Lyons Bilingual Primary School

Mission Statement

Lyons Primary School community provides a safe and caring environment in which we work co-operatively and openly to ensure that our children have the opportunity to achieve their potential.

Principal's Message

Lyons Primary is an ACT government school offering an English-Italian bilingual education from Kindergarten through to year 6. The bilingual aspect of the school is its most distinctive feature. We teach 50% in English and 50% in Italian. By offering this type of education we hope to provide a service which, although still unusual in our Australian context, is common and successful in Europe, Canada and elsewhere. Learning another language -- or learning through another language -- gives students a level of second language skill not achievable through a regular language arts programme. Perhaps more importantly, a bilingual education offers a deep understanding of another way of being, the possibility of an unconditional respect for ‘other’ which we believe is the basis for true global citizenship. Lyons Primary Bilingual School aims to provide an environment in which young people can grow towards being citizens who have access within themselves to the concepts, skills, attitudes and knowledge to act positively and productively in the world for the equal benefit of themselves, others and our environment.

Our school is open to children from any background and from any area of the ACT. Although the majority of our students are from English speaking backgrounds, we have many non-English speaking families in our school community including several Italian families. Inclusiveness is a central part of our mission at Lyons and we are particularly proud of the diversity in our student population.

Also central to our mission at Lyons Primary are: excellence in literacy and numeracy teaching; explicit teaching of thinking skills and social skills; providing a holistic, safe and caring learning environment; and valuing and welcoming the involvement of parents and the wider community.

The school is proud to have been presented with a National Quality Schooling Award for School Leadership that recognised the staff for their excellent teaching and the Italian Programme for its innovation and quality.

If you are interested in the possibility of your child learning in a bilingual environment, please don’t hesitate to make an appointment to visit the school. Please note that at the beginning of 2009 the bilingual Italian programme will move to its permanent home at Yarralumla Primary School.