The Academic Academy ACADEMIC

EXCELLENCE PROGRAM

Mission Statement

Central to the very heart and core of A.B. Paterson College is the aim of developing young men and women of character – leaders now and for the future. The College’s Mission ‘To challenge the individual to achieve, and to act with purpose and character’ is embodied in every engagement, interaction and opportunity within the College.

This Mission is encapsulated within the College’s Academic Academy program, thereby providing many opportunities for all students of the College. The Academic Excellence Program has the core strategic goal of supporting the needs of academically gifted and high ability learners. The Academic Academy coordinates and offers a significant number of academically enriching and challenging activities for students ranging from opportunities for staged acceleration through to international level competitions.

Criteria for Selection

In Junior School, The Academic Academy runs programs for students in Prep to Year 6. Students for that program are determined by a variety of subjective and objective data.

The Academic Academy is an exclusive opportunity for the Senior School Students. Selection for entry into this program is by invitation only. Details surrounding the selection process and course acceptance are as follows:

Top achieving students within the cohort, determined by objective (standardised) data and subjective data, are offered a position in The Academic Academy for the academic year. Data can be drawn from a number of sources, which include but are not limited to: the Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) in Reading, Science and Mathematics, ACER General Ability Test, Cognitive Ability Test (CogAT), as well as Academic results.

Future Problem Solving

The collective ingenuity of human civilisation is leading to more advancements in technology and innovation. It is quite likely that a permanent human settlement will eventually be established on another planet within our galaxy. Although this might occur in the not too distant future, there are still some problems that will be experienced in conducting a planetary mission. But, who could we rely on to identify and design a range of effective solutions to these potential challenges?

As we look up and dream of expanding our civilisation across the solar system, we need Future Problem Solvers Years 1-6 who are capable, willing, and courageous to take the next giant leap. They will embark on a voyage of exploration and discovery to understand the wonders of our world

and universe. Exploring new issues, technology, and information will leave our Future Problem Solvers with a sense of awe and astonishment. Ultimately, it is their curiosity and creativity that will overcome the hurdles that currently (or potentially) face human civilisation.

The World Scholar’s Cup

The World Scholar’s Cup is an interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning programme that aims to develop essential critical thinking skills. In this challenge, students are urged to discover incredible tales, concepts, and information across a range of subject areas. These include: Art and Music, Literature, Science, History, Social Studies, and a Special Mystery Topic (usually based on Philosophy and Reasoning, and other unfamiliar theoretical concepts).

Once they are equipped with this knowledge and understanding, students work individually and collaboratively in a number of challenges. The Collaborative Writing Challenge sparks each student’s imagination as they need to produce a creative or persuasive piece. Assisting one another at the beginning of the process allows each individual to receive multiple ideas and input from their peers, which would eventually come to life in their writing.

The Scholar’s Bowl is one of the many trials that students encounter. With buzzers in hands, there are a frenzy of whispers amongst each team to answer each question without being heard by their neighbouring rivals.

Debating is another key challenge for each team. With only fifteen minutes to prepare, our speakers are required to respond to a number of central topics and propose their arguments with poise and confidence; persuading the audience to agree with their justified and rational points.

Once the debating concludes, students move to another secret location for the Scholar’s Challenge. Preparation is the key for this particular task. Under timed conditions, each student completes a multiple-choice test and has to recall their previous knowledge of the material covered throughout the seven disciplines; applying this to new and familiar scenarios or questions.

In 2019, we have had incredible success at the Gold Coast Regional Round, and Global Round in Beijing, China. Emboldened by the support of their peers and teachers, eighteen students qualified for the final round, The Tournament of Champions 2019, which was held at Yale University (Connecticut, United States of America).

Every Senior School student who attended the Tournament of Champions received a medal across the various disciplines. One student wrote a captivating piece for the Individual Writing Challenge and was awarded with 13th place within the Senior Division. With their peers, the team came 15th overall in the Team Writing Challenge. With over 364 schools and approximately 1,800 students per division at this international challenge, one team representing A.B. Paterson College was incredibly successful in attaining 19th overall in the Senior Division. Thorough preparation is always needed as our students compete against other exceptionally minded individuals from all corners of the world.

The Ethics Olympiad

The Ethics Olympiad provides schools with a unique opportunity to develop skills in critical thinking, collaboration and communication. During an Ethics Olympiad, teams engage with each other and teams from other schools on interesting and relevant cases. They work as a team to respond to questions while building and

critiquing their own and others arguments. They engage with teams from other schools not only in Australia but also on an international level.

The Ethics Olympiad gives students the chance to enjoy the opportunity to build arguments with each other in a framework that encourages careful, considered responses to ethical issues.

Project Based Learning

In Years 3-11 students are involved in Project Based Learning within The Academy. Project Based Learning allows the student to actively engage in real world and meaningful projects. Students work on a project throughout the year where they focus on finding a solution to a real-world problem –from things such as wearable technologies, stopping food wastage and personalised medicine. They demonstrate their knowledge through a public presentation at the Academic Gala evening at the end of each year. Project Based Learning allows students to develop critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication skills.

Accelerated Programs

At A.B. Paterson College, we have an Accelerated English and Mathematics program on offer for students in Year 9. Through discussions and evaluation of data, students are invited to enrol in the accelerated program in either English or Mathematics. This will allow them to move forward one year in this subject and complete either Year 12 English or Mathematics at the end of Year 11.

This gives students time in Year 12 to undertake a unit of coursework through a University, or have additional time to study for their remaining subjects.

We also offer accelerated programs to individual students who excel in their area of learning.

Space Camp and H.E.A.R.T.

The Academic Academy offers international trips to either Space Camp in the US or Europe. Advanced Space Camp is an amazing program for all students in the Academy, Years 10-12. This is a STEM based program which also includes a week at NASA Space Camp, Huntsville.

The H.E.A.R.T. (Humanities, English, Art, Renaissance, Theatre) tour is a trip to Europe where we explore various aspects of History, Literature and the Arts, including Pompeii, Versailles, the Berlin Wall and the Louvre.