Our History

Good Shepherd Lutheran School Para Vista Inc. is a school of the Lutheran Church and as such, is part of the mission and ministry of the Church to its community. As a school of the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA), the school Board is directly responsible to Lutheran Education South Australia, Northern Territory & WA (LESNW) who also approve elected positions, whilst adhering to the requirements of Lutheran Education Australia (LEA), LCA, and the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Para Vista Inc.

The vision for a Lutheran school in the north eastern suburbs was first discussed by a steering committee in 1976.  Good Shepherd Lutheran School opened on the 9th of February 1981, as a ministry of the Church, to serve Lutheran and other families in and around the Para Vista area. In 2021, we celebrated 40 years of Good Shepherd Lutheran School.

Good Shepherd is one of over 85 Lutheran schools educating more than 40,000 students in Australia. 

In its first year of operation 94 students attended Good Shepherd. Since then, the school has grown to its current size of over 500 students, with the Early Learning Centre ‘Curiosity’ opened in 2020, growing this number further. 

In 1998 a Lutheran secondary school was established in the northern suburbs. Endeavour College at Mawson Lakes now provides secondary education for many students from Good Shepherd, supporting our students to ‘grow for LIFE’ beyond the primary years.

Since the late 1990’s, Good Shepherd has been part of the ‘Connected Schools’ formerly LENS (Lutheran Education Northern Suburbs) group of schools. The Connected Schools are Salisbury Lutheran Kindergarten, Golden Grove Lutheran Primary School, Good Shepherd Lutheran School, St Paul Lutheran School, and Endeavour College. Together these Connected Schools provide K – 12 Lutheran education.

Now, Good Shepherd Lutheran School Para Vista is an ELC to Year 6 school (ELC to Year 12 in cooperation with Endeavour College Mawson Lakes). Our unique approach and purpose-built facilities makes us a cornerstone of educational excellence in our community.

Good Shepherd is organised into five distinct stages of learning:

• ELC = Children 3 and 4 years old
• Foundation = Stage 1 
• Years 1 & 2 = Stage 2
• Years 3 & 4 = Stage 3
• Years 5 & 6 = Stage 4

Good Shepherd Lutheran School embraces both single and multi-age classes, a decision underpinned by our commitment to providing a dynamic and tailored educational experience. All students are valued individually and in each learning journey, and application and effort is celebrated as students are challenged to fulfil their potential.

Our curriculum focuses strongly on literacy and numeracy while also providing rich and deep learning experiences in all other curriculum areas.  Specialist areas include:

• Visual and Performing Arts
• A second language (AUSLAN)
• And physical education

We also provide substantial support for students identified with learning needs, both gifted and those challenged by learning difficulties. We enjoy strong partnerships with our families who generously involve themselves in many aspects of school life. Our students and staff enjoy the benefits of working in a superbly well-resourced, comfortable and safe environment.

Together with Endeavour College we provide a seamless Early Learning to Year 12 Lutheran education for families across our broad catchment, and our graduating students have priority consideration to Endeavour College.