Vision for Learners
Learning Conversations 2024
One of the four pillars of our Strategic Plan is "Our thriving Learning Culture" of excellence and purpose. What does a thriving learning culture look like? What does a thriving learning culture feel like? Part of what such a place looks and feels like is a united understanding and commitment to learning and growth between students, home, and the College. Learning Conversations is a great example of how this partnership works and is realised.
The student- home - school partnership is critical to ensuring the holistic learning progress of young people. Students can see and feel the high support and high expectation environment and in turn see and feel the value that is placed on their education for themselves.
The first Learning Conversation opportunity for the year is fast approaching.
Year 8-12 Learning Conversations will occur in Week 11 of this term on Wednesday April 10, 3.30pm -7.30pm. Next week an email will arrive in your inboxes, sharing the dates and times for Learning Conversations as well as a list of any teachers who have specifically requested to meet with students and parents/caregivers. Please take the time to read this carefully and make bookings with any of your child's subject teachers. We encourage bookings to be made with subject teachers regardless of whether a request has been made.
Year 7 Learning Conversations will be held across two evenings in Week 11, Tuesday 9 April, 1pm - 5pm and Wednesday 10 April, 3.30 - 7.30pm. Extended time slots are scheduled for Year 7 families so that parents can hear from both the students sharing their reflections on their learning and one of their Core teachers. Most classes have 2 Core teachers who teach students for either English, Humanities and Christian Living or Mathematics and Science. Parents will meet with just one of the student's Core teachers. Next week an email will arrive in your inboxes, sharing the dates and times for Learning Conversations as well as with which Core teacher you will need to make a booking. Should additional meetings be required this can be arranged separately.
We are looking forward to welcoming students and parents /caregivers to this evening to discuss and share in the successes and challenges involved in the learning process.
Sandra Barry
Director of Learning
Liminal Platform in Australian Schools to Promote Mental Health and Wellbeing Project
We are very excited to report that Endeavour College is part of the national rollout of the Liminal Platform in Australian Schools to promote Mental Health and Wellbeing Project with the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as a trial for our Senior Years students!
This project is funded through the Commonwealth Department of Education’s Emerging Priorities Program and is supported by Wellbeing in Schools Australia (WISA) and we are grateful for the opportunity to be involved at the final stage of the study.
Our Senior Years Pastoral Framework, the VIEW, supports student wellbeing through a number of key areas, including building resilience. We are excited to explore how VR may contribute to building resilience amongst students and developing coping skills through self-regulation.
Well-developed coping skills are a good predictor of resilience, and the core capabilities we outline in the VIEW to support building resilience for our Senior Years students.
Focus at Year 10:
Learning coping strategies to face difficulties to manage stress and maintain good metal health and wellbeing. Building awareness of available support.
Focus at Year 11:
Demonstrating coping strategies to face difficulties, to manage stress and maintain positive mental health and wellbeing and reaching out for support when needed.
Focus at Year 12:
Employing mental capacity to endure challenges and overcome adversity through perseverance, adaptability and with appropriate help seeking behaviour.
Research shows that VR has exciting applications across a range of areas, including mental health and wellbeing, and the Liminal Platform can be used as an innovative tool for students to assist in positively regulating their emotional and cognitive states.
The platform includes XR experiences targeting areas including calm, focus, relief and awe, with durations of approximately 3-7 minutes per session.
The Liminal Platform is available for use by Senior Years students in The Well, our wellbeing space, and is separate to the XR experiences currently offered in the new Discovery Centre where students can also access a range of exciting XR technologies for learning purposes.
Senior students accessing The Well for
self-regulation or counselling support may be offered the use of the XR headsets and Liminal Platform if they would like to experience this to help manage their emotional or cognitive state at the time of presentation. Interested students may also book in to trial the Liminal Platform during some lunch times, after school sessions and during study lessons (for Year 12 students).
We are keen for as many students as possible to experience the Liminal Platform and provide important feedback for the trial in coming weeks. We will continue our licence to use the Platform beyond the trial, to allow for this valuable opportunity for an alternative, innovative and immediate self-regulation tool within our College.
As we are involved in this revolutionary trial, we will also be privy to the data and the results of the study in schools which will help us to understand more about neuroscience and uncover further insights into the benefits of XR for the regulation of emotional and cognitive states, both in educational applications, as well as other contexts such as workplaces, hospitals, healthcare and aged care facilities.
A key objective of the study is to improve mental health and wellbeing, and academic outcomes of students.
All data collected is deidentified, and Senior Years families have been emailed this week with information about the national study and the possibility of some Senior Years students being involved. For further information, please contact Sharon Ward, Director of Senior Years, in the first instance.
Marni Harding
College Counsellor