Page 35 - Waterfall City Issue 6 June 2023

“A faith-based education brings us back to

our values to help guide us through the

challenges of parenting in today’s world.”

St Peter’s, an Anglican Diocesan family of schools,
provides a values-based foundation that runs
consistently across Grades 000 to Grade 12. Here, the
three ‘legs’ of the learning environment - students,

parents and school - collaborate towards a holistic
education that focuses on personal development.

I n today’s fast-paced world, parenting challenges are

becoming ever more complex. The progression of mobile
technology sees children spending more time on their
digital devices than interacting in person, leading to
isolation, vulnerability to cyberbullying and social exclusion.
Parents cannot effectively monitor their children’s exposure to
harmful content and often experience the same sense of tech
isolation and breakdown of healthy relationships themselves. A
faith- and values-based education empowers children to make
judgements based on a solid moral foundation and offers their
parents a tangible set of values to anchor their parenting.

In the 21 century, youngsters must navigate acute sensitivities
st
around gender, race, and sexuality, working through the maze
of new descriptors that people now use to define and describe
themselves. As they grapple with these issues, so too do their
parents, who may not yet understand the concept of gender
fluidity themselves. “The Anglican church can play a huge
part in both parents’ and kids’ lives in our increasingly ‘woke’
society,” says Prep School Chaplain Father Richard. “We can
offer navigational skills to help them deal with this ‘wokeness’
in a structured framework based on spiritual principles and
love.”

‘Be Still and know that I am God’ firmly sits at the core
of St Peter’s Prep School values. It is framed by a series of
simpler values that students can understand, respond to,
and actively participate in. Be Responsible, Be Respectful,
Be Compassionate, Be Honourable, Be Collaborative and
Be Resilient are the principles grounding the juniors. These
evolve into the more abstract concepts of Relationships,
Respect, Responsibility and Resilience in older grades. When
the parenting community subscribes to the same values,
incorporating them into their parenting approach, children
enjoy a 360-degree-aligned support system across both home
and school environments.

Waterfall City Issue 6 2023 33