Director of Teaching & Learning P-12

In 2021, students and staff at Redeemer Lutheran College embraced learning and encouraged all students to develop a range of knowledge and skills to a depth that will eventually enable them to navigate a most complex world. While it has always been the case, schools such as Redeemer hold the future within their classrooms. Throughout 2021, the education delivered was required to set the foundations for young people to thrive in future study, life and work. In an era of acceleration and increasing uncertainty, we can no longer predict areas of employment or what employers will want in the future, but we can describe the kind of graduate we want to emerge from Redeemer and “hope” they are well prepared to exist in the exciting world they enter. In 2021, we can describe our students as individuals who are critical and reflective, open to a lifetime of learning and relearning, comfortable with change, have empathy and a global outlook. 2021 has been a time to live our purpose of empowering curious, courageous, Christ-led learners who co-create and serve God’s world.

Our Senior students studied ATAR subjects for the second year. Several students elected to complete Vocational Education subjects of Hospitality, Fitness and Construction whilst others studied VET options at TAFE. University subjects were the option taken by some students whilst others combine learning and earning with School based traineeships. Individual pathways increasingly became the theme with students in Year 10 beginning their Unit 1 Senior Subject’s studies in Term 4.

In the Middle Years and Junior Years, Years 3-9, students participated in a range of project-based learning (PBL) activities in all subjects across the curriculum, with the focus on developing their problemsolving skills and ability to work collaboratively and as part of a team. Students also participated in external exams such as NAPLAN, ICAS and the Australian Math’s Competition with excellent results achieved.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is an area where there is great demand from business for educated and skilled employees. Universities have responded with a range of courses and in 2021, Redeemer offered specific STEM programs to Years 6, 7 and 8 students with a focus on girls in coding and students achieving excellence in Math and Science. The programs involved guest speakers, visits to universities and entries into competitions. The aim is to increase opportunities offered in these areas as Redeemer prepares for the opening of the Innovation Hub in 2023.

From Prep to Year 12, the curriculum at Redeemer is being redesigned with a focus on inquiry-based and problem-based learning. The aim is to build a framework on which students can build deep understanding and to encourage students to apply their knowledge creatively and effectively, to become strong and critical thinkers. Our “hope” is that an education at Redeemer will provide young people with the knowledge, skills, and understandings they need to approach the future with a dynamic and forwardthinking mindset.

A theme emerging in how Redeemer prepares students of today for tomorrow’s world is that some of the key skills and attributes of the future are not necessarily the ones that we directly measure in our major assessments. Whilst students benefit from excellent NAPLAN results, being on the Academic Honours list and achieving a high ATAR score, Redeemer prepares them to be creative, able to persevere and able to think about the long-term when considering solutions to challenging problems. We hope that our Redeemer graduates of 2021 achieve success in their core content and future studies and or employment. We also hope they will have broader skills and attributes, such as resilience, understanding of the concept of the growth mindset, and the capacity to persevere. Most importantly we desire that beyond Redeemer they have the legacy of living hope. God’s truth and His Word endures throughout time. The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Blessings,