Howqua
Year 9 is a crucial period of change in a girl’s life. It is one where she needs to feel supported and actively challenged, so that she can develop the resilience to be an effective agent of her own destiny.
Throughout the year at Howqua, each student is guided through a series of physical, social and academic challenges. The unique environment allows girls to focus on acquiring new skills such as teamwork, resilience and outdoor pursuits that build strength and confidence.
The immersive nature of the program truly embeds Lauriston’s values of relationships, courage, creativity, intellectual curiosity and engagement in life leaving the girls with unbreakable bonds and fond memories which stand the test of time.
Welcome to Year 9 at Howqua
The Howqua Valley is a beautiful, tranquil place forever etched in the memory of every Lauriston student who’s called it home.
Former Principal Ruth Tideman AM’s remarkable vision for girls’ education 30 years ago – to develop to the utmost the mind and the heart - is a true reflection of Lauriston’s progressive outlook.
Central to this vision is a rural campus that offers Year 9 girls a year-long program that cannot be replicated in the classroom or in the home. Based on research supporting adolescent health and wellbeing, it provides your daughter the opportunity for a deep exploration of self by safely exploring outside her comfort zone, to develop a confidence and a maturity that lays the foundation for her life.
The results speak for themselves which is why Howqua has gone from strength-to-strength to become the world leading program it is today.
I hope your daughter is able to experience this unique opportunity.
Susan Just Principal, Lauriston Girls’ School
A transformative year
Resilience, leadership and courage. They’re life skills that are gained at Howqua that no textbook can ever adequately teach.
Howqua’s unique program and learning environment challenges our girls to step outside their comfort zone and nurture the skills, attitudes and attributes that are essential for success at school and in the years beyond.
Our Howqua campus sits on the land of the Taungurung people and throughout the year, students travel through their land while participating in our Outdoor Program, learning the history and geography of the area from both indigenous and non-indigenous perspectives.
Of course, the opportunity to be intimately connected to nature is just one of the many benefits of Howqua. The girls who’ve experienced it - and their parents - consistently tell us that Howqua provides a deeper understanding of themselves and a new level of emotional maturity.
It develops the ability to be comfortable being uncomfortable, to take on new challenges and to keep going, even when they think they can’t.
What’s more, Howqua girls develop a high level of fitness and retain a real desire to continue physical activity when they return to the Armadale campus.
Howqua is truly a once in a lifetime experience.
Dr Alison Manson Vice Principal, Howqua campus
Why Howqua?
Howqua’s purpose is to foster transferable skills that will ready Year 9 students for success in the final three years at Senior School and beyond.
Howqua’s program is experientially-based and purposefully cadenced to build and reinforce each girl’s skills and independence and to provide time for deep exploration and reflection. Research tells us the Howqua Outdoor Program is ideal for fostering personal growth and the development of self-worth, independence, and self-confidence.
In the same way, immersion in a residential community where there’s no access to personal digital technologies such as phones and tablets means students have time to practise their social skills, develop meaningful relationships with their peers and teachers and face adversities that will build their resilience.
Indeed, learning to communicate in a considered way through face-to-face conversation and letter writing helps students understand their responsibilities as a friend, house mate and family member.
Levels of fear (anxiety) decreased post camp, whilst levels of selfefficacy, peer connectedness and school connectedness increased. 2016 study on Promoting Adolescent Health and Wellbeing through Outdoor Youth Programs
The Lauriston difference
A dedicated and experienced team
Howqua has a diverse, dedicated and experienced team of more than 20 teachers and support staff. From teachers and house tutors to psychologists, chefs and grounds staff, each has a specific role in caring for and supporting the girls as they’re challenged to grow.
An inspirational setting
Located in the spectacular Victorian High Country, Howqua inspires and captivates imaginations with its beautiful, wild surroundings. Each girl is allocated a House which is well appointed and boasts magnificent views of the valley. The easy connection with nature, fresh air and sense of community nurtures their wellbeing. The town of Mansfield, a half hour’s drive from the Howqua campus, means essential services are within easy reach.
Our difference
A rich curriculum
The Howqua environment offers a robust, five-day core subject academic program, plus a range of electives designed to provide the girls choice and deeper engagement with learning as they consider the future. Teachers are available in the afternoon and evening to discuss the learnings of the day or to catch up and there’s a set 90 minutes of study every night.
The Outdoor Program
The jewel in the Howqua crown, the Outdoor Program is run over two days each week. This unique, adventurous program invites girls to engage in life to discover their best selves and equips them for the future by teaching transferable skills, such as independence, resilience, courage and confidence in their own abilities. Individual, group and community strength is built via a series of progressively cadenced activities including mountain biking, rogaining and running.
Wellbeing and empowerment
Throughout their Howqua year, girls develop the lateral thinking skills to solve problems that may arise when on the Outdoor Program, or back on campus. A similar approach is taken to pastoral care, where the teachers model appropriate ways of behaving and managing situations that empower the girls to take control of their own wellbeing, backed by the expertise of psychologists and nurses who are available at any time. Each House is assigned a Tutor, who’s responsible for keeping parents abreast of any issues that arise as girls adapt to the challenges of living away from home.
Sustainability & Global Citizenship
Lauriston’s Howqua campus achieved a five-star rating for sustainability in 2016 and is one of only 25 schools in Victoria to do so. Students and staff work together to reduce waste, increase awareness of behaving sustainably and to build a community that leaves a positive impact on the environment. Each year, the campus builds on its sustainability credentials, and the Howqua Sustainability Co-ordinator regularly consults with students to determine their interests and where they want to focus their attention.
A connected cohort
Whether it’s in the great outdoors, the classroom or their House, the Howqua environment provides daily opportunities for girls to build their intra-personal skills. These insights into how people interact and the chance to observe the emotional responses of others are important in developing compassion, empathy and understanding.
A strong, supportive community
Much of the Howqua program is place-based. In other words, the surrounding environment, and the places the girls visit, enrich their learning. As members of the local community for a year, our students have time to understand the value of the land to its people and the role it plays in their daily lives. The diversity of the Howqua staff means each girl will find people she can relate to and with whom she can share her thoughts and ideas. In turn, staff share their experiences with the students, which builds a strong community and helps girls understand the power of working together and supporting one another.
Leadership opportunities
Leadership requires practice, and that’s something girls get plenty of opportunity to do at Howqua. Students are encouraged to take charge of running co-curricular activities including on-campus fitness, art, music, choir ensembles, bands, dance, library, sustainability and gardening clubs. Leadership skills are also honed through participation in the Outdoor Program which by its very nature asks girls to step up and lead.
Transition to Year 10
Howqua is considered a transformative year for good reason. Girls return to the Armadale campus as Year 10 students who’ve had the experience of managing real-world problems and with a better understanding of the complexities of human relationships. They recognise and appreciate their stewardship of the environment and have developed a stronger sense of what it means to be part of a community. It’s an adaptable and mature outlook that establishes strong and deep foundations for success.
Reflections on Howqua
“Howqua allowed me to see life’s journey not as an uphill battle but as a walk (or sometimes a run or hike!) along a path surrounded by the most incredible, inspiring and supportive people. I see Howqua a little like life, you get out of it what you put in. I may no longer be there but I feel I have never really left. I have experiences that will last a lifetime and serve me as I live. I am a different and better person as a result of my time at Howqua.”
Anela
“
“Howqua was undoubtedly the best year of my life. It gave me an insight on what life is really like and what it should be about. It taught me that not everything in the world revolves around technology and life in the city. I gained knowledge through the physical experience of real life. I could see in myself that I changed and grew as a person and became a much more mature independent version of myself because of all the different experiences. The Outdoor Program was a component in which I thrived in during my time there. I learnt so many life skills which I still think about to this day.
Camilla
”
Life at Howqua
When girls arrive at Howqua, they are assigned to a House, a self-contained home away from home that they share with up to 12 others.
It’s here girls begin to develop their sense of responsibility and autonomy by self-managing their houses and being rostered for communal duties under the supervision and direction of the dedicated on-campus Howqua staff.
While at Howqua, girls participate in a busy seven-day timetable. Two of those days are set aside for Outdoor Program activities and all days feature wind-down and ‘quiet time’ periods for reflection and relaxation.
Howqua girls live on the Howqua campus in eight blocks during the year; each block comprises four to five weeks of Academic, Pastoral and Outdoor Programs. Girls return home during the year for midterm breaks (‘Exeats’) and for all school holidays.
Facilities
The girls’ accommodations encircle the campus, nestled into the hill. Their Houses, which quickly become their homes, each with a communal living area that includes an open fire and a natural outlook.
Dining Hall
The Dining Hall is the heartbeat of the community, where girls and staff gather to share meals, hold meetings, give performances and celebrate milestones.
The Nest
A multi-purpose space designed to give the girls room to gather outside their Houses. Enclosed by glass, it provides warmth in winter and shade in summer.
Resource Centre
The Ruth Tideman Resource Centre incorporates a library, technology resources and a multi-purpose teaching space.
Brooks
Frazer Arts Centre
Officially opened in 2009, this is Howqua’s performance space for both music and dance.
Art Room
The much-loved Art Room is a creative haven with access to art and photography equipment and supplies.
The Refuge
Affectionately known by generations of girls as ‘The Dungeon’, The Refuge fire shelter is often used for individual and group music and dance practice or as a quiet work area.
Health Centre
Providing on-site health and wellbeing support to students and staff, the Health Centre and nursing staff are always on-call.
Classrooms
More than just classrooms, these areas provide scientific, computer and research facilities as well as standard work and study areas.
Staff Centre
The Staff Centre is used for staff preparation and meetings and includes the main reception for the Campus. Students also access their mail, tuck and answers to their general questions here.
Academic Program
Despite the non-traditional learning environment, traditional academic disciplines hold an important place at Howqua.
The curriculum is designed so that students continue to build upon skills developed in Years 7 and 8. Classes in Mathematics, Science, Humanities, English, Mandarin and French continue, along with comprehensive Music and Art programs. As with everything at Howqua though, teachers never miss an opportunity to tailor subjects to make the most of the natural setting.
Electives include Digital Design, the physical education extension ‘Fit for Life’, Health and Outdoor Studies, Environmental Studies, Music, Art and the opportunity to study a second language.
During the year, students go on several interdisciplinary study excursions such as the regional tour of north-eastern Victoria, exploring the area’s history, art and geology.
Robust Learning Enhancement and English as an Additional Language programs are also available to the girls and an academic advisor and tutor helps develop each girl’s personal and academic goals.
In the afternoons, there is time to catch up or talk to teachers about work that might be due, with 90 minutes of study allocated every night where the girls work in groups, with teachers available for extra support.
Outdoor Program
The
Outdoor Program and the Fitness Program work together to make sure girls develop skills that will help them become adaptable, flexible, self-sufficient and equipped to deal with challenging situations.
There’s a wide range of activities in all seasons, including cross country and downhill skiing, mountain biking and horse riding, all of which help students learn more about themselves, their friends and the world in which they live.
Beyond the physical, girls also take classes in leadership, time management, organisation, first aid, safety, navigation, risk management and the importance of teamwork.
Underpinning the planning and development of the Outdoor Program and the Fitness Program is the ChANGeS Framework.
Developed by Dr Ian Williams of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the framework encompasses the key areas of challenge, activity, nature, guided experience and social immersion. Together, they gradually build fitness, confidence and technical skills as they become more challenging over time.
During the first weeks, the girls learn by observing their teachers and outdoor instructors, but by the end of the Howqua year, they’re confidently leading the way for themselves. There’s abundant evidence of this when the Outdoor Program culminates in two final hikes - three and seven-day adventures through the Victorian Alps.
Both offer the chance for the girls to put their new skills into practice and celebrate everything they’ve achieved – as individuals and as a team.
Wellbeing Program
A big part of the Outdoor Program – and life at Howqua generally - is helping girls develop their capacity to think laterally to solve problems and build confidence in their own abilities.
We take a similar approach to pastoral care, where the teachers and House Tutors model appropriate ways of behaving, managing situations, problem solving and conflict resolution.
Vital to this in the modern age is the Howqua digital detox, where the girls give up access to social media and phones.
It encourages them to value face-to-face conversations and acknowledge the way they communicate with each other. We explore concepts of what makes a friend and what real life relationships are like compared to those on social media.
At its heart, our Wellbeing Program is about gratitude. The girls are taught to take nothing for granted – be it the privilege of experiencing Howqua itself, or their families and friends.
As the custodians and drivers of the Program, our House Tutors undertake restorative practice, mental health first aid and professional qualifications in adolescent development. They also run activities such as pancake breakfasts, dinners in the common area, movie and games nights, campfire activities and even sleeping out overnight.
Off campus activities include eating at a local restaurant or going to the cinema, visiting the park or botanical gardens or just getting together to watch the sunset.
The Health Centre and nursing staff are on call 24-7 to provide on-site health and wellbeing support to both students and staff, and Lauriston has a standing daily appointment with the medical centre in Mansfield. In addition, a psychologist attends Howqua four days a week to manage any wellbeing issues, and telehealth appointments are also available if needed.
All Howqua staff have current wilderness first aid training.
Sustainability in action
Student-driven environmental activities are embedded into the daily life of Howqua.
Students have long been involved in the Regent Honeyeater Project, designed to save a bird on the verge of extinction in box-ironbark forests. They travel to the local region to assist property owners in planting tree species that will create new habitats for the Regent Honeyeater and improve biodiversity.
Greenies is a co-curricular club open to all students, with the group meeting on a weekly basis. Typical tasks include everything from educating the campus about the principles of sustainability to growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing vegetables grown in the greenhouse.
‘Howqua Projects’ is an elective class held fortnightly where students carry out a range of activities around the campus that include working in the greenhouse and maintaining the composting system.
Sustainability became one of the Australian Curriculum (AusVELS) cross-curriculum priorities in 2013. It shows students that they are a part of a wider world and that their actions have consequences on others.
In keeping with this, students are required to take responsibility for their actions in their Houses and are held to account for them. The girls also see and study the negative impact of human activities on the environment in their academic classes.
Indeed, at Howqua, there are many rich learning opportunities about sustainability encoded in the curriculum. For instance, the carbon footprint assignment requires students to analyse their carbon dioxide emissions and make an action plan to reduce them. Students also undertake a biodiversity audit to investigate flora and fauna around campus to monitor for any changes that may be due to climate change. Additionally, during the Community Service program, students discuss the principles of sustainabilityand what steps we’re taking at Howqua - on the local radio station.
These rich learning opportunities empower each student with the knowledge that by sustainable action in her daily life, she can be an agent of change on a global level.
Giving back
A big part of the Howqua experience is a girl discovering how making a conscious contribution to the broader community enriches herself as well as those around her.
It begins within Howqua, where immersion in the social and cultural life of the school community sees students establish meaningful relationships with peers and teachers, practice social skills and discover new ways of relating to others.
Beyond Howqua, students and teachers are also involved in the life of the nearby communities of Mansfield and Jamieson. The types of activities that students will participate in include:
• Community service in local primary schools, kindergartens, aged-care facilities, the community radio station, tree planting and the Mansfield Zoo
• Participation in the Jamieson ANZAC Day services
• Performing arts, and activities within the Mansfield community
• Involvement in the Mansfield Mothers’ Day Fun Run
Connect with us
Find us on Facebook @LauristonArmadale
Follow us on Instagram @lauriston.gs
Lauriston Girls’ School 38 Huntingtower Road Armadale VIC 3143 Australia
CRICOS No. 00152F
Primary Years Course Code: 015713K
Secondary Years Course Code: 005356J
ABN 15 004 264 402 +61 3 9864 7555 admissions@lauriston.vic.edu.au lauriston.vic.edu.au
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, the Boonwurrung and the Taungurung peoples of the Kulin Nations, whose sovereignty was never ceded, and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and future, for they hold the memories, traditions, culture and hopes of First Nations Peoples. We also recognise their continuing connection to Country and culture.
We acknowledge that our community is diverse; and Lauriston values an inclusive and accepting environment for all ages, genders, abilities, races, religions, sexualities and cultures.