Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Carers,
New Buildings
Over the past couple of years, our school’s leadership team has been involved in the planning stage of a new building project. This project is part of an almost $1.9 billion infrastructure spend in education for 2021-22 across Queensland, improving school facilities and supporting thousands of Queensland jobs. We are pleased to see much-needed funding for our growing school.
This project will see construction of a new two storey building with 12 learning and associated spaces which also includes the refurbishment of our existing B Block, plus a new bus pick-up and drop-off and public car park. We want to ensure that our schools continue to cater for enrolment growth and provides quality learning environments that give all of our students the best opportunity for success. We know that quality learning environments support quality teaching and learning and this is something we are really passionate about. The new building will be situated next to our current Admin building and the constructions starts at the end of this year. We will be sending out more information about pick up and drop off times and places next term.
In order to cater for new enrolments, in the interim, we will be provided with two new portable buildings to be delivered over the coming September holidays. The two new buildings will be placed on the oval near the shed. These are just temporary buildings and will be removed once our new buildings are fully operational.
Curriculum development
Over the past few months, our Curriculum Team has been working on the development of an integrated curriculum. Our aim is to deliver the Australian Curriculum to our students in a more authentic way, where students experience their learning through more hands learning on learning opportunities. Integrated Learning is a framework that enables students to make links between aspects of their lives, their learning about themselves and their capabilities. We design Integrated Learning programs for a specific purpose, product or outcome according to the needs and interests of each student in our local context. By doing this, learners draw on their skills and apply these to new experiences at a more complex level. The concept behind integrative learning is that students take ownership of their own learning, becoming critical inquirers who are able to make meaningful connections between different disciplines and utilise critical thinking to real-life problems. A practical outcome of using integrative learning methodology is to help prepare our students to be as independent as possible to when they leave school.
Senior Secondary Pathways
During Junior Secondary, students engage in learning that extends them, moving them from concrete to abstract thinking and developing more sophisticated higher order thinking skills. This is developmental and continues into senior secondary. Year 10 provides students with the foundation to make the best possible choices about their transition to senior studies. During Year 10 we help students to recognise and build on their strengths and interests, and to identify areas where more support may be needed. Importantly, Year 10 is a time for making informed decisions about future pathways.
Our Senior Secondary staff are in the process of aligning the Senior Secondary Curriculum with the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority senior syllabus expectations. Additionally, we are being supported by the Australian Skills Quality Authority to developed school delivered VET Subjects. We will be providing Certificates in the following areas:
- Cert 1 in Agrifoods
- Cert 1 in Active Volunteering
- Cert 2 in Applied Digital Technology
We aim to provide all students with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in one of the three VET Subjects.
eSMART
As we are moving towards building students digital capabilities, we need to support our community to be safe in the digital world. We have signed up to be an eSMART School. eSmart Schools, an initiative of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, help teachers, librarians and the greater communities to best manage cyber risks, bullying and cyber bullying issues so students feel safer and supported. It is a Framework that transcends the entire community – teachers, students, parents and the wider community.
eSmart Schools is a long-term change program designed to educate, track, monitor and prevent bullying and cyber bullying. eSmart Schools are tailor-made and designed to effect change in our specific environment. eSmart Schools also supports schools in embracing the benefits of technology while reducing childrens’ exposure to cyber bullying. It is not a band-aid or a quick fix, and based on documented evidence, it was created to address cyber risks and help schools meet their duty of care. Our goal is to keep children safe from bullying, cyber bullying and violence. eSmart is one way to achieve this.
I am looking forward to seeing our wonderful parent community on Friday during our Sports Day.
~ Dehlia