From the Assistant Head of Senior School – Academic Care and Administration

Incursion, excursion, immersion

As we slowly emerge (and sometimes quickly retreat) from our COVID isolation these key elements of a MLC School education are returning to our everyday experience and I for one welcome their presence. 

We often say that to truly ‘know’ something requires the use of this knowledge in a ‘variety of uses/settings/problems’. Nothing supports this theory like venturing out into the world to see where and how these facts, theories, concepts and skills are being used (and often misused, and sometimes abused) in the real world. 

Knowledge for knowledge sake will make our conversations over afternoons and coffee spoons entertaining and intellectually stimulating but authentic knowledge, applied to real life and skills forged through first-hand experience will have others talking about us when the evening is spread out against the sky. 

Immersions like the Red Earth program are obviously more difficult to organise in this ever-changing COVID cluster concern but their contribution to learning is even more profound. 

They key for teachers and students is how to bring those real world applications back into the classroom. The opportunity for growth both as a person and as a learner is immense when we expand our horizons. As a parent I would encourage you to use the return of your daughter from one of the many excursions organised each term as a moment to chat about where the rubber meets the road.

– Chris Barnes
Assistant Head of Senior School – Academic Care and Administration

Main photo: Year 8 Excursion to Cockatoo Island. Click here to read more.