They are encouraged to be independent, accept increasing responsibility for their learning and to do their best. Their successes are acknowledged in many ways but no more so than through our weekly assembly where students are encouraged to participate and where achievements of our students, staff and parents are recognized and celebrated.

Our school motto 'caring and innovative', promotes and encourages:

• close cooperation between home and school
• trust, cooperation and respect among all members of the school community
  the valuing of each student's individual learning, and the development of special talents
• students to be risk-takers, to be creative and to take personal responsibility for their learning
• cheerfulness, courtesy, caring, and high levels of understanding and tolerance 
  the achievement of academic, social and sporting achievements inside and outside the school environment.

Parent participation in the school programs can be seen by the large numbers of parents who assist classroom teachers each day during literacy and numeracy times, the number who assist with excursions, social activities and the great support we receive with our school production. Our parent community and are committed to improve the school, its grounds and facilities in order to help us provide the best learning environment possible for our students.

Over the last 6 years the school facilities have been transformed as 3 stages of our Capital Works Program have provided superb facilities. The final stage covering the newly build five classrooms, the staffroom and the library, the construction of a new art room, student toilets, several storage rooms, paths and covered ways, a basketball court completed in Dec 2008. The building program has provided a fantastic opportunity to incorporate environmental aspects into the overall design and constructions. Whilst the protracted period of construction has presented many challenges, these have been overcome by careful planning, hard work and flexibility. 
The building program has also provided further opportunities to provide students and staff with state of the art Information and Communication Technologies including additional computers for students and AV equipment. Professional development to improve staff expertise and enhance skills is continually being undertaken and will remain a priority in the future.

At Children's House our purpose as an effective learning community is to believe in the achievement of excellence and the fulfillment of potential in a happy, caring and safe environment where students, staff and families feel a strong connection to each other and the school. We are committed to fostering a lifelong love of learning. We actively engage students in a range of authentic learning experiences. Through these our children will develop understandings and competencies needed to be successful learners and citizens in a rapidly changing world.

OUR BELIEFS 
At CH we believe learning occurs best when:

• in an inclusive environment that is safe, secure and stimulating, where all children feel valued, supported and accepted
• prior learning is recognized and built on
• positive parent, teacher and student communication and relationships are established
• students are motivated and engaged in an interactive learning environment 
  the learner feels safe, happy and secure and their mental and physical wellbeing needs are catered for
• there is constructive feedback on clear criteria and an opportunity for self-reflection
• learning opportunities are relevant to the learner's experience, cultural background and developmental level
• activities are presented with a clear purpose and an understanding of the audience
• there are a variety of techniques/strategies to cater for learning styles and interests
• children are skilled to work individually and collaboratively with peers, staff and others
• there is access to a variety of resources
• it is active, hands-on and interactive and encourages creativity 
  learners have an opportunity and are skilled to utilize higher order thinking skills
• the core shared values are embedded
• each person is encouraged and challenged to achieve their potential in all respects