Sometimes, I’ll find a group waiting on the main drive to head out on an outdoor experience as I head into my office. SIS sport creates a competitive energy every Thursday and Friday at Senior Campus and I look forward to hearing about the trials and tribulations of game day. The Junior Homesteads are active spaces where you’ll find staff and students enjoying the open fire. You will also witness Senior Homestead staff and students meeting to clarify or consolidate the learning from a variety of subject areas. There is an opportunity to join a fitness session in the Mezz or simply catch up for a hot chocolate at the canteen before school. These conversations and interactions are what makes Woodleigh a special place…and this is, sometimes, all before 8.45am.

We get the opportunity to develop strong connections with our students and nurture these young people – day in, day out. These relationships are formed at a critical time in a young person’s life and are often influential in many ways. I have seen positive connections be the ‘gamechanger’ – connections made between peers and connections established between students and teachers that have shaped their journey. From my point of view, this is one of the most exciting aspects of Schools. Students at Woodleigh want to come to school, learn together and experience everything it has to offer to further progress their learning opportunities. They feel at ‘home’ where staff are accessible and connect with them.

These connections allow us to nurture each student as life-long learners. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) aims to develop each students’ learning profile. We believe that by encouraging the following ten attributes, we can help individuals become responsible members of local, national and global communities: inquirers; knowledgeable; thinkers; communicators; principled; open-minded; caring; risk-takers; balanced, and; reflective. We celebrate these attributes in our classrooms and the poster below is a visible reminder of our goals as an IB MYP candidate School.

As an International Baccalaureate (IB) MYP candidate school, we are committed to supporting all students to find success in their learning through an emphasis on developing skills referred to as ‘Approaches to Learning’ – thinking skills; social skills; communication skills; self-management skills, and; research skills. Each of these skills connect to the School’s mission of nurturing the ‘head, heart and hand’. This focus underpins our breadth of programs, whilst also assisting to define clear directions for improvement. Through regular reflection and collaboration with staff and parents, students can determine the strategies that they need to achieve their personal best in their learning.

Constructive feedback is a very useful tool. Shortly, you will receive your childs’ mid-year academic report. These reports are an opportunity for parents and children to engage in a positive conversation about progress within specific subject areas. It is vital that students have agency and take ownership of their learning. Teaching staff have a range of strategies to support learning to harness student progress. We believe that if teachers, students and parents build strong relationships, they can work together to improve learning outcomes.

Our Continuous Reporting Model makes use of timely updates to summative and formative assessments which supports student knowledge and skills. Formative feedback provides opportunity for students to check-in with teachers and provide suggestions and feedback to be put into practice. Rubrics are used, where appropriate, to develop clear indicators of current abilities and areas for future learning improvements. Summative assessment provides final measurements for an assessment area. Through the IB MYP and Senior Years, we strive to develop learners who are reflective. We encourage our students to understand their strengths and areas for improvement to support their learning and personal development.

As we near the end of term, I would like to extend my thanks to our amazing Senior Cmapus team, all students, and their families for a wonderful semester at Senior Campus. I look forward to seeing you refreshed and ready to go in Term 3.

Enjoy the break, continue to stay safe, and take care.

NATALIE McLENNAN
Deputy Principal - Head of Senior Campus