Safe - Purposeful - Accepting - Resilient - Kind

What is SPARK?

St Mary of the Angels Secondary College is a Positive Behaviour Support school. This means that St Mary of the Angels Secondary College recognises the importance of positive relationships among all members of the school community.
The expected behaviours at St Mary of the Angels Secondary School are based on our values: Safe; Purposeful; Accepting; Resilient; Kind (SPARK). These behavioural expectations are unique because they have been determined through the combined input of the students, parents and staff.
SPARK is a framework that concentrates on establishing and explicitly teaching clear expectations for all students in all settings. Through being proactive in the prevention of problematic behaviours, more time can be spent on fostering positive learning environments to facilitate improved academic and social performance.

Why SPARK?

At St Mary of the Angels, we continue to live out the values of peace and justice, enriching each other and our community through the joy of learning in a child safe environment. Our Franciscan charism calls us to be a community where each individual is valued and recognized within a rich and diverse learning environment. SPARK encapsulates these values by strengthening the students’ relationships with themselves, teachers, peers and families. In addition to focusing on academics, this holistic approach promotes social emotional wellbeing throughout the entire school community. The SPARK framework is a proactive approach to learning where teaching is targeted at the current social and educational challenges that learners face.

SPARK Matrix

Our SPARK matrix provides a shared language for students, staff and families. It outlines the expected behaviours, in connection with our SPARK values, to communicate how students should behave when at our college. These expected behaviours are also very relevant to life outside of the college. Our staff are committed to teaching positive behaviour using these 5 key values. 

SPARK also meets the criteria of The Department of Education which stipulates that all Victorian schools are to develop strategies to promote child participation and empowerment (Child Safe Standard 7). This means that all schools need to plan and teach standards of behaviour for students attending the school. Our SPARK values provide a guide for teaching the behavioural expectations of our school and are important components of the educational experience of our students.

SMOTA SPARK YouTube video: https://youtu.be/T-TW30TA1dU