Education Taught Differently At San Damiano College …
A beginning college has a tremendous opportunity to introduce and develop the latest methodology and research into how students learn. Middle school students in particular learn in a variety of ways and a school needs to respond to this variety, recognizing that not all students are the same, but each has their own unique gifts, talents and skills. A good college identifies, nurtures and develops such talents so that students become aware of their unique gifts and are ultimately able to transition into work and a career that exploits these talents.
The classroom layouts are dynamic, flexible and collaborative, enabling students to become critical and creative thinkers, allowing for debate and cooperative learning to take place. Design thinking is incorporated into units of work, while offering the suite of Australian Curriculum subjects through e-textbooks, rather than cumbersome textbooks. Laptops are issued to all students as part of their learning and students are taught the responsible use of technology in its classrooms.
So that students can have some input into their learning, each week students will have the opportunity to explore and engage with an area of their own choice, following a passion that they wish to investigate. Students will be supervised and work through an inquiry process involving finding and assessing appropriate resources, interpreting information, receiving feedback and advice from their peers and then presenting their findings to an audience. Communication, collaboration and creative thinking is fundamentally important to this process; all necessary life skills.
Additionally, the wellbeing of students is crucially important. Anxiety and depression has emerged as a growing concern among adolescents, so it is important for the college to proactively address such matters explicitly in the classroom. The crossover to learning is obvious; troubled or anxious students do not learn. San Damiano College is crucially concerned with supporting students’ mental health; this is addressed through the development of empathy, gratitude and mindfulness, so that emotional literacy is nurtured within a Catholic, caring environment.
The Resilience Project is a University of Melbourne assessed program that explicitly addresses such areas and is backed by research into adolescent development and mental health. It is but one way San Damiano College seeks to know, support and help develop its students to ultimately become the best person they can be.
If you would like further information about the college please contact us on enrolyarrabilab@bne.catholic.edu.au or visit our enrolment office at the IGA Shopping Centre, Yarrabilba.