School Values
At Wangaratta West Primary School, our values of Connection, Safety, Success and Resilience are at the heart of everything we do. They guide our decisions, shape our culture, and are consistently demonstrated by students, staff and our wider school community. Our School Values Matrix outlines how these values are demonstrated in everyday actions across all areas of the school life.
Connection, Safety, Success & Resilience.
Connection
Strong, positive relationships are at the heart of our school community. We value knowing every child as an individual and creating a genuine sense of belonging where all students feel connected, supported, and included.
Safety
A strong commitment to wellbeing underpins all aspects of school life. We ensure every student feels physically, emotionally, and culturally safe, enabling them to confidently engage in their learning and school experiences.
Success
Recognising and celebrating growth in all its forms; academic, social, and personal, is central to our approach. We maintain high expectations and provide the support and challenge each student needs to achieve their personal best.
Resilience
Through encouragement, explicit teaching, and consistent support, students are guided to develop resilience. They are empowered to face challenges with confidence, learn from setbacks, and build the perseverance needed for lifelong success.
Living Our Values
Our school values are embedded in everyday experiences across the school. In classrooms, students demonstrate connection and respect through collaboration, active participation, and supporting one another in their learning. In the school yard, students show safety and resilience by including others, resolving conflicts positively, and making responsible choices. At assemblies and whole-school events, our values are celebrated and reinforced, helping to build a shared understanding of what it means to be a positive member of our school community.
We believe in recognising and celebrating students who consistently demonstrate our values. Students are acknowledged through Student of the Week awards, as well as celebrations at assemblies. These moments highlight positive behaviours and encourage all students to actively demonstrate Connection, Safety, Success and Resilience in their daily school life.
Student voice plays an important role in bringing our values to life. Through leadership opportunities such as School Captains, Sport Captains, and Student Representative Council (SRC), students model our values and contribute to a positive school culture. Students are also given opportunities to share their ideas, lead initiatives, and support their peers, strengthening connection, building confidence, and promoting a strong sense of belonging across the school.
School Wide Positive Behaviour Support
At our school, we are proud to implement a School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) approach, which underpins how we create a safe, respectful and inclusive learning environment for all students.
SWPBS focuses on explicitly teaching and reinforcing the behaviours we want to see across all areas of the school. By having clear, consistent expectations, students understand what positive behaviour looks like in the classroom, the playground and beyond. When students demonstrate these behaviours, we make a conscious effort to acknowledge and celebrate their efforts. This recognition helps to build confidence, strengthen positive habits, and contribute to a strong and supportive school culture.
Importantly, SWPBS is not just about recognising success—it is also a powerful goal-setting tool. Students are encouraged to reflect on their own behaviour and set personal goals aligned with our school expectations. This supports the development of self-awareness, responsibility and a growth mindset, as students work towards consistently demonstrating positive behaviours.
Through this approach, we are not only supporting students to succeed academically, but also equipping them with the social and emotional skills they need to thrive both at school and in the wider community.