Schools around the world have been aspiring towards imparting holistic education to students but not all schools succeed in this endeavour. If students can gain subject knowledge, develop necessary academic, social and enterprise skills, build positive relationships and at the same time feel confident and safe in and around the school environment, then they are working towards the utilisation of their maximum potential.

Being an educator at St Luke’s has been a gratifying, enriching and empowering experience as the vision of the College is aligned to the goal of imparting holistic education to students. 

Student-centred pedagogical practices supplemented with the six pillars and the well being processes have been some of our great strengths. Term 3 has shown the community the quest of St Luke’s to challenge the normal through its innovative timetabling initiative. We are beginning to see the combined effect of creative ideas, innovative actions, progressive processes and positive people. 

If the leader of a school can identify the needs and respond effectively, the school ecosystem can be transformed into a nurturing one. When we were thinking if there were any more innovative ideas left for 2020, we were introduced to the pitch, ‘The Wellbeing Ecosystem’. A wonderful step towards the goal of imparting  ‘holistic’ education!

Scientifically, an ecosystem is a geographic area where biotic and abiotic factors work together to form a sphere of life. In the ‘Wellbeing’ ecosystem proposal, the biotic factors like students, teachers, parents, coaches, leaders, community members, Allied Health professionals, TAs and support staff will be working together with the abiotic processes associated with Pastoral support, PBS4L, Pillars, Life Design and Diversity. In the scientific ecosystem, without the geographic area, the interactions are not possible. In the wellbeing ecosystem of a catholic school, the spiritual area plays a major role. Every obstacle in this ecosystem can be turned into an opportunity, if the interactions are strengthened by Christ and His teachings.

The desired outcome for each student to experience high levels of wellbeing has been carefully identified by our Principal as 

-> A sense of belonging and connection

-> High levels of hope and engagement

-> Greater self awareness and 

-> Resilience and empathy for others.

The scripture passages support this outcome in a natural way. 

The key words in the outcome are  ‘belonging’, ‘connection’, hope’, ‘self awareness’, ‘resilience’ and empathy. Here are some examples of how these words are linked to the spiritual source.

Belonging:

For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 12:13

Connection:

I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5

Hope:

And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.  And you will have confidence, because there is hope; you will be protected and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid; many will entreat your favor. – Job 11: 17-19

Self-awareness:

You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. – Ephesians 4: 22-24

Resilience:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair. – 2 Corinthians 4:8

Empathy:

Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” – John 11: 35-36

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. –  Romans 12: 15

In general, if the Greatest Commandant and the Beatitudes are unpacked wisely, our  students can face all challenges gracefully and confidently.

The Catholic sacraments also play a vital role in enhancing the wellbeing aspect of the holistic development of students. 

Through Baptism and Confirmation, students receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and through these gifts they are equipped with the skills needed to face the real world. 

According to Aquinas, the Holy Spirit’s gifts, ‘Wisdom’, ‘Knowledge’, ‘Counsel’, ‘Fortitude’, ‘Understanding’, ‘Piety’ and ‘Fear of the Lord’ are instincts provided by God as supernatural help to human beings in the process of their “perfection.” They assist them to overcome the challenges of human reason and participate purposefully in the life gifted by God.

The Sacrament ‘Eucharist- the Source and Summit’ serves as the spiritual food and the Sacrament, ‘Reconciliation’ is one of the best wellbeing tools.

Recently, a few students from Stage 3 were asked to share their understanding and application of their Term 3 Learning Cycle, ‘What does it mean for humans to think about their thinking?’. It was a touching moment to know that students were able to use in their real life, the scripture passages and virtues that they learnt in class. A student also shared how she was able to provide support to her parents by sharing the ‘Greatest Commandment’ at the right time.

How fortunate we are to know that the ‘Wellbeing Ecosystem’ in any Catholic School is nurtured by the spiritual source of Christ through the Scripture, Sacraments and the Catechism of the Catholic Church!

It has been a year since I joined the family of St Luke’s. As I reflect on the uniqueness of our College, I just can’t resist sharing some of the amazing opportunities the teachers and students are exposed to during their journey here. 

We, both students and teachers, are able to capitalise on the obstacles of the present time to create opportunities which can have a lasting impact on teaching and learning. Our new ‘Daily/Weekly Flow’ is an example of how we’ve transformed our COVID-19 ‘Connected learning’ experience into a renewed ‘Blended learning’ pathway. 

At St Luke’s, we have the autonomy to take risks and question what we do while developing the capability to take ownership. Students are constantly equipped with the skills to become creative contributors and innovative problem solvers for a changing world. Through the inquiry-based learning, especially through the new draft Religious Education curriculum, they are getting transformed into curious faith-filled children.

The ‘Life Design’ course is unique to our College and its purpose is to use students’ values, strengths, interests and motivation to add meaning to their personal lives and community. They are able to identify challenges in their circle of influence and also find suitable solutions.

Generally, people relate the word ‘creativity’ to the contemporary world. In the scripture, before two thousand years, we find Jesus using his ‘creativity’ to heal sick people and preach the Good News. Mike Romero urged Christians in one of his articles to embrace their creativity. He said that we were designed by God to create. 

“Here’s the truth: It’s impossible to lack creativity while standing in the presence of the creator. The Lord has graced us with an intrinsic ability to create. To design beauty from nothing. To write, to draw, to build, to sing and to dance for something and someone bigger than ourselves…”

As educators at St Luke’s, we are very privileged to have the support of our Principal, Mr Miller to extend our horizon to guide students to move from:

-> ‘Complacence’ to ‘Competence’

-> ‘Dead-end thinking’ to ‘Creative thinking‘

-> ‘Something’ to ‘More than Something’

-> ‘Can I?’ to ‘I can’

-> ‘Limit’ to ‘Limitlessness’ 

-> ‘Scarcity’ to ‘Abundance’ and

-> ‘Compliance’’ to ‘Transformational Compliance’

Here are some examples of student samples that demonstrate their ability to raise their own bars to produce something meaningful and thought-provoking.

Before a few weeks, Year 9 students, in their Religious Education classes, looked at Religion and the characteristics of being religious. They examined different ways to find if religion has been used for good or evil. Finally, as part of the learning cycle, they evaluated if Religion was essential to fulfil their potential.

There were many activities that helped them dive deeper in this concept. In one of the activities, students worked in groups to research the following themes:

-> Social networks can be powerful, pervasive and productive tools, if used wisely.

-> Religion is not a problem but a solution to global issues. 

-> Religion is a tool for self-improvement if one one wishes to accept its teaching with an open mind. 

-> Globalisation and consumerism are driving the modern world and the flourishing it is aiming to create is short-lived. If you are aspiring for true flourishing, live the beatitudes.

-> Religious Education can be used to make students a better version of themselves if it is more interesting, purposeful, inquiry based and authentic.

Students researched the themes in specific groups, shared their findings, filtered their responses and recorded their views as audio clips. Through the awesome ‘Life Design’ course, they were able to recognise the passion of one of their peers; Krish’s editing skills. 

Krish’s interest in editing was used by the class to produce a short video clip which had important findings from their activity. The editor used his knowledge and skills to use students’ original audio clips to produce this video clip.

This term, Year 9 students have been exploring Indigenous Spirituality. In one of the recent lessons, they read through St. John Paul II’s message to our Indigenous brothers and sisters in Alice Springs in 1986 to identify the four key themes he addressed. The themes are:

-> Preservation of indigenous culture in a multicultural country

-> The alignment of indigenous spirituality to Catholic teachings

-> The preservation of the environment &

-> Reconciliation

It is a gratifying experience to know through work samples (sample), students’ ability to move from ‘something’ to ‘more than something’ in their RE journey. 

Stage 4 students have been exploring opportunities for upholding human dignity in the contemporary world through the learning cycle, ‘Human Dignity’. They used Genesis 1:26-27 to understand the concept of human dignity from a spiritual perspective. Students created a concept map to unpack the verse, ‘We are made in the image and likeness of God’. Students summarised their understanding by submitting their first benchmark (sample) half way through the learning cycle. 

We read in 1 Chronicles 22: 15-16, “You have an abundance of workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of artisans without numbers, skilled in working  gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

At St Luke’s, our purpose is to help students identify their talents, hone their skills, strengthen their faith and begin their work in the school environment so that they excel in their real life world.

Yes, with God’s grace, the work has begun to support students move from ‘complacence’ to ‘competence’; the best is yet to come.

Learning Intentions:

• To understand how to proclaim good news to the poor and freedom for the prisoners.
• To relieve people from physical suffering and set the oppressed free
• To empower people and create leaders.

Success Criteria

I can

• Move from self to others by sharing
• Develop the desire to serve and lead by ministering to those in need
• Follow the leadership example of Jesus to become a successful servant leader
• Mature into a spiritual adult through a transformation of heart 

Jesus Managed Learning (3 years):

-> Jesus makes use of parables/stories to draw inspiration from everyday life.

-> He grabs attention using exaggerations and unique examples

-> Jesus makes the main point easily understandable to people by using memorable statements.

-> He asks a series of questions to lead people to conclusions thus enabling them to be critical thinkers.

-> Jesus uses object lessons to communicate with people. The spiritual truth conveyed through visual communication had more impact than stated or written truth.

• Servant leadership taught by washing the disciples feet
• Widow’s offering used to explain unselfish giving.
• A small kid was called to explain childlike faith.

-> Jesus repeats His main points many times to ensure that the message gets embedded firmly in the minds of the people.

Self Directed Work (A person’s lifetime):

• Read Luke 4:18-19 to understand our Mission on Earth.

• How is spiritual poverty and material poverty addressed in the Scripture?

• Read James 2:5 to know the true meaning of the words, rich and poor from a spiritual perspective.

• How are the following prisoners set free?

1. Prisoners of the devil
2. Prisoners of sin and vice
3. Prisoners of wealth
4. Prisoners of legalism and tradition.

• How do people’s cry for healing answered?

• How can we love and preach God’s freedom by reaching out to the following people?

1. People oppressed socially
2. People oppressed by sin and destructive lifestyle
3. People oppressed by tough life experiences
4. People oppressed by fear and worry.

• How can you apply the leadership secrets from the Scripture to create true disciples?

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18).

1. Be willing to invest in people who are dismissed by others.
2. Release responsibility through effective delegation.
3. Practice servant leadership.
4. Develop a leadership succession plan.
5. Remain focussed on the vision.
6. Handle distractions with grace.
7. Allocate time for self-development.
8. Be ready to be pushed beyond what you are capable of doing.
9. Hold followers to high expectations.
10. Care more about people than rules and regulations (humanity over bureaucracy).
11. Recognise and celebrate success of team members.
12. Stretch goals for your team members
13. Transform your vision into a shared vision.
14. Provide periodic feedback to team members.
15. Give away authority to team members.

                    Source 1 / Source 2

Exit Ticket:

Follow the teachings, apply these in your daily life, leave a legacy and use your earthly life to earn a place in the eternal Kingdom of God.

The RE journey that I’ve just begun is challenging but also exciting. As a Science teacher, I had been constantly amazed at God’s marvellous work while teaching scientific concepts and processes. The evolution of the existing Universe from a single point after the Big Bang, the development of the foetus from a single zygote to a beautiful baby, the amazing coordination of the various body systems and the untiring efforts of the body parts including our heart and brain are some examples of God’s glory. 

How wonderful it is to know that all three (and more) important branches of Science work together harmoniously in the human body; Physics (movement, forces, energy), Chemistry (respiration, chemical digestion, chemical nature of enzymes, hormones) and Biology (flow of life through cells, tissues, organs and systems). 

The time has now come to change my focus. I now realise that it is important to inspire the heart as a religious educator while also instructing the mind as a science educator.

All educators, especially religious educators will agree that each one of us has been given the gifts to change the lives of the young people we serve. Are we endeavouring to become the best religious educators we can be? 

While reading Jared Dees book, “31 days to becoming a better Religious Educator”, I realised that there is so much to learn and a lot more to apply. I take this opportunity to share some important points from this thought-provoking practical guide.

In his book, Jared talks about the four roles of a Religious Educator. What are my roles?

First, I must be a better disciple. I must follow and learn from Christ. Then, I must be a better servant. I need to set aside my own desires to serve others. If I succeed as a disciple and servant, I become a better leader. These three roles – disciple, servant and leader – all help me to become a better teacher. 

Jesus, the Master Teacher is our role model and we are called to imitate Him.

What should we do to excel in these roles? Here are some tips from Jared… 

We can become a better disciple by recalling our ‘Calling’ as a Religious Educator, recognising our relationship with Christ, imitating our Master Teacher, spending more time reading the scripture and writings of Saints and improving at least one prayer habit.

To become a better servant, we are invited to identify our students’ top needs and biggest strengths. Getting to know our students before or after class, writing a note of praise to a struggling student, complimenting a parent about their child and praying for our students are ways that will help us become better servants.

All educators are leaders but we are aspiring to become better leaders. Are we willing to eliminate the time-wasters, update our classroom procedures and rules, articulate the vision for our classroom, practice giving positive, constructive feedback and give students ownership over certain tasks. If so, we are on the verge of becoming better leaders.

Here’s the main role that creates the connection between the content, students and the real world… the role of a teacher. How can we become a better teacher? We need to write out why the lesson is important, state clear learning intentions, simplify our lessons, plan and assign projects efficiently, incorporate creativity into our day, learn to assess without a test, liberate students from rigidity, review lessons from the past, visualise a lesson in action and most importantly, become a witness.

At St Luke’s, we are blessed to have some passionate and practising Religious Educators. The statement, ‘Young people are moving away from God’ is a myth. It is a privilege to work with and coach some passionate young teachers in both Stage 3 and Stage 4 who already have a thirst to perform the four roles effectively. Together, we will provide opportunities for our students to encounter Christ so their lives will be transformed. 

Experiential education is the right response to the changing needs of this modern world. Our goal goes beyond the head. We must also engage our students’ heart and train their hands so that they reach out to the world by being attentive, intelligent, reasonable, responsible, contemplative, empathetic, humble, loving, present, active, compassionate and effective individuals. The dispositions from CEDP will drive the new RE curriculum and serve as essential prerequisites for ‘Faith Formation’ and ‘Teaching and Learning’.

The water level is comfortable now but we are expected to launch out into the deep. With HIM, everything is possible!

Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. – William Pollard

In gardening or farming, the soil needs to be constantly nourished in order to reap a better yield. The mindset is like the soil. A fixed mindset of educators cannot produce innovative students. The mindset needs to grow and evolve into a better one – an innovator’s mindset.

Innovative educators alone can produce innovative students. There should be opportunities for teachers to learn, create and innovate to meet the needs of today’s learners, however, if teachers are not ready to change their mindset, the efforts of the organisation will be wasted.

The following driving question can help us achieve the goal of an innovator’s mindset.

“What can we do to make students leave school every afternoon more curious than when they started in the morning?”

Here’s the first learning intention that is linked to an innovator’s mindset:

• To remind students constantly about what they can do instead of what they can’t do.

What could be other meaningful mindset-related learning intentions for 2020?

• To create a climate of trust so that students and co-teachers are bold enough to take risks.
• To empower students by conscientiously shifting from telling to listening/facilitating.
• To design curriculum in a way that the boundaries constantly expand (inquiry) as students explore content.
• To constantly remind our students, colleagues and parents that twenty-first century education is not about the end product; it’s about the process.
• To think differently about the things that we are used to seeing daily to create innovative learning opportunities.
• To spread the news (through experiences and examples) that innovation starts not by providing answers but by asking questions
• To evolve as great educators by learning to work with the constraints of the system (compliance!) and still create innovative learning opportunities for their students.
• To know that learning is creation and not consumption; it is a matter of creating new meanings and new neural pathways.
• To frame and ask right questions so students develop the ability to distinguish between good and better answers. Here’s an example from one of George Couros’ posts:

Gourge Couros’ book, ‘The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity’ has been a source of inspiration for this post.

While reading this book before a year, there had been a quest to know if there is an organisation that has already started using some of the ideas listed in the book.

I was pleased to find such a learning environment and I am grateful that I made the right decision to move to St Luke’s Catholic college, Marsden Park in July 2019.  

What an exciting journey it had been! There is a long way to go, however, the members of the St Luke’s learning community have initiated the change. Our students have started leaving school more curious in the afternoon than they left their house in the morning.

Personally, it was a great learning experience for me. During the period (terms 3 and 4), I had taught Science which is my area of specialisation but also endeavoured to get out of my comfort zone to support students in their English, HSIE, PDHPE, RE classes and the Pathways program. One of the requirements that is vital while teaching next-generation learners is the ability to see big ideas in curriculum through interconnected content knowledge. I saw this opportunity to co-teach in other subject areas as a way to use this ability where the skills gained in teaching Science was extended to learning areas that were not so familiar to me. It is not just me but almost all Stage 4 educators have the willingness to expand their horizon to explore new subject areas. Yes, we firmly believe that mindset matters!

At St Luke’s, we do more than just engaging students; we work towards empowering them. We build each other up to build a new-normal together.

May this summer break help us to pause, ponder and progress with greater passion, enhanced positivity and true purpose.

May the season of Christmas help us to experience a deeper understanding and appreciation of God’s immeasurable and unconditional love for us so that we grow closer to Jesus than we ever have before and begin to look at the world around us from a different perspective  using our evolving mindset.

Most Rev. Bishop Vincent Long OFMConv DD, Bishop of Parramatta invites us to go out into the deep. It is wonderful to know that there are changes taking place in Religious Education in the Diocese of Parramatta.

What is unique about the new RE curriculum?

Student voices are the starting point of the new curriculum. There is an effort to bring RE to life for our students. In the traditional set-up, curriculum progresses from the writers/developers to students. In this new initiative, the ‘Big’ questions from students are taken to curriculum developers thus enabling educators to listen to the signs of the time. This collaborative process appeals more to the heart than the head.

The new RE curriculum calls for a different perspective. It is centred around the 21st century ‘Inquiry’ approach. Students are allowed to understand, immerse and create through constant reflection. The ‘immerse’ stage creates an opportunity for them to go out into the deep.

Jesus said to Simon, “Go out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” The deep is where we will find a lot of fish. We will not find them near the shore in shallow waters. To launch out into the deep is to move away from the comfort of the shoreline. It is not easy when we are challenged to do things in a new way but we are called to do it!

When Jesus said, “…let down your nets for a catch.”, he is reminding us to carry the right tools with us. As educators, it is imperative for us to equip our students with proper resources so that they can collect exceedingly abundant and meaningful experiences in their spiritual journey.

We and our students will be amazed at our catch (of experiences) if we step out of our comfort zones and launch out into the deep with Jesus.

While talking about the new RE curriculum, Michael McDowell, author of Rigourous PBL by Design asks us to look through the lens of our students. He emphasises the need for high level of communication and reminds us about the layers of complexities. Students can immerse in the process only when they see relevance in their lives.

What is the dream for purposeful RE in our Diocese?

We need to help students to know Christ, get inspired and follow his footsteps. They need to learn to look for Christ in the true messiness of our daily life by listening to the signs of the time. The RE journey should lead students from ‘curiosity’ to ‘clarity’ through christ-centred, contemporary, reflective, experiential, contextualised and personalised curriculum initiatives.

As co-creators, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a curriculum that will speak to a generation of students. Religious Education is the lifeblood of catholic schools and it is great to know that it will be leading other KLAs through the new ‘Inquiry’ approach. 

Let us together go out into the deep!

Students from Stage 4 have been learning about Ecosystems in their science classes in Term 3 and this has served as a motivation for me to introduce this post using scientific terms.

In our educational ecosystem, biotic factors are the students, educators, parents, members of CEDP, NESA, STILE, Education Perfect, InnerZone and all other support groups. Abiotic factors are the learning spaces, resources, technology, processes, policies and hours (from the perspective of compliance).

For basic learning to take place, the flow of matter (knowledge and skills) and energy from the educator to the learner is sufficient, however, for an educational setting to be truly successful, there should be positive and sustained interactions between the above-mentioned biotic and abiotic factors. 

At St Luke’s, we have the best resources, great learning spaces, working policies and meaningful processes like many successful schools. 

What makes St Luke’s extraordinary? We have a good connection with the abiotic factor, ‘hours’ (NESA prescribed ‘indicative hours’). I have done a brief analysis to find out how there is enough time already available to provide students from Year 7 to Year 10, a flexible and diverse curriculum so they are ready to face the real world as responsible global citizens. 

Here’s the link to NESA’s mandatory curriculum requirement for RoSA.

If we continue with the present time allocation, we will have extra 400 hours per year for our students in Year 9 and Year 10, which means we have a total of 800 hours in Stage 5 to do Pathways or any other Personal Development/Interest Program. Considering all the extra hours in Stage 4, students are allowed to explore further the ‘Infinite Possibilities’ for 1133 hours across 4 years (Year 7 to Year 10).

The draft alignment of our school’s (SLCC) time allocation to NESA’s mandatory curriculum requirement for RoSA can be found here.

The good news is the fact that we have the ‘hours’ to implement great programs for our students and still remain compliant. What a wonderful interaction between biotic factors and the abiotic factor, ‘hours’! 

There are opportunities for community, leadership and industry based projects, robotics, forensics, media studies and VET courses. These courses can be offered to students in Stage 5 by interacting effectively with corporate bodies. Another way to save hours as there is no need for us to reinvent the wheel!

1133 hours across 4 years is not a small number! It is 188.8 school days; 47 days in a year which is almost a term.

Promising and purposeful experiences are waiting for us at St Luke’s Catholic College to equate learning to infinite possibilities!

Driving straight ahead to follow the familiar route was a comfortable option, however, I took a right turn to be at my new workplace. This turn is proving to be the ‘right’ turn at this stage of my professional journey. 

At the end of Week 5, I am glad about my decision. I feel fully charged. Is this new progressive educational centre, a ‘AAA’ battery that has the ability to charge both students and educators? 

The college recognises that Learning = Infinite Possibilities. It invites everyone to aspire to become creative contributors and innovative problem solvers for a changing world. This aspiration is the foundation for the evolution of the growth mindset of our teachers and students. 

We now know that the first ‘A’ of this AAA battery is ‘Aspiration’.

The college is an exciting and thriving preschool to post school learning community. It is not that easy to be a trendsetting learning centre. It is possible only with the right blend of faith, vision, creativity, hard work, smart work and an ever-willing openness to learn. The real world approach to learning, challenges students to reflect on who they are, what they can do and what problems they want to solve in this rapidly changing world. Teachers also face challenges. 

What is the secret to facing challenges calmly and converting these into positive solutions? That is the second ‘A’ of the AAA battery… ‘Adaptation’.

The college provides the right support to educators and students and changes this educational habitat into a conducive one for better adaptation.

The next  ‘A’ is the most important element of this battery. The ideas, plans and efforts should be converted to a purposeful action. The third ‘A’ of the AAA battery is ‘Action’. 

The school’s Vision, Mission, the outcomes prescribed  by NESA and the six Pillars of the College are incorporated in teaching programs to produce meaningful, engaging and enjoyable actions.

In Week 4, Australia celebrated the National Science Week and our college capitalised on this opportunity to help students celebrate Science. Students were given the choice to make decisions about their Science Week journey; they suggested ideas collaboratively.

The Science Week was officially inaugurated by the School of Leadership’s Learning Coach. The Assembly started with a prayer, Acknowledge of Country and introduction to the activities of the week.

Students recognised the contributions of Science and wrote a ‘Thank you’ letter which highlighted the different areas of their lives that were impacted by Science.

The theme of this year’s Science Week being ‘Destination Moon: more mission, more science’, students attended workshops to learn more about space from a catholic perspective and an aboriginal perspective. They were pleased to know that the Aboriginal astronomers were the first people to share information about Space. Students also read the message that was sent by Pope Paul VI to the first batch of astronauts  who landed on the Moon in 1969. 

Students explored space-related topics like Life in Space, Lunar Colony, Cosmic Waste, Space Station, Space Walk, Space Invaders, Space Tourism and Moon Missions like NASA’s Apollo, ISRO’s Chandrayaan, Lavochkin’s Luna and JAXA’s SELENE. Their ideas were presented to their peers in the format of TED Talks. The name was changed to STED Talks as ‘Science’ was added to Technology, Entertainment and Design.

Students from K to 8 were exposed to the boundless outer space within the boundaries of the school hub and this was made possible by the visit of Starr’s Planetarium. 

A logo design activity was organised and students designed their creative Science Week logos.

A prayer for scientists was included in the Mass celebrated on the occasion of the Feast of Mother Mary’s Assumption. 

A special ‘Destination Moon’ cake was designed and made by one of the parents and it was shared in the Staff Morning Tea.

The valedictory event was a science comedy show, presented by the enthusiastic duo from ‘Launch to the Future’.

This Science Week  ‘Action’ had the ‘Pillars’ embedded in it. These ‘Pillars’ are a reflection of  NESA’s seven general capabilities. Students applied their literacy skills to write their report, numeracy skills to prepare their physical model, ICT skills to prepare their presentation and logo, Intercultural understanding while evaluating the contributions of different countries in the area of space research, ethical understanding when discussing about space debris and cosmic war on waste and critical and creative thinking while preparing for their STED Talks. Overall, the ‘Action’ helped students assess their personal and social capability. 

The college has taken the ‘right’ turn to provide each student with inquiry experiences which are relevant to their real world. The learning experiences are progressively self-directed and increasingly personalised, preparing students to be responsible global citizens.

I’m proud to be an educator at St Luke’s Catholic College, Marsden Park.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton