Preshil - BK Broadcast

From the Principal

FlexIBle futures

Preshil has now completed its successful transition to the International Baccalaureate across the Secondary School, with our first Diploma cohort well on the way to graduation. All our students now complete the Middle Years Programme in preparation for undertaking the IB DP, ensuring they are thoroughly prepared and ready for this challenge. They will leave school genuinely prepared to compete in the future world of tertiary study and employment. 

 

We are excited to invite parents and prospective families who are keen to know more about what Preshil can offer our senior students to an Information Night on Tuesday 28 May, 7pm - 8.30pm in the Library. We will walk parents through the components of the Diploma, introduce them to our bespoke IB Plus VET options and provide information about our new Preshil Graduate Transcript.

 

The Year 12 students have just completed their Extended Essay, which seemed a daunting prospect when they began in Year 11. In retrospect, they see it as a proud achievement; a wonderful boost to their confidence and an example of the rich learning and research at the heart of the IB. Their teacher mentors have been equally impressed by the quality of the individual research and each student’s capacity to reflect on their learning.

 

The IB has meant that we are no longer locked into a competitive system which demands standardised learning, focuses on lower order thinking skills and pits students against their classmates to achieve a higher ranking.

 

It is very comforting to recognise how closely aligned the IB is in meeting the urgent calls for change to the education system expressed by educational leaders such as Sir Ken Robinson and, closer to home, the key message of the Foundation for Young Australians' latest report. I have included a long extract and a link – essential reading for educators and parents: www.fya.org.au/report/the-new-work-smarts/

 

To prepare for these changes the Australian education system will need to equip young people with the skills and capabilities required in the era of the ‘new work smarts’. It needs to ensure that young people not only acquire foundational and technical skills, but that they are able to deploy those skills in an increasingly enterprising way – as active problem solvers and communicators of ideas, equipped with a more entrepreneurial mindset and appetite for ongoing learning. Young people today will need to develop their cognitive and emotional skills to a much higher level.

 

We must grapple with the potential shortcomings of our education system – a system which continues to formally assess based on an old understanding of ‘smart’. The looming changes to work will affect all jobs, regardless of the qualifications they require, and we must ask whether our current education systems equip young people with the skills most needed to thrive in the new work order. For example, we now know that problem solving will be used for 12 hours a week at work in 2030, but do our schools, vocational and training institutions and universities spend enough time teaching and assessing this skill?

 

Around the world, the most progressive education systems are focusing on developing the ‘new work smart’ workforce of the future. They offer immersive, project-based and real-world learning experiences that go beyond the classroom environment, such as working with local businesses or facilitating art and film projects in local communities. These learning experiences are best suited to developing the future-proof enterprising and career management skills that will be most in demand and most highly portable in the future of work, and instil in young people the enthusiasm for ongoing learning that will be critical for their future success.

 

The IB ‘Learner Profile’ underpins the curriculum, requiring schools to specifically address these essential capabilities for future success.

  • Inquirers - students develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning.
  • Knowledgeable – students explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
  • Thinkers - students exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognise and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions. IB students contribute to discussions in a meaningful way. They do not shy away from challenging questions and, once they know the answer, follow up by asking “why?”
  • Communicators – students understand and express ideas and information confidently. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
  • Principled – students act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities.
  • Open-minded – students understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities.
  • Caring – students show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
  • Risk-takers – students approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies.
  • Balanced - students understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal wellbeing for themselves and others.
  • Reflective - students give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.

These are the qualities that will enable IB students to stand out in a world that no longer needs humans to amass the specialist knowledge that may have led to success last century.

Welcome to our new wellbeing coordinator

I am very pleased to take the opportunity to introduce Preshil’s new Wellbeing Coordinator, Amir Tatai.

 

Amir has already spent a few days with us and will be at the School on a full-time basis from Monday 27 May. He is keen to get to know all of the students and their families at Blackhall Kalimna, so you can expect to see him around and to meet him as we find opportunities to introduce him to the community more formally.

 

Amir is a highly qualified practitioner who has had extensive experience in schools. He will take a proactive role in building a culture of good health and resilience, as well as being available to students who can benefit from individual support. Please say hello and introduce yourselves when you see him on campus.

 

This year the School is focusing on all aspects of our approach to wellbeing, from Kindergarten to the final years of Secondary School, for both children and their teachers. This is supported by the School Council as part of our review of the School’s 2013 – 2023 Strategic Plan.

2040 - free opening weekend offer

Award-winning director Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film) embarks on a journey to explore what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream. Structured as a visual letter to his four-year-old daughter, Damon blends traditional documentary with dramatised sequences and high-end visual effects to create a vision board of how these solutions could regenerate the world for future generations.

 

The initiative of Madman Entertainment and Palace Cinemas, partnering to offer school-aged students the opportunity to see the film without charge on opening weekend, coincides with the global advent of student-led climate change action.

 

Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May 2019

Offer valid all sessions at Palace cinemas

For full terms and conditions follow this link:  https://www.palacecinemas.com.au/events/2040-opening-weekend-offer/

 

 

Marilyn Smith

Principal

marilyn.smith@preshil.vic.edu.au