Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

Imagine this, you’re at a whole school assembly (Pre-Primary to Year Twelve) and you see Year One students walking between the aisles of the audience holding up their bookwork designs and constructed models with great care so everyone can see them. You can’t help but smile and feel delighted for those students, excitedly sharing their learning with everyone, immensely proud of what they have accomplished.

This week Junior School students joined Middle and Senior School students for their assembly on Monday morning. The assembly theme was ‘Bringing Learning to Life – how we action our learning’.

It was wonderful to see and hear the range of learning experiences from students across the School, and how they were ‘actioning’ their learning in different ways. What I found particularly noticeable, and impressive, was the depth of knowledge, confidence, enthusiasm and passion from each student presenter as they were sharing their topic. They were proud of their efforts, and rightly so.

Year One students shared their learning from a HASS inquiry about natural and constructed features in our community. They investigated different playgrounds and community gathering spaces, then designed one of their very own. The Year One students took their learning a step further by inviting Year Five to assist them in building a model of their playground design using materials and tools from our Maker Space.

Year Ten shared their week of Work Experience in locations around our local and neighbouring regions to as far away as the Kimberley. Albert Gouldthorp spoke of gaining real-world experience and a greater appreciation for the expectations of work environments from the experience. Ultimately, Year Ten students found the experience helpful in affirming their future career pathways or an opportunity to reassess their options. A wonderful example of ‘actioning’ learning.

Finally, students from Year Nine shared a mock debate and demonstrated their skills for advocating and defending a point of view, whilst rebutting an argument from the opposing team. This exhibition highlighted the fun, yet complex roles of different speakers in each team and how integrating their knowledge with persuasive skills can move an audience’s thinking.

All together the assembly items beautifully demonstrated the value of bringing learning to life through ‘action’ to deeply understand a topic or develop a point of view, make a change, move others to think differently can be achieved. ‘Action’ doesn’t always have to be doing something huge, it can be as simple as thinking differently yourself or being able to hold a conversation with someone else on a topic so you both have a better understanding for a topic. ‘Action’ can also be designing something, beginning a project or making a change of some kind. The common element of ‘action’ is putting our learned knowledge and skills to work; we do this from our earliest age and right throughout our lives.

In the Junior School we encourage students to see ‘action’ as a component of their learning, and to share this with others as often as possible. We believe ‘action’ not only deepens students understanding, but also develops and shapes their character as young people. Through ‘action’ students build confidence, kindness, generosity, curiosity, integrity, respect and commitment, to name a few – all immensely valuable in shaping a young person self-identity as they grow.

With warmest regards, and appreciation,

Mr Ken Raven | Head of Junior School

You Can Do it!

“For every minute spent in organising, an hour is earned” - Benjamin Franklin.

Our Junior School students have had the spotlight on 'Organisation' as this fortnight’s social-emotional key to happiness and success. Our Week Three heroes are as follows: