From the Principal
The Joy of Term 4
Term 4 is always a very exciting term. Over the last few weeks, we have seen our Year 12 students complete their externally assessed examinations and witnessed our Year 7 to 11 students prepare for and complete their own end of semester examinations. It has been great to see how our students have approached this somewhat stressful time of year. They have been calm and collected in no small part due to the preparation they have undertaken with their respective teachers. We very much look forward to building, year by year, greater resilience within our students to cope with their academic exams.
During the year, we have spent a great deal of time working on creating more efficient and effective assessment practices. We have encouraged students to focus on the detailed feedback provided by teachers to improve their overall understanding of the content covered in class and to develop skills needed as they progress through the year levels. Grades and results are important, but I believe the most important aspect of anyone’s educational journey is growth and always learning how to improve. Students may be gifted and talented in so many areas, but without concerted effort and application, this may end up being of little value to them. Developing regular and consistent study routines is so important for students, and we make every effort to build strong revision and study skills with students within our classrooms and with the help of external providers. I encourage all our parents/guardians to support us in these efforts and to work with their children on creating regular and consistent homework and study routines.
Lakeside College Innovation Hub: Primary School Maker Space Project
I am delighted to share with you an exciting innovation for 2026 related to our Primary School – The Lakeside College Innovation Hub.
The Lakeside College Innovation Hub will be a tangible expression of our core values, creating authentic opportunities for students to experience and practice love, service, compassion and excellence in their daily learning:
Love: The Innovation Hub will foster a learning environment where students experience the love of God through supportive relationships, collaborative learning, and celebration of each individual's unique gifts and contributions. Agile learning spaces will enable teachers to know each student personally and respond to their individual learning needs with care and intentionality.
Service: Through authentic, community-connected projects and partnerships with local organisations, students will engage in meaningful service learning that demonstrates care for others and stewardship of God's creation. The space will facilitate projects that address real community needs and global challenges through the lens of UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Compassion: The inclusive design and collaborative nature of maker education will develop students' capacity for empathy and understanding. Students will learn to support one another through challenges, celebrate diverse perspectives and approach problem-solving with compassion for those their solutions will serve.
Excellence: The Innovation Hub will provide opportunities for students to pursue excellence in all its forms - not just academic achievement, but excellence in character, creativity, collaboration and service. The iterative design process will teach students that excellence comes through perseverance, reflection and continuous improvement.
Realising Our Vision: Every Student Known, Valued and Heard
Our vision to be a school of choice where every student, as a child of God, is known, valued and heard will be powerfully realised through the Innovation Hub's design and pedagogy:
Known: Agile learning spaces and small group project work will enable deeper teacher-student relationships and peer connections. Teachers will have multiple touchpoints to understand each student's learning preferences, interests and growth areas, ensuring personalised learning experiences that honour each child's unique journey.
Valued: The diverse pathways for engagement and expression within the Innovation Hub will ensure that every student can contribute meaningfully, regardless of their academic strengths or challenges. Multiple intelligences and learning styles will be celebrated and leveraged for authentic contributions to collaborative projects.
Heard: Student voice and choice will be central to the learning experience, with opportunities for students to pursue interesting projects, contribute to design decisions about their learning environment and share their learning through authentic audiences and real-world applications.
Building on our commitment to Aaron Eisberg's surface, deep, and transfer learning framework, the Innovation Hub will create authentic opportunities for students to move beyond surface-level understanding to deep learning and meaningful transfer of knowledge to real-world applications.
The Innovation Hub directly addresses key growth areas identified in our Pivot data, specifically enhancing our classroom environment through:
Making learning interesting: Hands-on, project-based experiences that capture students imagination and curiosity
Effective use of technology: Purposeful integration of contemporary tools that genuinely enhance learning outcomes
Student choice and agency: Meaningful opportunities for students to make decisions about their learning journey and demonstrate understanding in diverse ways
The Innovation Hub will complement our existing excellence in literacy, numeracy and human-centred design project-based learning connected to UN Sustainable Development Goals, while fostering the student agency essential for 21st-century learners. The Innovation Hub design will directly deliver on our Strategic Plan of Excellence in Learning by creating genuinely innovative, challenging learning environments that engage all learners. The space will challenge students through complex, real-world problems while providing innovative tools and methodologies that extend learning beyond traditional classroom boundaries.
The Innovation Hub is also a direct implementation of our Strategic Plan of Excellence in Learning, delivering on our commitment to create innovative, challenging learning environments. This initiative demonstrates our strategic commitment to educational excellence through contemporary pedagogical approaches that prepare students for an increasingly complex and technological world. We are all very excited about this wonderful innovation that will no doubt enrich our learning environment and engage our students in deeper learning.
Mr Robert Tassoni
Principal