The Pagewood Project
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Future Directions
The Pagewood Project Introduction The College has gone through a significant period of self-reflection and review over the last two years, culminating in the establishment of the Pagewood Project. The aim of this project is to animate the College to re-imagine our delivery of teaching, learning and wellbeing as one which is innovative, creative and rigorous underpinned by contemporary and relevant practice. The College also seeks to provide our young men with a tailored pathway that will give them the very best opportunity for a successful career. In the process, we give them a chance to test themselves against the best they think they can be, to grow in the knowledge of the Catholic faith, to develop a loving relationship with Jesus Christ, and to build a stronger community. The changes to our teaching and learning will be facilitated by a significant capital investment of $7 million from the Federal government and the Catholic Education Office, Sydney. This investment will allow us to improve some of our key learning spaces and set up a state-of-the-art Trade Training Centre, reflecting contemporary practice and innovation.
Directions: •
Establishment of a Middle School (Years 7 – 9) that offers a culture of faith, learning and wellbeing that underpins contemporary practices focused on the development of 21st Century skills.
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Establishment of a Senior School (Years 10 – 12) that offers a personalised pathway to prepare our students for life beyond secondary school.
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Establishment of a Vertical House System model that is underpinned by a House system that provides a unique opportunity of working together across all Year Groups.
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A name change to Champagnat Catholic College, Pagewood.
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Methodology Over the course of the last twelve months the College has participated in a Diagnostic Inventory of School Alignment (DISA) with the University of Southern Queensland and worked collaboratively with Dr. Alan Laughlin, to define key elements of the Pagewood community and identify its successes and potential challenges. To further support this evidence, a CEO Steering Group, Middle and Senior School Committees and a newly formed College Advisory Council identified the targets that are the platform for the re-imagination of Marist College Pagewood. Moreover, draft proposals based on these targets were developed for critical examination by the Pagewood community.
Phase One: Community Forums A series of staff, student and parent & guardian community forums were held in March and April 2013 to present these proposals as the central platform of the re-imagination of Marist College Pagewood. These forums were highly successful as they allowed all stakeholders an opportunity to engage in the conversation about the future of Pagewood. The passion, commitment and desire for excellence in learning, ministry and wellbeing underpinned each forum.
Phase Two: Future Directions Phase Two: Future Directions, provides more detailed information on each of the future directions the College will take from 2014. At the Parent Symposium, held on June 12th in collaboration with the Catholic Education Office, the future directions of the College were presented to the community. Future Directions presents the Pagewood community with a further opportunity to reflect on the direction the College is taking from 2014 and beyond. This document will focus on the following key areas of each
Educational vision
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Rationale for Middle and Senior School
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Australian Curriculum
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Individual Career Pathways
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High School Certificate (HSC) Learning pathways
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Ministry
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Vertical House Model
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Champagnat Catholic College
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direction:
A New Beginning: Middle and Senior School The key is not to standardise education, but to personalise it, to build achievement on the discovery of individual talents of each child. (Ken Robinson)
Vision - Building my Future Our College invites young men to engage in an education that takes them on journeys of opportunity, enriching the whole person, and challenging and inspiring them to reach the plan God has for them. As a Marist community we strive to create experiences that allow innovation, creativity, critical thinking and reflective practice. Students will excel in their education motivated by a dynamic learning environment, developing as engaged, focused and independent learners willing to take risks and become lifelong learners.
A Middle and Senior School Model Directions One and Two focus on the development of a Middle and Senior School that offer a culture of faith, learning and wellbeing that underpin contemporary practices focused on the development of 21st Century skills. Their specific aim is to provide a personalised pathway for students that will prepare them for life beyond secondary school.
Middle School (Years 7- 9) The Middle School (Years 7, 8, 9) offers innovative support for students in the stage of early adolescence, in their transition from primary to secondary school. Our Marist values ensure that both the pastoral and academic aspects of the personal development of the individual student are our priority. We seek to provide a culture of faith, learning and wellbeing that animates students to be selfdirected and self-reflecting. The Middle School incorporates: 1. Transitional Schooling Program 2. Individual Career Pathway (ICP) – personalised learning 3. Target Setting Days 4. Youth Ministry
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5. Project Based Learning
Senior School (Years 10 – 12) The Senior School (Years 10, 11 and 12) seeks to meet the needs of young men at an important stage in their school life, through its structures, balance of flexibility and support within an academic peer culture, and its focus on independence, responsibility and developing an ethical basis for life. Our expectation of senior boys is that they will lead by example. We expect that intellectual rigour, emotional resilience and their relationships with each other will be marked by positive engagement with their peers and teachers, and a willingness to work through challenges. The Senior College pathway fosters independence. Preparation for life beyond secondary school is a key focus in the Senior College. This preparation incorporates the following aspects: 1. Ministry: seeking opportunities to cultivate a faith that animates a call to justice and others through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ 2. Individual Career Pathway (ICP): tailored to the specific needs of each senior student promoting excellence in learning and skill development 3. Wellbeing program: encouraging resilience, independence and social awareness 4. HSC Literacy & Numeracy Development 5. Leadership Development 6. Partnerships
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7. Enterprise Model
Learning Rationale The Middle and Senior School offer a rich, relevant and holistic curriculum that is student-centred, dynamic, flexible and challenging. Students are individually mentored in understanding how to learn and in identifying their individual learning needs and the skills required in pursuing their chosen learning pathway. Students work collaboratively with their House Group Leaders (HGL’s) and other teachers to create an Individual Career Pathway (ICP) designed to ensure a successful transition into life beyond school. Academic excellence is an ever-present goal for both staff and students’. This excellence is consistently achieved through a curriculum that is both rich in diversity and broad in its depth of study, and with the support and guidance of highly qualified, professional teaching staff. The College curriculum is tailored to ensure that each individual student has the opportunity to achieve his full potential. Gifted and talented students are given the opportunity to undertake challenging and stimulating extension programs, while students with special learning needs receive extra learning support and attention.
Australian Curriculum (ACARA) The development of the Australian Curriculum is guided by the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, adopted by the Ministerial Council in December 2008. The Melbourne Declaration emphasises the importance of knowledge, skills and understanding of learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, as the basis for a curriculum, designed to support 21st Century learning. The new curriculum is the foundation for high quality teaching to meet the needs of all Australian students. It describes the learning entitlement of students as a foundation for their future learning, growth and active participation in the Australian community. All students are entitled to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning programs drawn from a challenging
strengths, goals and learning needs, and address the cognitive, affective, physical, social and aesthetic
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Australian Curriculum to develop teaching and learning programs that build on students’ interests,
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curriculum that addresses their individual learning needs. To do this, teachers at the College will use the
needs of all students. A common learning language will be developed across the school through the introduction of school-wide learning outcomes, supported through the pedagogy of Project Based Learning.
Individual Career Pathways (ICP) At Pagewood, each student will collaborate with their House Group Leaders (HGL’s), other teachers and parents to develop an Individual Career Pathway (ICP) tailored to his individual learning needs. The objectives of the ICP are to do the following: ●
Regular dialogue with HGL’s and parents about academic performance, wellbeing and learning needs
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Target Setting days where students set learning, wellbeing and ministry goals for the year ahead
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Diagnostic profiling of students’ skills including communication, teamwork, problem solving, planning and organising, self-management, learning and technology
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Assist with subject selection in Years 8 and 10, leading to further subject selection and pathway discernment into the Senior School
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An opportunity for students to reflect on their College experience and seek strategies for individual improvement across their learning and wellbeing
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Data management of student profiles including learning performance, wellbeing and goal setting. Student and parent portals to access the development of each pathway through Middle and Senior School
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Using the ICP to create a portfolio for prospective employers and application for tertiary and post-school study
HSC Pathways In Years 10, 11 and 12, the focus is on preparation for the HSC. Students are advised to undertake a program of study that best suits their interests, abilities and career aspirations. Extension courses are available in English and Mathematics (both Preliminary and HSC courses). Students may choose from the
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following pathways:
1. Academic Pathway The Academic Pathway provides those students who wish to continue their education into tertiary study and receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). Students are required to undertake a minimum of 12 units of study in Year 11 and 10 units in Year 12 from a wide selection of courses offered by the Board of Studies, NSW. Students have the option of undertaking a variety of 2, 3 and 4 unit courses to make up their study pattern. The majority of students will undertake 12 units of study, 1 unit of which must be either Catholic Studies or Studies of Religion 1. The College will establish formal partnerships with universities across NSW to give our students opportunities to attend holiday schools and workshops to assist them in their learning and prepare them for tertiary study. These partnerships will also give students scholarship opportunities. 2. Academic Pathway + 1 Vocational subject (Blended) The Academic +1 (blended) Pathway offers those students who wish to add a 2 unit vocational subject to their academic pathway the chance to do so. This pathway gives students wider options in their discernment of a future career. With the establishment of a state-of-the-art Trade Training Centre (TTC), students will have an opportunity to expand their employability skills with real-life and educational experiences. 3. Vocational The Vocational pathway offers students in the Senior School the opportunity to undertake Vocational Education courses at the College, or at TAFE Colleges nearby. Upon successful completion of these courses, the student receives formal vocational qualifications under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), fast-tracking their future tertiary studies and giving them a head start in their chosen career. The College is establishing a partnership with the Sydney Institute (TAFE) that will provide collaborative teaching and learning opportunities and ensure a successful transition for our students into Stage 2 of an apprenticeship once they have completed their HSC. Trade Training Centre The TTC offers state of-the-art facilities to give all students real life learning opportunities in
‘cottage businesses’ such as a car detailing service and a catering business.
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across each of these VET subjects. This provides real life-work experiences through the establishment of
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Construction, Hospitality and Automotive. It is the intention of the College to establish a ‘client model’
Careers Career education is supported throughout the curriculum and aims to develop students’ knowledge and skills to make wise career decisions during the school years for life beyond. Career development is a lifelong process; statistics predict that the current generation is likely to have between five and ten career changes in their lifetime, so it is important that students develop confidence in making effective decisions throughout their lives. With a ‘whole school’ approach to career education, through the introduction of ICP’s in the Middle School, students develop integrated and strong guidelines for career development. Emphasis during the Middle School years is placed on career exploration, while in the Senior School year’s, tertiary and work alternatives are investigated. The Careers Centre gives students access to a variety of materials and resources both online and in print. All students are welcome to explore the many options available including local, interstate and international university options, Gap Year alternatives, TAFE, private Colleges and alternate pathways.
Work experience programs
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Careers profiling
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Individual and group career sessions
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Assistance with subject selections
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Guest speakers in relevant subject areas
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Lunch-time career seminars
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University visits and sessions
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Resumé preparation and interview skills
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Accessing online resources
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Assistance with scholarship and tertiary education applications
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Details of flexible entry and bonus point schemes.
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Other support includes:
Project-based Learning (PBL) Development In 2011 the Leader of Pedagogy undertook extensive research into student engagement and the skills necessary for students to participate in a 21st Century world. This research identified Project Based Learning (PBL) as a pedagogical model that would be suitable for improving student learning and wellbeing outcomes at Pagewood. Over the course of 2012, the Leaders of Pedagogy and Innovation and Development completed further professional learning on PBL, which included research and training with staff at an established PBL school – Parramatta Marist High; and attendance at the New Tech Network (NTN) PBL Conference in Michigan USA. The College trialed PBL in Year 7 and found a pedagogy that saw significant improvements in our students’ engagement in their learning. It is our intention that PBL will become the dominant pedagogy of the Middle School over the next five
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years. It is currently being taught in 2013 in Years 7 and 8 History and Year 11 Catholic Studies.
What is Project Based Learning? Project-based learning is a unique way to motivate students to engage in their own learning through every day, real-world activities. It is student-centred, providing opportunities for students to pursue their own interests and questions, and to find answers to authentic problems outside the classroom. Students apply and integrate the content of different subject areas to real-world projects or concerns, which helps make learning relevant and useful to them by establishing connections to life outside the classroom and developing real world skills. This self-directed and interdisciplinary approach to learning develops students’ creativity, communication, problem solving and critical thinking skills, many desired by today's employer, including the ability to collaborate, make thoughtful decisions, take initiative, and solve complex problems.
Focus shift: from performance to learning Real-world context and realism
Self reliance and responsibility
PBL Increasedproblem solving skills
Enhanced social learning and collaborative skills
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21st Century learning
Rigorous and in-depth Project Based Learning: •
Is organised around an open-ended Driving Question or Challenge. This focuses students’ work and deepens their learning by centering on significant issues, debates, questions and/or problems.
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Creates a need to know essential content and skills. Typical projects (and most instruction) begin by presenting students with knowledge and concepts and then, once learned, give them the opportunity to apply them. PBL begins with the vision of an end product or presentation, which requires learning specific knowledge and concepts, thus creating a context and reason to learn and understand the information and concepts.
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Requires inquiry to learn and/or create something new. Not all learning has to be based on inquiry, but some should. And this inquiry should lead students to construct something new – an idea, an interpretation, and a new way of displaying what they have learned.
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Requires critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and various forms of communication. Students need to do much more than remember information: they need to use higher-order thinking skills. They also have to learn to work as a team and contribute to a group effort. They must listen to others and make their own ideas clear when speaking, be able to read a variety of material, write or otherwise express themselves in various modes, and make effective presentations. These skills, competencies and habits of mind are often known as ‘21st Century Skills’.
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Allows some degree of student voice and choice. Students learn to work independently and take responsibility when they are asked to make choices. The opportunity to make choices, and to express their learning in their own voice, also helps to increase students’ educational engagement.
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Incorporates feedback and revision. Students use peer critique to improve their work to create
Results in a publicly presented product or performance. What you know is demonstrated by what you do, and what you do must be open to public scrutiny and critique.
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higher quality products.
If we are serious about reaching 21st Century educational goals, PBL must be at the centre of 21st Century instruction. The project contains and frames the curriculum, which differs from the short ‘project’ or activity, added onto traditional instruction. PBL is “the main course, not Dessert.”
Why use PBL? John Dewey initially promoted the idea of ‘learning by doing’. In his work, My Pedagogical Creed (1897) Dewey outlined his beliefs regarding education: “The teacher is not in the school to impose certain ideas or to form certain habits in the child, but is there as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these...” The current focus of education encourages knowledge attainment but fails to provide students with the necessary skills to use knowledge effectively. Despite the fact that test scores are high, assessments are often poor indicators of future success. Currently, students are disengaged and unmotivated with the education process. They see education as a collection of facts that have no relevance or importance to the outside world. The problem is that in schools, students are told what to learn not how to learn. Project-Based Learning is a rigorous, relevant, and engaging education model that promotes selfdirected learning and “helps make learning relevant and useful to students by establishing connections to life outside the classroom, addressing real-world concerns, and developing real world skills” (ProjectBased Learning with Multimedia, para 4). Students gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and standards at the heart of a project. Projects also build vital workplace skills and lifelong habits of learning. Projects can allow students to address community issues, explore careers, interact with adult mentors, use technology, and present their work
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or meaningless.
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to audiences beyond the classroom. PBL can motivate students who might otherwise find school boring
Markham (2011) describes project-based learning (PBL) as, “integrating knowing and doing. Students learn knowledge and elements of the core curriculum, but also apply what they know to solve authentic problems and produce results that matter. PBL students take advantage of digital tools to produce high quality, collaborative products. It refocuses education on the student, not the curriculum – a shift mandated by the global world, which rewards intangible assets such as drive, passion, creativity, empathy, and resiliency. These cannot be taught out of a textbook, but must be activated through experience.” The effective implementation of PBL redefines the classroom environment as teachers are no longer distributors of knowledge, but they are participates in the learning process with the students. The focus of Project-Based Learning involves planting a seed in students and watching it grow as they “retain what they learn rather than forget it as soon as they disgorge it for a test” (Curtis, 2001, para.18).
What would students gain from working in this environment? Students who participate in PBL become lifelong learners. They gain increased motivation towards their own education because PBL “provides opportunities for students to pursue their own interests and questions and make decisions about how they will find answers and solve problems” (Project-Based Learning with Multimedia, para.2). The ability to collaborate and work as a team is a skill that is imperative in any environment. PBL creates an environment where students, “learn how to collaborate, and their social skills improve. They are more confident talking to groups of people, including adults” (Curtis, 2001). Consequently, students who participate in PBL will develop collaborative skills that traditional instruction fails to provide. Education is not just about content coverage, but about the development of essential skills that will prepare our students for the post-school world. The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians set the future of education in motion in 2008. The Melbourne Declaration committed “to supporting all young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals,
Curriculum in the 21st Century is the “need to acknowledge the changing ways in which young people
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declaration was the Australian Curriculum. One of the many goals in the development of an Australian
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and active and informed citizens” to promoting equity and excellence in education. Born from this
will learn and the challenges that will continue to shape their learning in the future” (Shape of the Australian Curriculum, 2010). The Australian Curriculum is based on the assumptions that each student can learn and the needs of every student are important. It enables high expectations to be set for each student as teachers account for the current levels of learning of individual students and the different rates at which students develop. It is aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework and builds on its key learning outcomes, namely: children have a strong sense of identity; children are connected with, and contribute to, their world; children have a strong sense of wellbeing; children are confident and involved learners; and children are effective communicators. The Australian Curriculum is designed, when taught effectively, to prepare all young Australians to become competent members of the community. It builds firm and meaningful foundation skills as well as providing the basis for developing expertise for the increasing number of students who move on to personalised advanced studies in academic disciplines, professions and technical trades. Consequently, the focus of PBL is on the development of skills that provide students with the foundation for lifelong learning.
How does it support study at HSC level? Study at HSC level is extremely rigorous and requires students to use their higher-level thinking skills. Students are asked to personalise and use a diversity of approaches and texts to meet the growing array of literacy demands, including higher-order social, aesthetic and cultural literacy, whilst developing effective English communication skills. Students are asked to understand the complexity of meaning, to compose and respond to texts and
their reading and learning and understand that these processes are shaped by the contexts in which they respond to and compose texts. Through reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and
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social, historical, cultural and workplace contexts that produce and value them. They must reflect on
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information according to their form, content, purpose and audience, and to appreciate the personal,
representing experience, ideas and values, students must adopt a critical approach to all texts and content and distinguish the qualities of the information provided to them. Such academic demands require that these skills be taught from a much younger age, so they can be developed within students and become a part of who they are and how they think. Implementing PBL into the Middle School enables this, as students from Year 7 are taught to make sense of and enrich their lives in personal, social and professional situations and to deal effectively with change. Students develop a strong sense of themselves as autonomous, reflective and creative learners. It is designed to develop in students the faculty to perceive and understand their world from a variety of perspectives, and it enables them to appreciate the richness of the topics they engage with. Thus, students are more able to deal with the requirements and demands that their HSC subjects place on them.
Post-school Readiness Our College works to provide all students with the skills and knowledge they will need to thrive in postsecondary education, career and civic life. Deeper learning and university readiness for students are what matter most. Deeper learning is the ability to master core academic content, think critically and solve complex problems, work collaboratively, communicate effectively, and learn how to be self-directed learners. Student success in these areas cannot be gauged by traditional measures such as NAPLAN testing. Our College’s focus on increasing students’ deeper learning and in turn their readiness for university requires personalised assessments that are calibrated to university-ready standards and embedded in the daily work of students. Student ability to think critically is better measured through performance tasks grounded in real-world scenarios and embedded in ongoing work. Ultimately, student
of Education, includes PBL schools in a class of schools that “break[s] the conventional links between
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Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E Ducommun Professor of Education at the Stanford University School
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achievement is assessed through outcomes that matter most: success in post-secondary options.
race, poverty, and academic failure. Not only do their students receive an academically rigorous curriculum that prepares them for university and career, they also experience learning opportunities that are culturally rich, socially and practically relevant, and responsive to their needs and interests.”
The difference between Project-based Learning and Projects Project-based Learning PBL is an approach that guides the learning, through driving questions and student inquiry, to uncover or discover the information needed to answer a question, solve a problem or invent/create something new. In PBL, the project is not simply the visible result or culmination of the learning, but rather the cause of the learning. Projects Projects done in school are usually the result of the learning students that have done. The typical approach is to learn about a topic through readings, workbooks and direct teacher instruction, then to create a project that demonstrates the learning that has occurred through the unit. On the ground – in the classroom PBL is so flexible that it allows teachers and students to work in both large and small groups. Teachers are able to deliver the curriculum, and students are able to learn in both classrooms, as they are currently taught or in combination with another class (team teaching). At present, our HSIE department use the Team Teaching model, where two classes are combined. This differs from the first year of implementation, when all Year 7 HSIE classes were taught together. After evaluation of the first year’s implementation, it was found by both students and teachers that having the entire Year 7 cohort
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together was not working, and we moved to the model being used this year.
How is PBL used? Some teachers use PBL extensively as their primary curriculum organised and instructional method. Others use PBL occasionally during the school year. Projects vary in length, from several days to several weeks or even a semester. PBL can be effective at all grade levels and subjects, and in career/technical education, after-school and alternative programs.
Example of a PBL Structure
Stages
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Introduce the Driving Question to the class.
Project Roll
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Present the Entry Document to the class.
Out
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The class will construct a Need to Know List after reading the entry document.
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Group organisation will take place. Groups can be selected by a variety of methods, including:
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teacher selection
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student selection
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Lotto.
Once student groups have been organised, each group must fill in their Group Contract which will be used to manage groups appropriately. Groups are also required to map out the distribution of tasks via the Project Calendar.
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Students start each lesson with an addition to their Online Journal. Questions posed often require students to analyse a moral decision.
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Groups will discuss the Need to Know List and focus their investigation on what they need to know.
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Throughout different stages of the investigation process students will have access to different Resources. It is anticipated that most students will be able to find the majority of resources themselves. Groups will be required to initiate at least two Group Meetings to share each member’s preliminary findings.
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Investigation
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Development •
Students will be presented with the Rubric which communicates the exact nature in which they will be accessed.
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Students will continue with their Online Journal, but will also be required to participate in online class Forums.
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Groups will be required to start to plan the End-Product.
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Students can request Workshops, given by the teacher, concerning any areas that they are having difficulties with.
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The class will address the Need to Know List and alter it according to the new knowledge they have gained from their investigation.
Evaluation
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The teacher will visit each group with the Rubric to identify which outcomes have been met and which ones need further work before the project is presented.
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The class will participate in the Critical Friends Process, in which each group will participate in trial presentation and class members are able to give meaningful feedback on what was successful and what was not successful.
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Students will participate in a Peer Assessment regarding the teamwork of members of their group. These marks will go towards the teamwork assessment mark.
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Students will be required to present their projects to an authentic audience. This could include: Parents
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Members of the community
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Other teachers
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Professionals of a related specific field.
Finally students will participate in their own evaluation to identify what they thought was successful about the project and what they did not think was successful.
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Presentation
Student Quotes (from Year 7 and 8 HSIE students)
“I love the freedom I have to work at my own pace.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing because the essential questions up around the room to focus me on the work.”
“I like talking through ideas with my group.”
“There are lots of teachers to help me and I can also ask my group if I don’t know what is happening.”
“I like using OneNote – everything is there if I forget something.”
“We do individual literacy tasks as we work through the project – that’s good.”
“We don’t have to copy off the board anymore. “
“I can talk with my group and don’t get into trouble for talking.”
“Our homework isn’t random, it’s our project.”
“Because you’re not just reading it in a textbook or listening to a teacher explain it to you. You’re actually putting it to use and finding ways in which what you just learned is useful and something that you will
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apply later in life.”
Pictures from our HSIE Trial
T This link here will give you further insight into the benefits of PBL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OWX6KZQDoE
PBL 2014 and Beyond The College will stage its implementation of PBL to coincide with the introduction of the Australian
training.
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New Tech Network (USA) to ensure that our staff will have the very best access to resources and
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Curriculum. We have established a professional learning partnership with Parramatta Marist High and
Common Learning Language: School-Wide Learning Outcomes Central to our educational vision is the development of a common learning language where students, teachers and parents understand the key assessment benchmarks. Assessment is designed to meet the needs and expectations of each individual student benchmarked against the College’s School-wide Learning Outcomes (SWLO). Meaningful and authentic assessment ‘for’, ‘of’ and ‘as’ learning, promotes the use of higher-order thinking skills, centred on reflective practice, where students take responsibility for their Learning. The central principles of our assessment are to: • assist student learning • evaluate and improve teaching and learning programs • determine student achievement in the course • provide evidence of satisfactory completion of a course/stage.
Literacy Faith and Life
Intercultural and Ethical Understanding
Personal and Social
Critical and Creative Thinking
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SWLO
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ICT
Numeracy
Ministry Mission – With God Nothing is Impossible (Luke 1:37) We are committed to promoting the dignity and development of each individual, enlivened by the Gospel of Jesus Christ by example in word, prayer, celebration and action. As a Marist Community we value each person as uniquely important, and seek opportunities to cultivate a faith that animates a call to justice and others through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Catholic Social Teaching – Pedagogy for Leadership “For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being” Pope Benedict XVI. Deus Caritas Est, n25 The College’s Ministry Program is underpinned by the central principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Catholic Social Teaching has been described as ‘faith in action’, a way of reflecting upon and responding to the call of Jesus as it relates to contemporary society. The Church’s social mission consists of: ●
principles for reflection
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criteria for judgment
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guidelines for action.
Concrete Experience
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Reflection
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Critical Anaylsis
Action
Evangelisation The Middle School offers students a uniquely Marist experience in our Home Service and Community Outreach Programme. Boys are asked to make Christ known and loved, as Marcellin Champagnat did, through helping others within their home and close community. In the Senior School, students will firstly participate in a Ministry Program involving our local Catholic primary schools and nursing homes in Year 10. In Years 11 and 12, all students will be offered opportunities to volunteer at Matthew Talbot Homeless Hostel. Some of these students will then be selected to participate in our Immersion Program to either Papua New Guinea or to Central Australia. Students in the Middle and Senior School will be open to: ●
deepening their understanding of what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus
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furthering their relationship with God through prayer, reflection and reading of the Scriptures
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witnessing the Good News of Jesus through their daily life and actions in the College community, especially to their peers and younger students
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developing Youth Ministry skills which assist them to lead presentations, facilitate small groups, skills in drama, music, multi-media presentations, sharing personal reflections
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immersion into the sacramental life of the College through regular opportunity to participate in the Eucharist and Reconciliation Reflective Practice through Year group Reflection Days, empowering young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today, and leading young people to responsible
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participation in the life, mission and work of the Catholic faith community.
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Wellbeing Vertical House Model The House Model is the foundation of Pastoral care and Wellbeing at Marist College. Our College values the fostering of positive relationships as the key factor in the development of the whole person. The House system provides a strong foundation for pastoral care and wellbeing at the College, providing students with a feeling of comradeship and a sense of belonging from the day they enter. Each House is named after significant former Marist Brother who all had an integral role in the development of the College. These men are: •
Br Robert Aitken
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Br Ernest Houston
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Br Ivor Madigan
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Br David Hayes.
House Coordinator Each House is led by a House Coordinator. House Coordinators provide significant pastoral leadership within the College. They are responsible for the effective operation of the House and for the overall wellbeing, learning and faith development of the students in the House. This involves knowing the students and their families, managing the involvement of staff as (HGL’s) in the House and collaborating with the College’s middle managers and senior leadership. Monitoring, challenging and advising students are central to the role, as is effective organisation and administration of the House.
Wellbeing The house system provides enhanced opportunities for accumulating longitudinal knowledge about students, including monitoring of personal and academic progress, through: ●
Better knowledge of family background, interests, capabilities, personality and needs. This also increases the extent to which a student feels known and cared for
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Following the academic progress of students through knowledge of courses studied and
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Effective communication between parents, HGL’s and House Coordinators.
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contact with subject teachers and written and oral reporting
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individual performance in courses. This is supported by structures such as homework diaries,
Vertical Tutor Groups The House Model aims to provide a structure within the College allowing students to be known more closely and thus cared for more effectively. A House is a vertical grouping of students within the College, comprised of students from each Year level. Each of the four Houses has approximately 160 students from Years 7 to 12. Within the House there are seven tutor groups led by staff as House Group Leaders (HGL’s). Upon enrolment, each student is placed in a House and a tutor room within that House, where there is a small number of students from each Year group. This system encourages a sense of belonging and continuity among College families and staff. Loyalty and commitment to a particular group are fostered over time. The House Model offers many strengths and benefits. Over time it will: ●
create a culture of students understanding and caring for each other across the whole College
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promote and foster the elements of the Marist Charism including family spirit and presence
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encourage participation in the co-curricular activities provided within the College
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provide leadership roles for students including House Captains, cross-age tutoring, and House Council membership
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formalise the culture of the College – grouping together, providing an identity, especially in Year 7, to foster a sense of belonging and security
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build a sense of belonging and community within a House Group, fostering positive relationships
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Encourages greater responsibility among staff for pastoral care and the monitoring of individual academic progress through mentoring opportunities
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develop Individual Career Pathways (ICPs) for each student that personalise their learning and aspirations through formalised target and goal setting develop in students habits such as neatness, faithfulness to homework, use of diary, wearing of uniform and punctuality. The same principle applies to identification and addressing student
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problems early, rather than allowing them to develop.
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Champagnat Catholic College: A new name, a new beginning This exciting and bold move to become Champagnat Catholic College Pagewood captures the very essence of the targets identified in the first three directions. Each direction engenders new and exciting opportunities for faith and learning which are creative, innovative and engaging for our students. The diversity and challenge of this new age offers an opportunity for the College to reflect on questions of identity, vision, values, mission, high-quality curriculum and ultimately their role in the wider community. It is on this premise that we have the opportunity to embrace this new beginning and age by renaming the College after the founder of the Marist Order, St Marcellin Champagnat.
St Marcellin Champagnat – A Role Model for today St Marcellin Champagnat was an extraordinary man. Born in France at the end of the 18th Century at time of great change, Marcellin responded to God’s call to work with and educate young people. The people of the town of La Valla France, and the young men whom he gathered around him to be the first Marist Brothers, found his way of being Christian to be compelling. He won their hearts. They sought to develop in their own lives, the same deep faith and trust in God that Marcellin had; the same mix of strength of will and warmness of heart, the same generosity and giving spirit. His educational philosophy was a simple one: to teach children, one must love them. His life is a witness to the truth that the actions of one man can make a difference. Today, Marcellin Champagnat’s vision for change and transformation inspires us to break new ground, forge new pathways and build better futures. We have a chance to enliven our community with a new way, a new pathway of hope, with our founder St. Marcellin Champagnat at the heart of our growth and
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sustainability for generations to come.
Why Champagnat Catholic College? Like Champagnat, our vision for the future lies in breaking new ground. Changing the name to ‘Champagnat Catholic College’ proclaims a new beginning, a new era of education here at Pagewood that builds on and celebrates the successes of the past and captures the innovation, creativity and excitement of the future. We see the name change as a signal to the community that our new model of learning, wellbeing and ministry will ensure the best possible outcome for our youth as we walk with them to navigate the journey ahead. Champagnat Catholic College aims to: •
create experiences that allow innovation, creativity, critical thinking and reflective practice
•
animate students to excel in their education motivated by a dynamic learning environment, developing as engaged, focused and independent learners willing to take risks and become lifelong learners
•
create an educational environment which harnesses the potential to engage, affirm and empower the students in our care
•
create tailored, personalised individual career pathways for students.
We invite our young men to engage in an education that opens journeys of opportunity enriching the whole person, challenging and inspiring them to reach the plan God has for them. The desired outcome of this philosophical undertaking is best summed in the words of St Marcellin Champagnat: “Their lives will be the echo of what you have taught them” (The International Marist Education Commission, 1988, p 41). It is more than reasonable to suggest that such a reverberation will last long into our students’
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futures.
Conclusion The road to engagement has changed. The diversity and challenge of this new age, whilst confronting, offers an opportunity for schools to reflect on questions of identity, vision, values, high-quality curriculum and ultimately their role in the wider community. The challenges that lie ahead for young people are immense, requiring our College community to respond to our time. It is our central belief that the direction the College is taking will ensure an exciting and ultimately sustainable future for the College.
Middle School Vertical House System
Senior School
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Champagnat Catholic College
The following table captures the changes each proposal advocates 2014 and Beyond
Secondary School Years 7- 12
• •
Middle School Years 7- 9 Senior School Years 10- 12
Learning
• •
• • • • •
New Australian Curriculum Common learning language: School-wide Learning outcomes PBL dominates pedagogy in Middle School by 2016 Professional Learning Partnership with Parramatta Marist High and New Tech Network (NTN) USA Individual Career Pathways (ICP) for all students Target Setting days HSC Pathways Academic, Blended and Vocational Partnerships with tertiary and Technical Colleges Business model: real life, real enterprise
Ministry
• • • • •
Catholic Social Teaching Framework Community outreach across Middle and Senior School Immersion program Champagnat Ministry Plan Parish Partnership Plan
Wellbeing
• • • •
Vertical House Model Renewed Pastoral Program Respect Code of Conduct Outdoor education
Capital Improvements
• • •
Trade Training Centre New teaching and learning spaces New Creative Arts learning spaces
Name Change
•
Champagnat Catholic College Pagewood
John Finneran & Brigid Taylor June 2013
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• •
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Bibliography •
Australian Curriculum. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
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Board of Studies. http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/
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Buck Institute. www.bie.org
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Curtis, D. (2001) Start with the Pyramid George Lucas Educational Foundation. From http://glef.org
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Darling-Hammond, L. http://www.plymouth.k12.in.us/weidner-school-of-inquiry-phs.html. Sited 10/6/2013.
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Dewey, J. (1897) My Pedagogical Creed.
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Markham, T. (2011). Project Based Learning. Teacher Librarian, 39(2), 38-42.
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New Tech Network. http://www.newtechnetwork.org/
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Pope Benedict XVI. (2005) Deus Caritas Est - Encyclical Letter, Benedict XVI. www.vatican.va/.../hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225deus-caritas-est_en.html Shape of the Australian Curriculum, (2010). ACARA.
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http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum.pdf
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