CONTENTS Plus Ultra 2025 | Our Strategic Intent..............4 Our Foundations............................................................6 Our Strategic Pillars at a Glance..........................8 Teaching & Learning.................................................. 14 Celebrating the Gospel............................................ 16 Wellbeing & Care.......................................................... 18 Life-Wide Learning..................................................... 20 Innovation........................................................................ 22 Global Citizens............................................................... 24 Governance & Leadership..................................... 26 People & Purpose........................................................ 28 Organisational & Operational Capability.... 30 Environment & Learning Spaces.......................32 Community Engagement..................................... 34 Communication........................................................... 36 The Meaning of Plus Ultra..................................... 38
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PLUS ULTRA 2025 | OUR STRATEGIC INTENT Plus Ultra 2025 Meeting the Needs of Our World Plus Ultra 2025, in setting out our vision and ambition for the future of St Peters, is also a response to meeting a deep need in our world. As we embark on the third decade of the 21st Century our children and young people are growing up in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment and our world is facing deep challenges around reconciliation, pandemics, wellbeing, the distribution of resources, sustainability and the environment, ideological extremism, and the economy. Martin Luther, whose courageous actions 500 years ago sparked the Reformation, wrote that ‘a city’s best and greatest welfare, safety and strength consist in its having many able, learned, wise, honourable and welleducated citizens’. Plus Ultra 2025 is St Peters vision for an education that seeks to form many able, learned, wise, honourable and well-educated young people who respond to these challenges and make a difference in the world by leading and serving the communities in which they live. Plus Ultra 2025, in rising to these challenges aspires to create a future-focused education in a Christian context that empowers fine young people. Our world has much need for the fine young people of St Peters. In charting our course for this decade Plus Ultra 2025 remains true to the vision of founding Headmaster Mr W C Schneider, whose great hope for St Peters was that it would be ‘a school where your sons and daughters will get the best possible training, a school which should do much good for the church and the country’.
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Introduction In 2020 St Peters celebrated 75 years of Excellence in Christian Co-education. Plus Ultra 2025, our Strategic Intent builds on the successes of the past 75 years, and lays out our collective vision, ambition and direction for St Peters in the years ahead. Consultation during the planning process resulted in the distillation of twelve Strategic Pillars and corresponding Strategic Intents that will help shape St Peters over the course of this decade and beyond. It will guide our decisions, actions and interactions into the future, and will create a framework for resource allocation across the College. This plan provides a road map to help St Peters reach its vision and mission and a mechanism through which we can be held accountable. The next steps will be translating these strategic initiatives into actions and creating operational plans to guide and align our efforts. Some of these actions will be ongoing, many will be new, arising in response to the direction and focus of shaping St Peters over the next decade. Some of the latter can or must be initiated in the first year or two of the Intent; others will follow. Some will be whole of College initiatives; others will be specific to one or more parts of the College. Actions will be revisited and renewed annually. St Peters has benefited greatly from the contribution and commitment of staff, students, parents and Old Scholars and will further benefit from our continued work together as we move into implementation of Plus Ultra 2025 in the coming years. On behalf of St Peters I invite you to be part of our exciting future.
Tim Kotzur Head of College
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OUR FOUNDATIONS
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Our Mission: Excellence in Christian Co-Education
Our Vision: A Learning Community where People Flourish
Our Why: That Every Child Learns Every Day
The Gift & Task of a St Peters Education Forming and Empowering fine young people of character, who, capable of managing their own learning, use their gifts to lead and serve their communities and in doing so make a difference in the world.
Our Core Values: God’s Love Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Academic Care Holistic Education Respectful Relationships Service to Others Belonging to & Building Community
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OUR STRATEGIC PILLARS AT A GLANCE Deliver the Mission: Teaching & Learning ‘Empowering Lifelong Learners’ Strategic Intent - Enable excellence in learning, every day, in every learning experience, for every learner, for life. Celebrating the Gospel ‘Living God’s Love’ Strategic Intent – Focus St Peters as a Christ-centred Learning Community so we strive to make the Gospel a ‘lived experience’ for each member of our community. Wellbeing & Care ‘Every Person Matters Every Day’ Strategic Intent - Strengthen our safe, nurturing, supportive culture so each person is known, valued and cared for; implementing programs and practices that proactively develop wellbeing, resilience and character. Life-wide Learning ‘The Whole Child, The Whole Point’ Strategic Intent - Promote an enriching holistic education and student experience that challenges and nurtures the spiritual, academic, physical, emotional and social character of each student empowering them to lead and serve their communities and make a difference in the world. Innovation ‘Embracing the Possibilities’ Strategic Intent - Foster a culture of Innovation that aligns with our Mission. Global Citizens ‘A World School’ Strategic Intent - Inspire our students to be responsible and engaged global citizens and stewards through the provision of curricular and cocurricular programs, experiences, connections and opportunities that promote global competence and intercultural respect and understanding.
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OUR STRATEGIC PILLARS AT A GLANCE
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Support the Mission: Governance & Leadership ‘Exercising Good Stewardship’ Strategic Intent - Exercise governance, leadership and stewardship aligned with the College’s Mission so resources are optimised for the benefit of students, staff and our community today, while also strengthening the foundations for a sustainable and confident future. People & Purpose ‘Quality People with Purpose’ Strategic Intent - Attract, grow, and retain passionate people inspired by our timeless Mission and empowered to achieve exceptional outcomes. Organisational & Operational Capability ‘Delivering a Quality Service Experience’ Strategic Intent - Deliver high-quality customer-focused services that are agile, responsive, efficient and sustainable. Environment & Learning Spaces ‘A Learning Landscape’ Strategic Intent - Shape an innovative and inspiring learning environment, aligned with our Strategic Intent and Masterplan that reflects the pivotal influence of physical and digital space and design on the learning process and the student experience. Community Engagement ‘Connected Community’ Strategic Intent - Grow an inclusive, caring and connected community that embraces our students, staff, families and Old Scholars so they are engaged in and contribute to a St Peters Education and College life through meaningful partnerships and respectful relationships. Communication ‘Sharing the St Peters Story’ Strategic Intent – Continue to implement innovative and effective technologies to enhance communication and engagement, whilst maintaining personal contact and face to face communication to deepen people’s understanding of the St Peters Mission and story.
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TEACHING & LEARNING ‘EMPOWERING LIFELONG LEARNERS’ At St Peters student learning is our core business and fostering the learning process is of paramount importance. We are committed to maintaining and enhancing our tradition of academic excellence through the provision of a broad, challenging and innovative curriculum and the application of both best practice and next practice pedagogy grounded in the latest educational research. Through these practices all students have the opportunity to achieve their personal best.
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Strategic Intent - Enable excellence in learning, every day, in every learning experience, for every learner, for life. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Develop and embed a Teaching and Learning Framework within the Secondary School. 2. Increase student agency in their learning through implementing practices that explicitly make learning visible for students; and foster the development of key learning dispositions (critical, creative and self-regulated thinking) and metacognition in students. 3. Institute a Prep to Year 12 approach to data analytics to inform targeted teaching practice and improve student learning. 4. Foster Communities of Practice to enable teachers to better collaborate, share and learn from each other.
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CELEBRATING THE GOSPEL ‘LIVING GOD’S LOVE’ St Peters Lutheran College is a Christ-centred Learning Community founded on, and continually formed by, the Christian Gospel, and informed by our Lutheran Church teachings and confessions. Through Chapel, Formation, Learning and Service experiences, we seek to nurture and challenge all in our community to respond to God’s love by using their gifts and talents to meet the deep needs of the world in which we live.
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Strategic Intent – Focus St Peters as a Christ-centred learning community so we strive to make the Gospel a ‘lived experience’ for each member of our community. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Enhance the centrality of Chapel and corporate Worship in the life of the College through the provision of engaging, relevant and meaningful experiences that are contemporary expressions of the Christian Message and Lutheran Spirituality. 2. Integrate and embed authentic Service Learning opportunities within the College so students are transformed through the learning that occurs to serve and make a difference in the lives of others. 3. Offer spiritual formation opportunities for members of our College community helping to deepen individual’s understanding of who they are becoming, whose they are, how they understand themselves and act upon their St Peters experience.
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WELLBEING & CARE ‘EVERY PERSON MATTERS EVERY DAY’ At St Peters each person is important. Guided by our Christian Ethos we are committed to striving to develop an environment where every student and staff member feels safe, connected and supported as a member of the College Community. Knowing the person and the quality of relationships within our community are central to the provision of quality Pastoral Care. Fostering the development of individual and collective wellbeing is crucial to enhancing learning and enabling each person to flourish.
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Strategic Intent - Strengthen our safe, nurturing, supportive culture so each person is known, valued and cared for; implementing programs and practices that proactively develop wellbeing, resilience and character. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Embed Positive Education in all aspects of the College to enable each person to thrive and flourish. 2. Continue to implement our Academic Care and Wellbeing Framework, systems and structures in order to strengthen the College’s ‘circle of care’ for all members of the community. 3. Maximise the leadership potential of every student.
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LIFE-WIDE LEARNING ‘THE WHOLE CHILD, THE WHOLE POINT’ In educating the whole person, St Peters offers an exceptional cocurricular program that provides each student with opportunities for participation, growth and personal excellence. Engagement in cocurricular activities provides students with experiences to build self-esteem and confidence; learn about commitment, persistence and teamwork; enjoy a healthy approach to life; enhance skills; be creative, imaginative and develop an awareness of the aesthetic; assume leadership roles; respond to challenges; be self-disciplined and develop a sense of service and responsibility towards others.
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Strategic Intent - Promote an enriching holistic education and student experience that challenges and nurtures the spiritual, academic, physical, emotional and social character of each student empowering them to lead and serve their communities and make a difference in the world. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Implement coherent developmental pathways and programs in identified cocurricular activities to enhance student engagement, growth and performance. 2. Provide appropriate formation and professional development programs for coaches and tutors to enhance the student experience. 3. Employ ‘best practice’ instruction, leadership, administration and management practices within the cocurricular program. 4. Formalise our framework for monitoring and celebrating student participation and success in the cocurricular program.
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INNOVATION ‘EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES’ Innovation is about doing things in new or different ways to add or create value. Innovation is part of the DNA of St Peters. The decision to start a co-educational school in 1945 was at the time a bold, daring and innovative decision, and was the first of many innovative approaches and programs that have characterised a St Peters education. In order for St Peters to be sustainable and remain at the forefront of education and flourish, it must continue to embrace innovation.
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Strategic Intent - Foster a culture of Innovation that aligns with our Mission. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Explore innovative approaches and models of education delivery to maximise engagement, enhance flexibility, efficiency, sustainability and reach. 2. Implement design thinking, innovation and enterprise skills and entrepreneurial learning within the curriculum. 3. Establish an ‘Innovation Fund’ to foster and encourage curricular, organisational and business innovation.
JOB:
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DATE: 19/2/20
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GLOBAL CITIZENS ‘A WORLD SCHOOL’ We live in a world where we are all tied together as citizens of the global community and where the challenges we face are complex and interconnected. At St Peters through the provision of a globally focused education, the development of intercultural competency skills, and celebrating the diversity of our multicultural community we aspire to graduate internationally minded citizens well prepared to lead and serve in a global context.
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Strategic Intent - Inspire our students to be responsible and engaged global citizens and stewards through the provision of curricular and cocurricular programs, experiences, connections and opportunities that promote global competence and intercultural respect and understanding. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Grow our understanding of Australia’s First Nations Peoples, country and cultures in order to appreciate their understandings, practices and ways of knowing. 2. Advance the breadth and diversity of our international programs, exchanges and tours specifically linked to Service, Social Justice and ‘Global Concern’. 3. Investigate and establish deeper relationships and partnerships with international schools, universities and agencies, particularly in the Indo-Pacific Region.
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GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP ‘EXERCISING GOOD STEWARDSHIP’ St Peters is excellently served by a dedicated and diverse governing body and leadership team who are committed to ensuring strong governance and leadership of the College. This is achieved by the College Council operating at a strategic level and exercising good corporate governance principles, while ensuring the day-to-day operations of the College are led by the Head of College and Senior Leaders. Good policy, effective decision-making, sustainable practices, the management of risk and the flexibility to respond to external and internal circumstances will underpin the ongoing development of the College and our educational and business practices.
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Strategic Intent - Exercise governance, leadership and stewardship aligned with the College’s Mission so resources are optimised for the benefit of students, staff and our community today, while also strengthening the foundations for a sustainable and confident future. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Continue to evolve our governance framework and practices in order to most effectively exercise good corporate governance principles and support strategic decision-making. 2. Embed an Enterprise Risk Management approach throughout the College. 3. Establish a systematic audit program that tests key risk areas of the College and their fit for purpose against College policies and procedures. 4. Provide targeted professional learning opportunities in order to effectively develop the skills and expertise of the College Council and Senior Leaders.
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PEOPLE & PURPOSE ‘QUALITY PEOPLE WITH PURPOSE’ St Peters is a Professional Learning Community centred on trust, collegiality, collaboration and teamwork. The value of the education and service the College provides and the achievement of its Vision depends on the quality of its people. Given the key role of people in realising the College’s Mission, St Peters is committed to attracting, growing and retaining high performing, passionate people, who view what they do together as a vocation.
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Strategic Intent - Attract, grow and retain passionate people, inspired by our timeless Mission and empowered to achieve exceptional outcomes. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Define the value proposition to make St Peters an employer of choice. 2. Develop role clarity and accountability for every member of staff. 3. Foster St Peters as a Professional Learning Community seeking to build a culture of teamwork, collaboration, trust, feedback and lateral accountability. 4. Implement effective strategies to support the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of our people. 5. Implement approaches to further develop the leadership capabilities of our people, particularly our middle and emerging leaders.
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ORGANISATIONAL & OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY ‘DELIVERING A QUALITY SERVICE EXPERIENCE’ The College’s corporate and professional services provide a vital enabling factor in our capacity to pursue student learning and care. St Peters is a large complex organisation and as such we must be committed to ensuring our operations are responsive to the needs of the College, and built upon a culture that takes an approach of providing efficient, high-quality, agile, responsive service with a focus on outcomes.
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Strategic Intent - Deliver high-quality customer-focused services that are agile, responsive, efficient and sustainable. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Develop and promote a Customer Service Charter to guide service standards and expectations of all College areas that serve our community. 2. Identify, improve and measure core business processes to enhance productivity and deliver staff more time for value added activities. 3. Enable our existing enterprise systems and technology capabilities to support business process improvement, greater compliance and data integrity and quality through automation and integration. 4. Explore alternative business models for the purpose of mitigating risk, improve service standards and delivery and control expenditure. 5. Build the risk and compliance capacity of the College (both people and systems).
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ENVIRONMENT & LEARNING SPACES ‘A LEARNING LANDSCAPE’ St Peters unique location and expansive fifty-five acre property provides an outstanding physical and digital environment designed to maximise student learning and growth, both inside and outside the classroom. The new College Masterplan has been created to enhance the physical beauty of the campus, optimise the use of space, and transform the built environment to create a beautiful, functional student-centred learning landscape to meet the needs of our community now and into the future.
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Strategic Intent - Shape an innovative and inspiring learning environment, aligned with our Strategic Intent and Masterplan that reflects the pivotal influence of physical and digital space and design on the learning process and the student experience. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Progress the approved Masterplan to ensure the facilities address the future needs of the College community and provide a platform to accomplish our strategic goals today and for the future. 2. Recognising the pivotal influence of physical and digital space; develop and implement a ten year Capital Facilities Development Plan to refurbish, repurpose and modernise teaching and learning spaces across the College to link with contemporary pedagogy. 3. Harness the power of our unique natural environment to provide rich learning experiences.
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ‘CONNECTED COMMUNITY’ Community is at the very heart of St Peters. We are committed to increasing meaningful engagement with our students, staff, families and Old Scholars in order to foster strong, positive and lifelong relationships and partnerships, strengthen loyalty and affinity, and build a sense of shared purpose.
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Strategic Intent - Grow an inclusive, caring and connected community that embraces our students, staff, families and Old Scholars so they are engaged in and contribute to a St Peters Education and College life through meaningful partnerships and respectful relationships. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Enable current Parents to be partners in their child’s learning, where every Parent has a strong connection with their child’s learning journey. 2. Encourage our Parents and Friends to participate with purpose and actively contribute to College life. 3. Develop the Future Foundation to create a culture of philanthropy where giving in various ways, is a very natural and affirming part of being a member of the St Peters community. 4. Ensure our Old Scholars Association is of relevance to and seeks to meaningfully connect our alumni of all generations with each other and the College, in ways that strengthen their affinity as ‘A Saint for Life’.
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COMMUNICATION ‘SHARING THE ST PETERS STORY’ St Peters enjoys a positive reputation and strong relationship with both its internal and external community. The College is committed to continue to develop a vibrant, cohesive and well-informed community through high-quality and regular communication, inclusion and celebration.
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Strategic Intent – Continue to implement innovative and effective technologies to enhance communication and engagement, whilst maintaining personal contact and face-to-face communication to deepen people’s understanding of the St Peters Mission and story. Strategic Initiatives: In order to achieve our Intent we will 1. Create and implement a simple, clear and effective communication strategy to share the St Peters story, deepening people’s understanding of our Mission and enhance our reputation, brand and value proposition within the community.
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THE MEANING OF PLUS ULTRA
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Plus Ultra is a Latin phrase which means ‘further beyond’. It has its origins in the 16th Century, where Charles V, the King of Spain chose it as his personal motto. Spain in the 16th Century sought to expand and extend its empire and influence by exploring and discovering new worlds. Charles V used Plus Ultra to challenge the Spanish explorers and sailors to move beyond the known world at the time, and to search for possibilities of a new world on the other side of the ocean. In a time when people thought the earth was flat, and that if they went too far they would fall off the edge, Plus Ultra was an exhortation to leave their comfort zone, to embrace uncertainty, to discover what was possible by going ‘further beyond’ what human beings had previously thought possible. Fittingly, these two words Plus Ultra, form our College Motto. It has been central to the identity of St Peters since our inception in 1945. In establishing St Peters we proudly took our Motto from a sister Lutheran school, Immanuel College (est. 1895) in Adelaide. Plus Ultra was an approach and philosophy that the early students and staff of St Peters embraced and lived by. Despite the challenges they faced as a young school with few resources, they knew how important and foundational it was to the success of St Peters. In the 1959 edition of The Review, the College Yearbook in the literary section, there is an essay titled ‘Plus Ultra’ written by Brian Bahnisch (1959) a member of the Senior Class. In his essay Brian writes ‘If we aim for mediocrity, we can never hope to rise above it. We should aim for the best of which we know we are capable – and then raise our sights a little’. Brian concludes his essay with ‘We must have a vision. Setting our sights on some ultimate goal we must strive on, ever higher, overcoming the obstacles one by one. … Plus Ultra - ever higher! There is more beyond, much more’. As we enter our seventy-sixth year Plus Ultra 2025 is our shared vision for St Peters. It is aspirational. Like the Spanish explorers of the 16th Century it is a call to rise to new challenges, to embrace uncertainty, to discover what is possible by going ‘further beyond’ what we had previously thought possible in order to create the St Peters of tomorrow. Plus Ultra 2025 exhorts all in our community ‘to aim for the best of which we know we are capable – and then raise our sights a little’, so that we aim ever higher and strive for more beyond as we leave our comfort zones and chart our course towards 2025.
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St Peters Lutheran College | Plus Ultra 2025
