Message from the Headmaster

Message from the Headmaster

“Well done, good and faithful servant!…”

Matthew 25:21

Dear Students, Parents and Carers

Shore High Potential Learner Programme: Cultivating Future Leaders

In Australian society, sadly it is often controversial to make differentiated provision for high potential learners (HPL) in their studies. This is discordant with our national focus on elite sporting programmes for most able athletes. Moreover, if we are serious in wanting Australia to be The Clever Country, we need to nourish our highly able learners rather than indulge in the peculiarly Australian pastime of cutting down the tall poppies.     

Shore has a particular interest in developing Australian leaders of the future. It is perhaps no coincidence that quite a few recent Prime Ministers have been Rhodes Scholars. While not all leaders, whether in politics or society at large, will come from such backgrounds, clearly some do. 

Sometimes objection to specific programmes for the highly able is based on a zero-sum game concept, i.e. attention given to students at the top of the academic spectrum must necessarily be at the expense of others. This is not so at Shore. We invest heavily (more heavily in fact than our assistance of the most able) in Specialised Learning programmes and we are also keen to assist the students who are “in the middle”, neither registering on an HPL or Specialised Learning distribution. Furthermore, we operate on the assumption that “a rising tide lifts all boats”. We want students who benefit from HPL extension to “fire up” their regular classes with their perspectives, to the benefit of all. 

Following below are summaries of the High Potential Learner (HPL) Programme from the Senior School Head of HPL, Mr Massey, and the Preparatory School Head of HPL, Ms Geersen.

Shore’s HPL Programme in the Senior School is dedicated to fostering the development of tomorrow’s leaders through a comprehensive range of academic, interpersonal, and real-world experiences. Designed for the top 16 students in Years 7 to 12, our programme emphasises the acquisition of essential skills and knowledge necessary for leadership roles in the future.

Our students consistently represent Shore in national and international competitions and courses, showcasing their talents and achievements on a world stage.

Here are some highlights of our HPL activities for the current year:

Year 7:  Engaged in the ASX Share Market Game in partnership with leading stockbrokers, our Year 7 students have competed against 12,000 peers nationwide, demonstrating their proficiency in financial literacy. In the prior year, our Year 7 HPL students achieved ‘Top 10’ in this ASX competition, competing against a broad cohort of Year 12 students around Australia.

Year 8:  Recently participated in the World Literature Quiz competition, challenging themselves against 272 schools globally. In the past few years, our Year 8 cohort has won the NSW and Australian Literature quizzes and placed 5th in the world for the World Literature Quiz. Additionally, Year 8 are acquiring coding skills essential for app and website development, preparing them for future technological challenges.

Year 9:  Undertaking a Design Thinking accredited course through New Tech Australia, our Year 9 students are honing their problem-solving abilities with practical applications. Their final presentations, resembling a ‘Shark Tank’ format, allow them to showcase their innovative solutions to industry experts. Prior student teams have sold their winning designs to industry, with support given to navigate the commercial and legal landscape.

Year 10:  Engaged in our inaugural university programme partnership with ACU, our Year 10 students are gaining valuable insights into higher education, setting a strong academic foundation for their future endeavours.

Our students across various year levels have also achieved notable successes in national competitions such as the Australian Ethics Olympiad, and have recently participated in the Da Vinci Decathlon, underscoring their intellectual prowess and versatility.

Moreover, our Senior students in Years 10, 11, and 12 are benefiting from interview skills workshops conducted by industry experts, including esteemed Shore Old Boy alumni who have generously given of their time to prepare them for future career opportunities. We welcome and encourage parents and carers who are industry professionals to participate in interview skills practice sessions aimed at preparing our HPL students for their future careers. Your expertise would provide invaluable insights and guidance as they refine their interview techniques. If you are interested in contributing your time, please contact Mr Mick Massey, Head of High Potential Learner Program at mmassey@shore.nsw.edu.au.

As we continue to uphold our commitment to excellence and innovation, Shore’s HPL Program remains steadfast in its mission to empower students to become leaders of distinction in their chosen fields. Through rigorous academic pursuits, practical experiences, and exposure to industry professionals, we are shaping the leaders of tomorrow who will make a positive impact on society.

In the Preparatory School, HPL is offered in Years 3 to 6 as a minimum one-withdrawal class per week to study a concept-based unit, with a new concept each Term, e.g. Year 3 Biomimicry, Imagineering; Year 4 Genetics, Aztecs and their influence today; Year 5 Philosophy, bees and biosecurity, adventure engineering; and Year 6 Power, Mensa Ancient Greece unit, Critical analysis – Atlantis. 

The HPL sessions aim to:

  • extend student thinking, including reasoning, deduction, critical and creative thinking skills through weekly exercises;
  • explore the big, overarching questions including independent self-directed research and critical thinking projects;
  • develop deep inquiry, linking to HSIE topics studied in class and making connections to Mathematics, Science and STEM; 
  • debate topics that connect students to their global society, e.g. philosophical chairs, Socratic questioning
  • provide students with an opportunity to engage in additional rich tasks;
  • provide the opportunity to prepare for and take part in external competitions;
  • teaching collaborative skills through authentic tasks.

Of course, many of these skills, which are the bedrock of our HPL Programmes, are also taught and encouraged throughout the School. The HPL Programmes respond to the research literature which demonstrates that HPL students particularly thrive when they are in one another’s specific company, at least for some of the time, and, hence, able to spur each other on. 

The Preparatory School HPL Programme includes the following:

  • Language enrichment focus:  Throughout the year, students explore modelled amateur and published texts and use these to further develop their own creative and persuasive texts. They: 
    • engage in imaginative writing tasks to explore their creativity;
    • practice persuasive writing techniques to develop convincing arguments;
    • expand their vocabulary through targeted exercises and activities;
    • learn various stylistic features to enhance the depth and impact of their writing;
    • develop confidence and skill as writers through guided practice and feedback.
  • STEM cluster:  Targeted to the needs of the students, a Stage 2 Year 3 and 4 STEM class is currently taught, with a unit focus for the Term on design engineering and reflection activities.
  • Cluster targeted extension for gifted students on Individual Education Plans:  Last year Shore offered the Tim Harris author programme to meet the needs of our most gifted students and this year is offering a Kids MBA unit to meet the needs of Stage 3 gifted students.
  • Key Competitions:  Such as a range of optional and compulsory writing competitions; ICAS; The Quest and the DaVinci Decathlon.

To return to the beginning, it seems in Australia, one needs to make a defence of specific initiatives for high potential learners. A reference to Jesus’ Parable of the Talents will suffice:  Jesus congratulated those who used their talents (in the ancient world, a talent was a very large sum of money) to develop a return, by saying “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21), while declaring his frustration with the man who let his talent sit idle. Our intention at Shore is to provide the means for our students to maximise their talents, not so much monetary but intellectual, cultural, social, spiritual and sporting. 

Dr John Collier
Headmaster