Issue 1 / 27 February 2015
From the Principal Academic Awards Assembly Recently as a College Community we celebrated student learning at our start of year Academic Awards Assembly. At this assembly the College recognized three key elements of student learning: • Excellence in Academic Achievement • Significant Improvement in Academic Achievement • Outstanding Effort in Academics These 3 awards, reflect 3 key things that we value highly at St Andrews.
Firstly, we unashamedly value excellence. Excellence is something that is sought after and highly prized. At St Andrews we choose to strive for excellence not because it is easy, but because it is hard. Regardless of what we do in life, we should strive to do it the best we possibly can. Secondly, we value improvement. The desire or motivation to get better at something, in this case, learning, is important. At St Andrews we want all our children and young people to want to become a better student, a better musician, a better athlete, a better brother or sister, a better son or daughter, a better person, every day. Finally, we value effort, hard work and persistence. This is something that every student regardless of ability can show in their school work, and is something that
will stand each of us in good stead for our life beyond school. Increasingly researchers are finding that effort and hard work are key factors in people achieving mastery and success in their chosen field. As part of this Awards Assembly we celebrated the highest OP achievers from last year’s graduating Year 12 class. The class of 2014 continued the fine tradition of excellent academic scholarship that St Andrews has developed - 94.1% received an OP 1-15 and 64.7%, 2 in 3 students received an OP between 1 and 10. 23.5% of students, nearly 1 in 4 students were awarded an OP between 1 and 5. These results are a credit to last year’s class – their work ethic, their perseverance, their willingness to engage in class, the way that they used feedback from teachers to help them to get better, and the way they made use of lunchtime and afterschool tutorials. It is also a credit to the teachers of our College - their expertise, skill and the quality of relationships that they formed with them. It is also most meritorious that 41.7% of last years’ cohort received direct entry into university without having to go through QTAC. Congratulations to every student who received an award. It is pleasing to see so many students rise to the challenge and embrace the learning opportunities presented to them. Opening of the Early Learning Centre Last week the College officially opened the Early Learning Centre. For many gathered at the ceremony it was the realization of a long held dream, as the ELC completed another piece of the jigsaw of the vision the founders held for St Andrews. The various assembled dignitaries commented on what a wonderful building it is. They’re right; it is a superb facility. Its’ design incorporates all that we know about young children and how they learn, grow and develop. The ELC is a facility that encourages play-based learning, student initiated inquiry, problem solving, effective communication, creativity and positive social interactions. Through this our youngest students have every opportunity to develop a strong sense of identity, feel connected to and contribute to his or her world, develop a strong sense of well-