Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

Year 11 and 12 Study Skills sessions 

Our Year 11 and 12 students took part in Elevate Education’s study skills workshops this week, designed to strengthen their learning habits and support their overall wellbeing. Year 11 students explored effective time management, learning how to use study planners, manage workload and prioritise tasks to build strong study habits early in their senior years. Year 12 participated in the Finish Line session, focusing on developing sustainable study routines, maintaining wellbeing, channelling stress positively and creating productive workspaces as they start their final year. Both programs play an important role in equipping students with the strategies they need to stay organised, balanced and confident throughout the year.

High Achievers Assembly

Next week, we will come together for our High Achievers Assembly, a special occasion to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the Class of 2025. This event recognises the dedication, resilience and excellence shown by our students across their senior years. We are also delighted to welcome Michelle Indra, our Dux, who will speak to students from Years 5–12 about her learning journey and the habits that supported her success. The assembly is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of our high achievers and to inspire all students to strive for their personal best.

Winter Academy 

Our Winter Academy team has been busy planning an engaging curriculum and a range of outdoor education experiences for the Year 9 students who have signed up this year. To ensure families are well informed and prepared, we invite all Winter Academy students and their parents to attend an information evening next Tuesday at 6:00pm in the Lecture Theatre. This session will outline key program details, expectations and opportunities, and provide a chance to ask questions ahead of this exciting learning adventure.

Teaching for Thinking: Building a Culture of Deep, Disciplined Inquiry

To open the school year, teachers across the College dedicated most of the first two days to our 2026 professional learning focus, Teaching for Thinking, a framework aimed at deepening the integration of critical and creative thinking in classroom practice. Dr  Peter Ellerton, from the University of Queensland, launched the program by introducing the Why, What and How of Teaching for Thinking. He highlighted the growing need for students to develop strong thinking dispositions in an increasingly complex and technology‑rich world, emphasising virtues such as curiosity, open‑mindedness, resilience and reflectiveness. Dr Ellerton also explored the cognitive skills central to effective thinking such as analysing, evaluating, inferring and justifying and emphasised the importance of teaching students the criteria of high‑quality reasoning, including clarity, depth, precision and relevance. His session provided a compelling foundation for the College’s ongoing work in embedding thinking‑focused pedagogies across all learning areas.

On the second day, Kate Corcoran, our Action Research Coordinator, guided teachers through a collaborative and reflective process designed to deepen their understanding of the thinking demands within their existing programs. Working in faculty-based groups, teachers examined units of work to pinpoint moments where deep thinking is required but where students often struggle to meet expectations. By identifying the specific cognitive skills involved such as analysing evidence, making inferences or justifying claims as well as the values that underpin their successful application, teachers built a clearer picture of the challenges their students encounter. From here, staff began exploring targeted strategies to more effectively scaffold students’ reasoning, strengthen their capacity for disciplined inquiry and support them in becoming more deliberate and analytical thinkers. Over the next two terms, teachers will design, implement and measure the impact of these strategies, using structured opportunities to share their challenges, insights and successes with colleagues.

How to get (and keep!) your child motivated

Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinar for our parents on motivation on 11 February. Elevate works with our students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series, you’ll learn how you can help support your child at home by reinforcing the skills they’re learning at school.

Their upcoming webinar on motivation will give you some easy-to-implement strategies to help your child get focused on achieving their goals this year.

Live Parent Webinar: How to Get (And Keep!) Your Child Motivated

Wednesday 11 February 6:30-7:30pm (AEDT)

Jacqueline Pugh
Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning