ECONOMICS

Department Goals and Action Research

In 2022 our team used an action research model that enabled us to maintain a focused and measured approach to our department goals. Our priority goal, ‘improving students’ writing confidence’, has formed the basis for the action research project we plan to continue in 2023.

This year every course developed targeted writing skills in assessment tasks for each reporting period and produced evidence-informed scaffolds and formative assessment tools. Lesson observations across the department show a positive application of writing strategies in daily lessons. Students have started to show interest in writing outside of the classroom. Lizzie Cao, a Year 12 Global Politics student, published an opinion piece in the Canberra Times based on her IB research project. And Lillian Healy, a Year 9 student, has initiated conversations with staff and the Student Leadership Team about a student-authored newsletter in response to the Year 9 writing task in Term 3. The team has made slow yet positive progress with developing reliable measures and collecting reliable data on writing confidence, and we look forward to working on this in 2023.

Leading Beyond the Department

This year our team members engaged in high-quality shared practice within the team and very generously invested in sharing their expertise across the school and with the ACT Independent school’s community. Shared practice across the school included workshops and collaborations by our Assistant HoD in positive behaviour management, coaching and setting up Microsoft Teams for departments. Our Head of Department also shared the team’s holistic approach to assessment, results analysis, and reporting with the ALT. Progress with our action research project on writing confidence was presented at the AISACT showcase event in November. Next year, we look forward to hosting regional IB teacher collaboration events for IB Economics and IB Global Politics.

Demand for Elective Courses

The demand for elective courses in Years 9-12 remains high. We now have five elective classes in Year 10. Student enrolments in IB and HSC courses have remained consistent with two or three lines of subject offerings in all courses except for IB Business Management. Popularity in our elective courses and teaching team has also been evident in 35% of students electing to complete their IB Extended Essays with subject specialists from our department.

New Team Members

Lisa Smith and Anthony (Tony) Prior joined our team at the beginning of Term 2 and joined our HSC Business Studies, Legal Studies and IB Global Politics teams. They both bring a wealth of experience in the HSC and the IB, which has significantly benefitted the quality of teaching and collaboration in their respective teams.

Extensive Professional Learning

On top of the scheduled CPL offered by CGS, our team members invested approximately 150 hours in subject-specific specialised learning for the IB and HSC. Our team has shown excellent agility and a willingness to improve their impact in the classroom continually.

HISTORY & ABORIGINAL STUDIES

2022 has also seen the continued growth of Extension History, an elective 1 unit course that enables interested students to further deepen their writing and analysis skills. In 2022, HSC students visited heritage sites and learnt about archival research. For their significant projects, students are researching the contested nature of the following:

• The roles and status of women in ancient Egypt

• The unification of Japan

• Legacy of Cecil Rhodes

• The concept of ‘the digger’

• Myths about the German army during WWII; and

• Real and propagandised versions of the Iranian Revolution.

Work to promote History’s value to Year 10 students has resulted in strong enrolments for senior classes in 2022. We will run two Ancient, Modern and IB DP classes. History is a subject that contributes directly to their understanding of contemporary events, research and writing skills, and capacity to make a persuasive argument.

In the IB, high results significantly help students to access their preferred university courses. The skills they have developed will allow them to succeed academically and in adulthood. Students also worked with staff on Extended Essays across a wide range of topics, including:

• The impact of climate change on ancient Egypt

• The role of Australians in key battles of WWI

• Multiculturalism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

• Deradicalization in Germany and Japan after WWII; and

• The political use of sporting events.

In Aboriginal Studies, a focus for students was their major projects. These are significant independent pieces of original research, requiring adherence to ethical standards, stakeholder consultation, and communication with audiences outside of School. Some projects have examined:

• Ngunnawal language revival and teaching

• Traditional dying materials and techniques

• The recovery of Aboriginal identity through family history

• The establishment of the Tent Embassy

• Evaluation of the experiences of Aboriginal students at CGS

We hope to celebrate these with an in-person event in 2023. Students have particularly enjoyed excursions to AITSIS, Myall Creek, and the Press Club. Incursions have included weaving and painting.

Department members also undertook additional training in supervising the EE, a literature review and action research into the factors contributing to improved student success. Over half of the students received a ‘bonus’ point from their EE.

The renewed focus on teaching First Nations histories is a highlight of the year. In Year 7, a local case study captivated many students. Excursions/incursions have enriched this learning, notably visits to the National Museum, visits by archaeologists Dr Sue Feary and Dr Josephine Flood, and powerful presentations by Prof. Jackie Troy from the Ngarigo community. In Year 9, we led students through an analysis of frontier conflict through a case study on the Arrernte and controversial Central Australian policeman William Willshire. Ms Dwyer has led the development of a new elective Year 9 and 10 courses in Aboriginal Studies. We believe this work is an essential part of combating ignorance and racism.

The Department is recognised as a leader in History teaching with growing impact on teacher networks. A team from the Department ran a Professional Learning event at CGS on teaching the new Australian Curriculum Deep Time unit. This was attended by over 60 educators from across the ACT and NSW. The History staff experimented with different ICT platforms to respond to the challenges of presenting content engagingly and clearly. The resulting websites have been enthusiastically embraced by students and shared with colleagues across Australia.

Alongside lesson observations and other continuing professional learning undertaken by Department members, it is notable that:

• Two continued post-graduate studies

• Four presented at internal professional development sessions

• Two had presented papers for the ACT History Teachers Association

• One was elected to the ACT HTA Council

• One achieved Highly Accomplished accreditation; and

• One was awarded the SPEF award for professional excellence.

Sadly, we farewelled a long-serving colleague, Mr Ashley Hogan. In Term 4, we welcomed Mr David Gooley, who brings extensive experience teaching Modern History in the ACT and NSW systems.

In 2023, the Department will focus on integrating the Middle Years Program into our Year 7 – 10 History units. This will allow a greater focus on sequential skill development and explicit teaching of transferrable skills. In the senior years, we will undertake preparation for changes to senior courses by participating in the HSC Review and assessing the feasibility of new IB DP courses. We will also roll out new, more efficient ICT systems for staff and students.

English

2023 was a year of remarkable change and innovation in the English Department. We welcomed seven new teachers to the team whose considerable experience and energy contributed greatly to the English Department’s culture. With them and our more established staff working together, we were able to reinvigorate the curriculum (particularly as we embraced the AC v.9 and look forward to the MYP), broaden our academic and pastoral outlook, and establish robust and visionary goals for 2022 – 2023.

Last academic year, we introduced the Learner Portfolio as a space to develop students’ critical thinking, writing, and cognitive processing skills. Inspired by the IBDP Learner Portfolio and movements in global educational landscapes more broadly, the CGS 7 – 10 Learner Portfolio revealed more and more, in 2022, its potential to grow student capacity in thinking, writing, and reading. The Learner Portfolio has become a fundamental instrument of collaboration wherein teachers and students can target areas for improvement, develop conceptual engagement, promote the individual’s voice, and be an increasingly inclusive assessment tool.

Writing was not the only area of focus in 2022; strong, elegant, distinctive writing is the product of practice and regular reading. To promote active reading in 2022, the Years 7 – 10 English courses required a considerable reading commitment from all students, over and above their prescribed reading lists. The supplementary reading text lists elevated the understanding of story and fostered an appreciation of narrative. They also provided a greater diversity of student exposure to varying styles, cultural discourses and genres. The lists were developed to strengthen the skills of all students who embark on the HSC and IB English curricula.

Of course, the 2021 HSC and IB English academic results were amongst the highest on the school’s records. This is a testament to our students’ commitment, the strength of our English articulation of senior programmes, and our teachers’ expertise and tireless efforts. The IBDP team underwent considerable change over the course of 2022 as we said goodbye to two of our team, Hannah Lendon (Assistant Head of English) and Amy Lomas (Extended Essay Coordinator), and we engaged in the first offering of Language

A: School Supported Self-Taught IBDP courses. The English Department will continue to support students’ engagement with literature in their mother tongue into the future, and we are so far very proud of our students’ results.

However, the students who are just beginning their journeys in language and literature must inspire us the most. These young people stretch their reading and writing beyond the confines of curriculum and academic requirements, where we see the real power of the written and spoken word. And no more was this more evident than the achievements of our competition students, such as Hugo Carpay (Year 7), who was awarded first place in the “Pens Against Poverty” short story writing competition by the Governor General at Government House. We are sure he will be the first of many award-winning writers and readers who emerge from CGS.

ART, DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

• In 2022 we have continued to expand on the courses offered with the first Year 12 HSC Textiles and Design class. Year 12 IB Design and Technology has also rerun with the first class since 2019. We offered 20 courses across Visual Arts and Design this year and will continue to do so next year.

• We have re-connected with the ANU School of Art and their Emerging Arts Support Scheme. Caitlin Dominey and Kate Deeves visited the pre-exhibition opening and awarded the Canberra Grammar Artist in Residence Award to Juliette Baxter and Niamb Armstrong. They will work alongside staff and students using the ADT facilities next year and run workshops for students.

• This year Xavier Wiencke entered the UC Faculty of Arts and Design competition and was a finalist.

• We organised a range of experiences for students outside the classroom, including excursions for Years 8, 9 and 10 to the National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia, Questacon, Botanical Gardens and the Portrait Gallery. The Year 10 Design and Technology students were fortunate to participate in a workshop organised through Culture on the Move and run by Veronica Jordan, a Kalkadoon Pitta Pitta woman who is a professional weaver and artist. The workshop was hands-on and allowed students to gain an understanding of and connect with indigenous culture. This workshop was part of the Semester 2 Year 10 Design and Technology unit.

• This Year saw two very successful Year 12 Exhibitions with the Year 12 HSC Design, Textiles and Visual Arts students, along with the IB Design students exhibiting work in the ADT building, which transformed into an exhibition space. The Year 12 IB Visual Arts students exhibited their work in the new Atrium of the Snow Concert Hall. Students and families attended both exhibitions and celebrated their achievements.

• Year 7 – 11 works from the department were exhibited in week 4 of Term 4 across the school to celebrate the work produced in the Art Design and Technology department, with work displayed in the Atrium of the Snow Concert Hall, ADT Building and the Administration Building.

• As part of our professional development programme within the department, we created student surveys consistent across the department to collect feedback from the students in relation to the courses we are offering. This was completed in Semester 1, and this data was used to reflect and modify courses where needed. Professional development was run on the latest computer manufacturing facilities we have at the school. We then embedded these into our teaching programmes from Years 7 – 10 to help build students’ skills for senior courses. Megan Detering participated in the HSC Design and Technology marking for this year and ran two workshops with staff on her experience as a marker. This was a valuable experience for Megan and the whole department. Yumi Young participated in a two-day workshop run by NESA on Visual Arts HSC marking processes, and Yumi has shared these insights with the staff. Along with this, we had staff participate in IB training, ACARA version 9 training and Design and Visual Arts teachers association workshops.

• This year, we farewelled Kath Podger, who worked as the Assistant Head of Art Design and Technology and Visual Arts teacher from 2019 – 2022 and Colin McAlister, who worked as a Technical Assistant for the Art Design and Technology Department from 2018 – 2022 after spending 2013 – 2017 working in the maintenance team. We welcomed Caitlin Dominey as a new staff member to the department who joined at the end of Term 2 as a Visual Arts teacher. She comes from Western Australia, where she worked as a teacher and was in the arts industry and brings a diverse range of experience to the role and has been an asset to the team.

Music

2022 has been an exciting year for the CGS Music Department. The new CGS Music Centre and Snow Concert Hall were officially opened on August 25, with lessons and rehearsal commencing in the new facilities from the start of Term 4.

The new Music Centre doubles the size of classroom teaching/rehearsal spaces from 2 rooms to 4, with the capacity to open two rooms into a 2nd large rehearsal space. The 17-practice studios have also doubled the schools’ capacity to cater for more individual and small group lessons given by the 36 Visiting Music Teachers (VMTs).

Staffing:

Mid Term 1, we welcomed Mrs Liz Furman to the full-time music teaching staff as Assistant Head of Music – Curriculum, Senior School. Liz moved to CGS from St Leonard College, Melbourne, where she had been Head of Music – Academic, K – 12 for over ten years. Liz has brought a wealth of content knowledge, experience running a whole school academic department and a bright and positive outlook to her role. CGS has gained much by her joining the music team.

Mrs Maddie Retter took over the role of Acting Head of Performing Arts in the absence of Mrs Elizabeth Pfingst, who went on maternity leave for all of 2022.

Academic:

Both the IB and HSC results from 2021 were as expected:

• IBHL received 2 X Grade 7 & 1 X Grade 6

• IBSL received 1 X Grade 6

• HSC Music 1 received 2 X Band 5

• HSC Music 2 received 2 X band 6 & 1 X Band 4

• Music Extension received 1 X Band 3

The music extension course continued to cause concerns with the extreme state-wide standard of the performance elective, meaning that for middle-range students, the musicology elective is the only viable option.

For the first time, music ran two Year 8 academic music classes with 32 students choosing the subject as one of their three electives. This was a real surprise considering that the performance component of the 2021-Year 7 course had to be cancelled due to Covid and the restrictions of online learning.

Under the guidance of Liz Furman, a review of the Senior School Curriculum was started, with a particular focus on the development and implementation of the IB Middle Years Program (MYP), which is due to be rolled out in Year 7, 2024.

Co-curricular:

Despite the restrictions of instrumental & vocal performance opportunities over the last 2 ½ years due to Covid, the co-curricular music programme bounced back with enthusiasm and energy in 2022.

All instrumental and vocal ensembles returned to a normal rehearsal regime, and a resultant increase in participation and standard was evident.

Term 3 saw the opening of the new Snow Concert Hall in August. Due to the venue being unavailable for school ensemble rehearsals, the opening concert featured performances by four CGS Alumni (Chris Pidcock – Cello, Aaron Chew – Piano, Liam Budge – Voice and Marko Sever – organ). A highlight of the opening concert was the world premiere of the commissioned work – Resonance, composed by Canberra based composer Dan Walker and performed by members of the CGS Chorale and CGS Choir, accompanied by Dr Anthony Smith – piano and Alumni, James Monro – cello.

The Yumalundi Concert Series was held in Term 4. Five one-hour concerts over two weeks gave all CGS musicians a chance to perform on the stage.

This was a challenging transition as Year 12 students had finished at the end of Term 3, and the repertoire planned for Term 3 had to be performed without the most senior musicians.

Performing Arts

2022 saw several adjustments to the Drama academic programme. With only one semester of Drama for Year 7, it was decided to rewrite the course to give it a stronger academic foundation, with a greater focus on group work and team building. Year 7 also experienced some Dance classes to promote the course in Year 8. Years 9 and 10 studied a new unit called play building using Aboriginal pedagogies and the 8 Ways of Learning. Both years studied this unit to determine where it would best sit, with Year 9 coming through strongly. Dance continued to build on its foundations, and Film focussed on student agency to develop student collaborative skills. IB Theatre and Film courses are undertaking a review phase as part of the introduction of revamped IB programmes.

Staffing

COVID significantly affected staffing in 2022. Jessica Mercer continues to live with Long COVID symptoms. Her attendance at school in Semester 1 reflected this; her working arrangements were changed for Semester 2 when she went part-time. This has helped relieve some pressure of attending for half days (on medical advice). However, the 2023 timetable will be challenging, given there are no chunks of time that made the arrangement possible this year. Kristy Griffin joined us for Semester 2 to cover Jess’ part-time loaf reduction; unfortunately, Kristy cannot stay with us in 2023 as she has accepted a permanent full-time role at Canberra Theatre Centre. Professional Learning covered our unpacking of the Australian Curriculum v9, and how we would best implement it in our courses within an MYP framework.

Student Outcomes

Academically three of our Year 12 2021 HSC students achieved a Band 6, and one of our 2022 HSC Dance students received multiple offers at prestigious dance schools in the Asia/Pacific region; she ultimately signed on with the New Zealand School of Dance. Achievements in IB Theatre and Film remain high. Pleasingly the Entertainment course was offered this year, and next.

Highlights

Unfortunately, the Term 1 production of TEEN was cancelled due to cast illness; “The Chocolate War” was staged in Term 2, but it too was impacted by cast illness. For the first time in many years, we celebrated the work of our Year 12 cohort with an evening of their major projects, and all enjoyed a Dance evening in Term 2. We’re still struggling to return to our fully-developed Performing Arts program, and with CHICAGO next year are anticipating that things will return to some normality as the PAC celebrates its 20th Anniversary.

Pdhpe

The PDHPE Department continued to grow in terms of staff and the number of students studying this core subject in Years 7-10, as well as steady numbers in our HSC PDHPE & IB Diploma Sports Science offerings.

2022 was the first full year the department could enjoy the major relocations and renovations within the PDHPE Centre. A larger and more professional office space; third classroom; meeting room; two smaller rooms for group work; student study; separate supervision for provisions; and a place for staff to conduct private phone calls. The department also benefited from the new weights room and associated outside areas for fitness lessons.

Highlights

This year we implemented our new Year 7 Personal Development/Health units, undertaking a thematic approach that will be implemented consistently across Years 7-10 in 2023. The department is working closely with the pastoral team to realise a more coordinated approach to specific topics and complement the work in each space.

An application was made to move Year 10 PASS into Year 9 and create a Year 10 Sports Science elective. Such an elective would enhance the skills and capabilities of students leading into the senior courses and provide an attractive intellectual and academically rigorous elective offering for many students interested in these topics. This was rejected, but the department will apply again in 2023. Year 9 students would benefit from PASS more so than Year 10. The introduction of the MYP and greater time allocated to the subject may help realise some of these aspirations.

Mental Illness Education ACT (MIEACT) provided guest speakers within our Year 10 unit. This was a welcome return to hearing their stories face-to-face, with a focus on de-stigmatising mental illness.

Health and PE Week also returned bigger and better in 2022. Health and PE week aims to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle, promoting physical and mental well-being through various student activities and competitions.

The year saw continued consolidation of the Athlete Development Programme. The programme supports talented athletes through mentoring, strength and conditioning, nutrition, resilience and developing organisational and time management skills. A host of seminars and guest speakers have supported this programme in 2022, with a replacement for Justin Abrahams (Athlete Development Coordinator) still to be appointed at the time of writing.

Staffing

The department farewelled a valued staff member Justin Abrahams who, after eight years in PDHPE at CGS, is now going to be the Director of Sports at Sunshine Coast Grammar. We will miss his contributions, dry sense of humour, and unwavering commitment to his students.

Lawson Waser (Head of Boys Boarding) and Max Bode (Assistant Head of Boys Boarding) have been appointed to these positions. This, and the departure of Justin Abrahams, will result in two new staff members joining the department in 2023. At the time of writing, the shortlisted candidates were commencing the interview/lesson demonstration process.

Staff professional learning included: Biomechanics of running (Craig Honeybrook); Fundamental Movement Skills training (Christabelle Wright); In Your Skin Train the Trainer; Departmental course-writing involving accessing contemporary information, research and resources.

2022 also presented several challenges. Staff had to adapt and overcome a large proportion of our green space being inaccessible for much of the year and timelines being shifted. The persistent wet weather and a crowded timetable made it difficult at times. A Long Service Leave replacement declined employment the day Term 3 commenced, meaning staff had to take on extra lessons to cover classes internally. Then not least, the disruption to teaching and learning in the first half of the year due to Covid, where at one time, half of the department was absent for two weeks. In all this, the staff worked professionally and as a team to ensure the students continued to experience quality lessons. Indeed, amid adversity, the can-do attitude of the department became a highlight for the year from a HoD’s perspective.

Co-Curricular Education

2022 launched with great optimism after a 3-year interrupted schedule from Bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. Term 1 continued without a hitch, and we rolled into Week 5 with our Inter-House Swimming Carnival held at CISAC. Although we only offered the Carnival to athletes, it was still great to witness the fierce competitive rivalry. Middleton House was too strong on the day and held off Garnsey and Sheaffe in a formidable display of talent and depth for the second year in a row.

By late Term 1, we offered the Cross Country Carnival and decided to forego our booking at Stromlo Forrest Park, bringing the event back on campus. Mr Reilly did a great job carving a new course out at Flinders, and each Year Group headed out to compete during the day. In 2023 we hope to return to the original course around the entire campus, and now that construction has been completed should have a more open and accessible course. Garnsey House continued with their consistency on the podium and took out 1st place honours, closely followed by Burgmann and Eddison.

In Term 2, Father Andrew dusted off his shiny red waistcoat and hosted an unforgettable House Music Festival with the Captains of Music. Edwards House took line honours and was impressive across the four sections. Garnsey again featured in the top three and secured 2nd place, with Burgmann in 3rd position. By Term 3, we continued with life post-covid and were able to host the CGS Athletics Carnival. The athletes of Garnsey House proved too strong by wrapping up both the Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals. In an impressive display, Garnsey students posted some strong individual performances and solid relay results, taking 1st position from Eddison and Burgmann.

Without any doubt, Garnsey House was crowned with the overall House Shield point score and was incredibly consistent across Swimming, Cross Country, House Music, Athletics and Academic Effort. Well done to Mr Bugden and the students of Garnsey House!