Mission
Lakeside College is a Christian school in the Lutheran tradition providing outstanding education by
- serving students through nurturing holistic wellbeing, setting high expectations, acknowledging positive achievement and encouraging a commitment to serve others
- fostering a servant-hearted, collaborative and thriving school staff who are adept learners and leaders in their fields
- supporting family wellbeing and assisting parents and caregivers to encourage, and be actively involved, in the education of their children
- meeting external requirements and stewarding the resources it has in order to serve Pakenham and the world into the future.
Aims
The Lutheran confessions and the Lutheran understanding of Christian faith are guiding principles of the College. Its teaching recognises and respects the diversity of faith traditions among its students and families.
Further, the College seeks to
- provide students with a comprehensive program of education that is conducive to the development of their talents and skills for responsible Christian living and service;
- encourage students to strive for excellence in learning according to individual ability;
- help students value themselves as persons created in the image of God, redeemed by Christ, and made members of his body, the church, and to express their new life in Christ in their relationship with God and others;
- include as a core part of the program, a Christian Studies curriculum which has been developed deliberately and consciously from the perspective of confessional Lutheranism;
- provide an alternative to a secularistic, humanistic philosophy and practice of education;
- promote the spiritual life and development of the college community through regular worship, study of the Scriptures and pastoral care;
- assist parents and caregivers in the fulfilment of their God-given responsibilities to their children; and
- assist the State in providing it with responsible citizens equipped to contribute positively to the community.
Values
We seek to operate by the values shared by all Lutheran schools in Australia lived out in our context and community.
These values are:
- Love
- Justice
- Compassion
- Forgiveness
- Service
- Courage
- Humility
- Hope
- Quality
- Appreciation
Love
For Christians, the expression of love is always a response to God’s love. It is a way of being that leads to inner peace. Love flows from the heart and manifests itself in caring, kind and respectful thoughts, words and actions.
Justice
Through genuine concern, and the developing of a conscience for the rights and wellbeing of everyone in the human family, justice focuses as much on understanding and responding to the reasons for suffering and injustices as it does on responding to unjust conditions. It requires integrity between beliefs, words, and actions. It may necessitate taking a stand and acting with courage.
Compassion
Having compassion is being loving and attending to people’s innermost needs. It is exercising the ability to reach out, to walk in another’s shoes, to be open and responsive to the needs and concerns of others and being active in caring for others.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is breaking the cycle of un-grace, pardoning the wrongs others have done to us and seeking pardon for the wrongs we have done to others. Forgiveness often comes with pain and can involve stepping over our hurt. Forgiveness releases both ourselves and others, enabling new starts and new beginnings, another chance.
Service
There is a saying you can serve without loving, but you cannot love without serving. Service involves selfless giving, loving others and making a difference in their lives by identifying and responding to their needs, individually and collectively, and carrying out that service without expecting recognition or reward.
Humility
Acting with humility involves recognising and valuing one’s own gifts/abilities and the gifts/abilities of others as being equally valid but of no lesser or greater importance. It is using those gifts and abilities in service to others with an attitude of selflessness. It is being thankful rather than boastful and willing to respect and learn from the experience of others.
Courage
Courage is the strength of heart that enables people to stand up for their convictions and do the right thing, even when it is hard or fearful. It involves being firm of spirit despite the ups and downs of life and it means ‘having a go’ even when success is uncertain.
Hope
Hope enables us to look forward with expectation and confidence, placing our trust and faith in God’s provision of the things we need to handle all kinds of situations and events that occur. Hope is open-ended, open to all possibilities and not limited by what we might wish for. Hope allows God to define our lives.
Quality
People bring their gifts, abilities, skills and talents to fruition seeking excellence, striving always to do their best, giving careful attention to every task, every relationship, every interaction. They ensure that their input and efforts result in quality outcomes due to the successful use of their gifts, abilities, skills and talents for the benefit of others.
Appreciation
Appreciation is recognising and valuing highly the gifts and blessings given to us and surrounding us. It is an attitude of gratitude for learning, loving and being. It is a positive attitude that responds in wonder and awe to, and with respect for, the created world – its fragility and its potential.
Our democratic principles
Lakeside College is committed to the principles of a liberal democracy including a commitment to: elected government; the rule of law; equal rights for all before the law; freedom of religion; freedom of speech and association; together with the values of openness and tolerance.
Our respect of first nations people and commitment to reconciliation
Lakeside College acknowledges that our loving Creator God first gave the Land on which the College is placed to the Bunurong and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation who have continued to care for this land since before recorded time. We thank God for the Land’s Traditional Custodians and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging as we travel this journey of reconciliation in Australia.
As an organisation of the Lutheran Church of Australia, we share in the commitment to bringing our church wide vision for reconciliation to reality: “to bring to life an expression of our ministry that helps all peoples recognise, understand, value and respect the histories, cultures, lands and contributions of First Nations peoples, as we honour our common humanity and provide each other with equal opportunity to flourish, as together, we grow as God’s people”
Consistent with our understanding of baptism, we believe that we live reconciled with each other in Christ and that each day presents a new opportunity to grow in relationships with the people God has placed in our neighbourhoods, workplaces and communities.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) assists us in living out this calling on a daily basis. We measure our success in delivering our vision for reconciliation across the five key areas highlighted in The State of Reconciliation in Australia Report (Reconciliation Australia, 2016) as lived out in our College community:
- Unity
- An Australian society that values and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity.
- An Australian society that values and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity.
- Race relations
- All Australians understand and value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous cultures, rights and experiences, which results in stronger relationships based on trust and respect and that are free of racism.
- Equality and equity
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples participate equally in a range of life opportunities and the unique rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are recognised and upheld.
- Institutional integrity
- The active support of reconciliation by the nation's political, business and community structures.
- Historical acceptance
- All Australians understand and accept the wrongs of the past and the impact of these wrongs. Australia makes amends for the wrongs of the past and ensures these wrongs are never repeated.
What is so special about a Lutheran school?
https://www.lutheran.edu.au/download/what-is-so-special-about-a-lutheran-school-brochure-pdf/?wpdmdl=7080&refresh=6201b29f59c251644278431
https://www.lutheran.edu.au/download/the-lca-and-its-schools-brochure/?wpdmdl=1865&refresh=6201b29f639031644278431