learning together - growing together

Our Values and Ethics

VALUES

We draw on a broad range of philosophies to develop the soul and live the following values:

Love of Learning

This value is demonstrated when we:

  • Inspire others to learn
  • Are exposed to the widest possible range of experiences
  • Take responsibility for our own learning
  • Demonstrate our enthusiasm for learning
  • Welcome all of our experiences as a source of learning
  • Pursue our interests through to achieve meaningfulness

"Learning is the movement from wonder to meaningfulness”

 

Joyfulness

This value is demonstrated when we:

  • Cultivate and maintain a sense of wonder
  • Are playful
  • Celebrate the gift of life
  • Are present in the moment
  • Nurture our soul and wellbeing
  • Bring love into everything we do
“Don’t worry, be happy”
Community

This value is demonstrated when we:

  • Include children, staff and families
  • Feel a sense of belonging to our community
  • Actively participate in the life of the Chrysalis community and connect with other communities

“It takes a village to raise a child ”

Purposefulness

This value is demonstrated when we:

  • Know we can make a difference
  • Are clear about our goals
  • See our actions through
  • Consider the impact of our actions on others and the environment
  • See our community modelling empowerment, purpose and unity

"This is the true joy in life:
Being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one."
George Bernard Shaw

Respect for self and others

This value is demonstrated when we:

  • Honor our uniqueness
  • Welcome and appreciate diversity
  • Show care and consideration for ourselves, others and the environment through our actions and interactions
  • Forgive ourselves and others
  • Accept the responsibilities that come with our rights
  • Distinguish between people and their actions

“Seek first to understand,
then to be understood”

 

CODE OF ETHICS

  • To honour each child’s reality and experience
  • To nurture each child’s self esteem and individual expression
  • To foster a love of learning and maintain a sense of wonder
  • To encourage each child’s self-discipline, personal responsibility and active participation in her or his learning programme
  • To respect the rights of every individual regardless of age, race, gender, beliefs, disability, social, national, or ethnic origin
  • To encourage a balance between the needs of the self and others
  • To develop a supportive school community, by encouraging the involvement and participation of parents, family and friends
  • To respect, care for and live in harmony with nature and our environment, with reverence for all forms of life

 

CHRYSALIS FROM A PARENT'S PERSPECTIVE

Confessions a Chrysalis Montessori parent… and how I think I’m going to change the world

At the tender age of 12 – I read an earth-moving book which I’ve kept to this day called “The Girl who owned a City”.

The hero of the book got to run the city because she was resourceful, fair and courageous – all of this she got from her Montessori education. While the other kids were sobbing and sniffling she was stacking up on tin cans and driving a car.

So you can tell that I’ve long been a fan of Montessori and genuinely believe that we are equipping our kids – if not to rule the world – at least to be independent and proactive.

More recently I’ve had dealings of a Chrysalis kind…

I’ve stood in awe of the enthusiasm and compassion of our teachers as I’ve watched my son’s courage and confidence grow – from a tiny 3-year old who refused to take off his backpack for the first week in Triangles, to someone who at 8, is kind, sociable, confident, comfortable to be himself and inspired to learn and try new things.

Next year my daughter starts at Chrysalis and I’m really excited to begin the Chrysalis learning journey with her.

But there’s more to being a Chrysalis parents that just watching from the sidelines or handing over the money each term.

Firstly to be a Chrysalis parent, more tact is needed than in everyday life. We are all very committed to doing the best for our children. We stand out in our suburbs like sore thumbs. We are the minority that do not send our children round the corner to the local school. It is our very difference that makes up our Chrysalis-ness.

This difference requires the super human tact I mentioned to operate as a community.

Another price I pay is that as a mother of an 8 and 1 year old with our own business sometimes I want to use the ‘too busy’ excuse. But Chrysalis is not, nor ever will it be, a ‘drop and run’ school. I have to keep getting involved in committees, special projects, school socials, hanging out the birdcage, watering plants, photocopying worksheets, and covering endless library books with that hard-to-use sticky paper.

How is this going to change the world – you may well ask.

Well, if every little thing I do helps Veronica or Elaine or Tony or who-ever in just a little tiny way then they can concentrate on inspiring.

And that can only be good for our children.

And that can only be good for the world.

- Romy, February 2006