Curriculum

Junior School

It has been a very welcomed return to school this year after being impacted by Covid-19 for the past two years. The School is flourishing with the students back on campus and they are all delighted to be back with their friends.

Quality professional development has the power to increase educators’ knowledge of academic content and teaching skills, while changing what educators believe about student learning and how they interact with students. Powerful professional development can transform schools into places in which all adults and students are deeply engaged in learning and making meaning in their lives.

In Term 1, the Junior School staff attended a whole school presentation by psychologist, Joe Lewsey. The presentation focused on learning about Autism Spectrum Disorders. We also continued to update our knowledge and procedures with Child Safety, Emergency Management, and First Aid. 2022 has seen the staff in the Junior School focus a large part of their professional development on the teaching of Technologies, led by Ms Michele Rutter.

Parent Information sessions are a way of informing the parent community of what is being taught and ways in which they can help at home. In Term 1, the first two sessions were for parents in Years Prep and 1 regarding the teaching of reading and spelling and how parents can help. The third session was held for parents in Years 4 and 5 to address Cyber Safety. In Term 2, Chartwells engaged Sharon Natoli, a well-known and highly regarded nutritionist from Food and Nutrition Australia, to speak to parents about the importance of food groups, a balanced diet, and healthy snacks. Finally, in Term 4, the parents in Year 5 attended an information session about the Sex Education program. Life Education also provided a webinar to inform parents about the Life Education program.

This year has seen the return of some of our long-awaited special events. The students in Years 3 to 5 had the opportunity to work together to present our musical performance Star Warts: The Umpire Strikes Back. At the end of the year, the students in Pre-Prep to Year 2 performed in the musical concert The Nutcracker. The students love to perform and refine their acting and singing. Many thanks to Mrs Trista Fry and Mr St Vincent Welch for organising these wonderful experiences. Congratulations also to Mrs Sofia Tsolakis for the wonderful Art Show on Open Day. This was a wonderful celebration of the students’ artistic endeavours.

The excellent NAPLAN results are a reflection of the high level of commitment to teaching and learning across the School. The students in Years 3 and 5 have performed above the state average in all areas. The students are congratulated on their efforts and achievements.

Students in Year 12 this year were recruited by the Junior and Middle School Liaison Prefect, Ben Grlj. The Junior School students all looked forward to the Senior School visiting and assisting with the classroom programs. We appreciate the time the students gave up in their busy Year 12 schedules. It is always a pleasure to see former Junior School students revisit and meet some new students and see their mentoring and leadership skills develop.

The Junior School teachers would like to acknowledge the support they have received this year from parents and Senior School mentors. Their involvement enriches our program and demonstrates fabulous examples of teamwork in our community.

Mrs Caroline Gatley

Junior School Deputy Head, Curriculum

Middle School

The Middle Years are a crucial time in students’ lives. Students from our Junior School enter the Middle School as Year 6 students, approximately 125 students join us from other primary schools, making up most of the Year 7 cohort, and our Year 8 students find themselves in their final year in the Middle School, often taking on leadership roles in their House, their sporting teams, on stage or in the schoolyard. This is a time of change: physical, social, and emotional. And we design our Middle School program to not only keep our students intellectually challenged but also to help them develop the skills and strategies they need to negotiate a sometimes tortuous pathway through the adolescent years.

This year saw the introduction of four subjects into the Year 7 curriculum: Drama (now studied by all Year 7 students), STEM (operating as a separate subject as well as being incorporated into Science), Digital Citizenship (with a focus on online security and organisation), and Creative Design, where students have the opportunity to pursue their own projects using the design process to guide them. Key elements in all these subjects – and increasingly across the board – are creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. Students are in House groups for these subjects, which gives them the opportunity to develop connections within the House from the start of the year.

Highlights of the Year 8 curriculum this year were the Electives and the Outdoor Education activities, which included Horse Riding, Sea Kayaking, Mountain Biking, and Rock Climbing.

Year 6 also had a busy year, which included excursions and projects for Sustainability Week. The Middle School curriculum continues to evolve, as we find new ways to challenge, enrich, and engage our students.

Mr Scott Wyatt

Deputy Head of Middle School

Senior School

Our graduating year of 2021 experienced a VCE like no other. Learning remotely, without the on-going face-to-face support of their peers and teachers, these students had to endure disruptions to every term over the two years of their VCE. Despite this, as a cohort, they were able to achieve remarkable success in the VCE examinations.

Fortunately, 2022 saw a return to ‘normal’ school life, with no lockdowns and no remote learning. However, returning to the structured and routine life of school after a difficult time over the last two years, was not without its challenges. Nonetheless, students can look back on 2022 with pride and a strong sense of achievement.

One of the positives that came out of our experiences in lockdowns was the strong appreciation of the value of personal, face-to-face experiences in learning. This was illustrated repeatedly through the various learning activities within and outside the classroom. Whether it was creating a work of art in a classroom with classmates, conducting a science experiment in the laboratories, going on an excursion to a water treatment plant, travelling to Moorabbin Airport on a Geography excursion to see first-hand the varied and changing use of urban land, watching French films with your class at the local cinema, or representing a country in the always enjoyable Model United Nations styled Gladwyn Cup, the enthusiasm and excitement of students was palpable.

Study Hall continued in 2022, fortunately without any disruptions due to lockdowns. Once again, our students in Years 9, 10, 11, and 12 were supported by the tutors in attendance in Study Hall, which operated every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after school. Using our graduates from the previous year as tutors has certainly proven to be a great advantage, as they have not only been able to relate in a very positive way to our current students but are able to give an insight into studying the various subjects in which our students are involved.

2022 marks the eighth year of the Instructional Program – a program that is designed to support teachers to continually refine their pedagogical skills. Teachers cycle through this program every two years, working closely with one of seven trainedcoaches in their classrooms, having previously discussed areas to focus on. An initiative implemented this year came from our Strategic Plan and involved teachers working in small Professional Learning Groups to investigate pedagogical strategies designed to further enhance the learning of our students. There was great variety in the investigations undertaken, from Students’ Attitudes to Essay Writing and Feedback to Embedding Indigenous Culture in the curriculum, and the outcomes from the 15 investigations were shared with the staff at special presentations.

Every year involves significant planning for the following year, and this certainly was the case in 2022. The Senior School initiated a review of its curriculum offerings with the aim of ensuring that we continue to meet the diverse needs of our students and to clarify pathways for them through the senior years. After conducting several student and parent focus-groups, and following discussions with teachers, the Senior School will implement several initiatives in 2023.

Most notable were the introduction of a VET (Vocational Education and Training) Sports and Recreation course at the Year 11 and 12 levels, and a substantial increase in our offerings of university enhancement studies, taking the number of offerings from one to 12 first-year university studies that Year 12 students can undertake as part of their VCE program.

This Senior School Review will continue in 2023 and will no doubt result in further initiatives to broaden and enhance the Senior School experience in the years ahead.