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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHigh Achievers Assembly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201312 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winter Academy <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teaching for Thinking: Building a Culture of Deep, Disciplined Inquiry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/em>, a framework aimed at deepening the integration of critical and creative thinking in classroom practice. Dr \u202fPeter Ellerton, from the University of Queensland, launched the program by introducing the Why, What and How<\/em> of Teaching for Thinking. He highlighted the growing need for students to develop strong thinking dispositions in an increasingly complex and technology\u2011rich world, emphasising virtues such as curiosity, open\u2011mindedness, 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\u2011quality reasoning, including clarity, depth, precision and relevance. His session provided a compelling foundation for the College\u2019s ongoing work in embedding thinking\u2011focused pedagogies across all learning areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019ll learn how you can help support your child at home by reinforcing the skills they\u2019re learning at school. Wednesday 11 February 6:30-7:30pm (AEDT)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to get (and keep!) your child motivated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>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<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n