St Andrew's Primary Malabar is a Catholic systemic school within the Archdiocese of Sydney. Our school opened in 1916 in the area then called Long Bay. It was staffed by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart until 1931 when the Sisters of Mercy took over the administration of the school. In 1939 the Catholic parish of St Andrew’s, Malabar was established and the school became part of the new parish. The first lay Principal was appointed in 1978. Our school's motto, 'We follow Jesus', is a strong statement of our belief in Jesus and our commitment to live his teachings about kindness, compassion, gentleness and service to others. Our school has a strong sense of being a caring and collaborative community that is based on trust and respect. Our school's mission statement articulates our commitment to provide a safe, friendly, challenging and supportive place of learning for all. Our school is focused on educating the whole child, and so we provide a balanced curriculum. Differentiating the curriculum to meet the individual needs of students and using effective assessment procedures that inform the teaching program are key elements of our educational program. The ongoing professional development of our teachers ensures that our students are experiencing effective and contemporary learning programs, particularly in Literacy and Numeracy. To support our students' learning needs, we have a Special Education program, a Gifted Education Program, an Aboriginal Education Program, a Reading Recovery program and a Targeted Intervention Program. Our students, who have a talent in sports and in the performing arts are offered opportunities to participate in interschool events at a wide range of levels. The integrated use of technology is an area of focus in our school’s educational program. Interactive whiteboards, laptops, iPads, Web 2 tools and the internet are used to support our contemporary pedagogy. Students are offered a range of leadership roles through our senior student positions, our Mini-Vinnies Group..