Secondary Years
As a Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12 College, the Secondary Years build upon the quality learning that has come before in Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6. Students are taught by specialist teachers, with each child being valued as an individual and encouraged to achieve their God given potential. There is a focus on the Learning Culture amongst our students with students reflecting on their progress, setting goals and taking ownership of their learning. This culture is evidenced in the significant number of students who attend the weekly Homework Club on a Wednesday afternoon and the commitment of Year 12 students to be involved in the Holiday Study Camp.
The highly skilled teachers in the Secondary years challenge students to think deeply about the world in which they live and how they can be value based and ethical contributors to it. Students are equipped with the ability to think critically and respond to challenges through the development of problem solving skills. The College encourages all staff to plan for a differentiated curriculum; a core of essential learning augmented by extension opportunities and curriculum choices for students. This learning environment is supported by a dispersement of library and information technology resources so that students are never too far from the resources that they need.
A 21st Century approach to learning is valued, with students as collaborators and presented with opportunities for creative thinking. An important component of teaching in the secondary is the deliberate focus on explicit instruction as our pedagogical focus. Throughout all the subject areas in secondary, explicit instruction is used as a method to deliver new learning and revise content taught from the previous day. Each lesson will consist of a warm up, clear and deliberate learning intentions and success criteria before the teacher clearly models what they are going to cover. Students have the opportunity to engage in their new learning in small groups before they move to independence. Finally, a review is used to check for student understanding and our priority is to ensure that all students are engaged in their learning in every minute of every lesson.
The current generation of students are often considered digital natives. Teachers at Wollondilly recognise this and through the ‘MyTech’ (1:1 Device) program have carefully incorporated technological pedagogies to enhance learning and develop digital citizenship.
Finally, Teaching and Learning extends beyond the classroom and there are numerous co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for students to grow. Some of these opportunities include Debating and Public Speaking, Tournament of Minds, external competitions, overseas tours, Streamwatch, Crystal Growing and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.
