News &
Events

Over the term, our College has engaged in the deliberate practice of building relationships with our students. We have explicitly taught skills and routines that ensure our young people are connected to us – that they are known, cared for, and loved. And that they are challenged, engaged, and growing through their learning.

On Wednesday 20 March, the Year 8s, 9s and 10s participated in PROSPER – a day that enhanced the skills being learned in our Time to Shine program. Students participated in African drumming – working together as a cohort, learning collaboration, focus, routines, and joy; they engaged in focused academic skill building; and they participated in mental health workshops that enhanced their understanding of and capacity in mindfulness, empathy, and gratitude – all skills and aptitudes that improve not only learning outcomes but, most importantly, life outcomes.

This term has also seen us connecting in whole school events, building community and creating memories. Our students have gone to Year 7 Camp, attended the Good Samaritan Campus for “Shine” and the Year 9 program. We held our Athletics Carnival and our Swimming Carnival. We celebrated Harmony Week and Cultural Diversity. We ran several Orientation activities for our Year 7s. We had mock interviews for our Year 10s. We also ran NAPLAN and Morisby Testing, just to name a few! The happy by-product of these events is the cognitive growth that occurs when these parts of our brain are activated. We know that we are more able to learn explicit academic skills and content when our social emotional selves are happy and healthy. And being connected to community does exactly that. It is one of the major factors in positive outcomes for humans all round.

So our journey continues …

As a College community, we continue to implement Berry Street Education Model strategies across our learning and our community. Days such as PROSPER, programs such as Time To Shine, and events such as our sporting carnivals all contribute to stronger relationships, stronger mental health, stronger engagement, stronger belonging, and, therefore, stronger humans who can and will make a difference in our world. And, really, that’s what it’s all about.