The Net

School of Entrepreneurs

Beyond the ATAR

In September 2019, O’Connell, Milligan and Bently published a position paper called “Beyond the ATAR: A proposal for Change”  that examined the transition between school to higher education, life and work and what this meant for our current generation of 15-19 year olds. 

The paper argued that the challenges facing 15 to 19 year olds were that for over half of all young people, transition from school to full time work can take over 5 years. The pathway to full time work comes from part time, casual and piece work. This, along with other reports emphasise that better career planning is required to support young people’s transition to their future. 

The proposal for this paper was three fold: 

  1. A distinctive phase for young people aged 15-19 - That the age of 15-19 year olds is rescued as a development stage where students are “supported to develop knowledge skills and capabilities within various domains”, particularly with a growing awareness of their capabilities linked with their futures and exposing them to different options that build their unique “interests, capabilities and aspirations”  At St Luke’s, students start as early as year 5 and 6 building an awareness of careers and in year 7 examine their strengths, interests and motivations with the help of our onsite Innerzone to understand themselves and the problems they want to solve early on. In years 9-12, this develops from an inside-out approach to bringing the outside in, with development in year 9 of an Odyssey Plan through to them proposing the future of their study in year 10. Working shoulder to shoulder, teachers support by helping students unpack the last two years of their life design journey and apply this to designing their future pathways - including multiple options. In year 11 this year, we have started offering students the opportunity to engage with external partners, private colleges, universities and TAFEs to expose students to greater opportunities. We are also very proud to have supported a number of students in obtaining traineeships and internships with employers and engaging in a number of VET Certificate qualifications from as early as year 9, which will see students with reduced workloads and more time in year 11 and 12. 
  2. Building of a learner profile - That a learner profile be built to provide a full range of attainment over a broad range of domains. St Luke’s develop this from kindergarten to year 10 with the use of Seesaw and then blogs as a portfolio of their work and reflection on what they do, to year 9 where students develop a website portfolio of the very best of what hey can do, and what problems they want to solve. This is supplemented by a reporting process that emphasises capabilities in addition to grades for each student. This is currently being developed further into a student dashboard which tracks student growth in their capabilities across time.  It was interesting to note at a recent conference, Adobe spoke about how a student who was engaged in their own businesses, or had a portfolio of work were given greater value to their resume and were more likely to obtain jobs at Adobe. 
  3. Moving tertiary selection beyond the ATAR - That universities look at broader entry requirements that move beyond just the ATAR. We have seen this already with the introduction of portfolio based entries, diploma based entries and programs like early entry and adjustment factors. The Mitchell Institute in 2016 tracked data that said only 26% of students used their ATARS for direct entry into university.  In fact, 12% of students received offers to university on the basis of doing a VET certification, which at St Luke’s can start as early as year 9.  Here at St Luke’s, through our Life Design program we are also seeing that students are more aware of who they are and what they want to do, and are engaging in opportunities that will accelerate this prior to completing the HSC. 

Finally, there was a recognition that most of the jobs to be created in the next five years will require some form of post school qualification, so all students need to be prepared to be lifelong learners. 

Mrs Kelly Bauer - Head of School, School of Entrepreneurs

O’Connell, M., Milligan, S.K. and Bentley, T. (2019) Beyond ATAR: a proposal for change. Koshland Innovation Fund, Melbourne, Victoria 

What’s happening in the School of Entrepreneurs?

Year 10 and 11 Elevate Workshops 

Senior students have some key decisions as they move towards the end of their St Luke’s journey. Many students will decide to follow a HSC pathway to complete school with an objective of entering the workforce, a training or apprenticeship work/study combination, or tertiary study at a college or university. All of these pathways require the skills to study, revise, manage time and make notes with the objective of maximising the effectiveness of the study time available to students.

On Monday 4 April the team from Elevate Education will be presenting workshops to our year 10 and year 11 students to identify and model the skills and techniques that contribute to this success. The Elevate team have been delivering this work to students for many years now and have a very good reputation. Their workshops are complemented with resources that will be accessible to students for the remainder of their school life. Elevate will present one workshop in each of terms 1, 2 and 3.

English

In English this week we launched our banned books novel unit where students engaged with a range of novels that have been banned or challenged around the globe. Students excitedly read the blurbs on the outside of the novels detailing why the text had been banned before they opened the wrapping to reveal the title of the text. The titles include:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Of Mice and Men

The Hate You Give

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

The Outsiders

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Kite Runner

Eleanor and Park

All the Bright Places

Looking for Alaska

Students will now need to read their texts in preparation for our unit next term where they will explore what censorship is and consider what can be learned from texts that have been banned.

HSIE

Students in Year 10 History are studying The Holocuast and looking at how the Nazi Party were able to influence a society though their anti-semetic views. In particular, they have been looking at how they used the youth of Germany as children had not fully developed their beliefs and opinions, and they are easily influenced. Students in Year 10 were surprised to find that the Nazi Party influenced all levels of education, including Kindergarten childen colouring books with the swastika. “I thought Hitler started the Nazi Party, so I found it interesting that he joined the small group and rose to power then” Aadit, Year 10. “I enjoyed watching The Pianist and found it confronting when they separated families” Simone Year 10.

Students in Year 9  Geography are studying Sustainable Biomes.They are looking at ways in which we can sustain our food industries for our future. Interestly, they are making connections to the COVID19 impact on imports and exports around the world. This generation of children are more than aware of the impact of climate change and Year 9 are working on ways to help manage the impact of natural disasters, such as the recent floods and fires, and what can be done to support the communities and plan for a more sustainable future. “I find it interesting that how we treat our land is impacting our food growth and it’s leading to people dying” Gul, Year 9. “It’s shocking that by 2080 that farmers will be teh hardest impacted” Gabi, Year 9.

Year 11/12 Studies of Religion 

Congratulations to the 34 students in year 11 who are about to complete the Year 11 course for Studies of Religion 1 unit. These students will start the HSC course next term, and complete the HSC in half the amount of time (by doing double the number of lessons every week) in order to sit their HSC exam this year.  ​​

The Studies of Religion syllabus acknowledges that there are many ways of studying religion. It investigates the significance of the role of religion in society and, in particular, within Australian society. It recognises and appreciates the place and importance of Aboriginal belief systems and spiritualities in Australia. This syllabus enables students who live in a multifaith and multicultural society to progress from a broad understanding of religious traditions to specific studies within these traditions. The syllabus provides a focus on religious expression in Australia and, also, investigates religion’s place within the global community.

The syllabus is designed for students in all schools and ensures students study more than one religious tradition. The course enables students to come to an understanding that each religious tradition has its own integrity and contributes to a well-ordered society. It endeavours to assist in the provision of a context within which schools have the opportunity to foster students’ academic, affective and spiritual development.

Thankyou to Mrs Atkins and Ms Fernandes for the work that they have put in to ensure students are successful in this course. 

Congratulations

 

Congratulations to Chastynne Callos and Riley Bettiol who have enrolled in tertiary units BUS102: Introduction to Management with Kaplan Business School. This unit contributes towards the completion of a Diploma while they are studying their HSC. The completion of the full Diploma means that they will get direct entry into 2nd Year Bachelor Degree at Kaplan, or entry to other university courses at an equivalent level of between a 75-95 ATAR.

Macquarie University visit

Students in year 11 were invited to attend a discussion with Macquarie University who came to St Luke’s to discuss: 

  • Courses on offer
  • Comparing and contrasting courses
  • Pathways to study
  • Early offers
  • Adjustment factors
  • Scholarships
  • Informational webinars
  • Open Day and more

 

Students were very appreciative of the opportunity to meet with university representatives on site. Further options will be available to students with different universities as the year progresses. 

 

Voices for Power

Mishkka Rao (Year 9) Represented St Luke's and its YCS group at the Voices for Power Table talk held at Our Lady of Lourdes, Seven Hills. The event was hosted by Sydney Alliance to bring together diverse cultural, religious, and community members to work on climate issues affecting Sydney but particularly the Blacktown City Council area. Mishkka contributed beautifully as a representative of St Luke's, she got up and spoke to the room of 40-60 people about how students need to come together and collaborate on issues to have greater impact. Mishkka also demonstrated great ability as a climate advocate and leader as she networked with the students from St John XXIII at Stanhope about how St Luke's could collaborate with them in a future action surrounding climate justice in Western Sydney.

 

 

Year 10 Interviews

Year 10 Work Studies students participated in simulated interviews for jobs that they may choose to apply to in the real world. This involved a 10 minute interview with an industry expert answering and asking tough questions in an attempt to secure a clear understanding and experience of the interview process and how to act and respond effectively in this situation. Year 10 performed with great professionalism and excitement for the opportunity.

 

Feedback late starts

An extensive process of feedback and refinement was conducted in 2021 to propose giving students the option to start late on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We have noted a greater focus and application of students to their work this term, and invite feedback from parents after trialling this process for the past 9 weeks.

Cathwest Holiday Workshops 

Use the holidays to upskill at Cathwest Innovation College, Mount Druitt. 

Short courses available in Fashion Design, Cake Decorating, Videography, Animation, Barista skills, Gamification, and Cyber Security.  More information is available here.

Lifelong Learners Bulletin 

Students receive a fortnightly bulletin that lists opportunities for pathways for students - work, university and traineeships that are available. This is distributed via the HSC and ROSA course on canvas which each student is enrolled in. An example of this is here.

 

Winter Uniform 

A reminder that the winter school uniform for St Luke's years 5-11 is a requirement from Week 2 of Term 2. This includes navy blue tights teamed with the dress, and a tie with the formal shirt and pants. The jumper or navy soft shell jacket is worn with the formal uniform. The tracksuit jacket is not to be worn with the formal school uniform and is for sports days only. For more details see our Quick Reference

 

Late starts 

From the beginning of next term, late starts for years 9-11 will change slightly on a Friday only. On Fridays, students are to arrive to school either between 8.00-8.30, or from 10.30-11.00. 

Monday and Wednesday arrival times remain the same, from either 8.00-8.30 or from 10.00-10.30

A reminder that we invite parent feedback on late starts here