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Learning and Living with Colour at Senior Campus

I would like to warmly welcome our Woodleigh families back to Term 4 at Senior Campus. During the last fortnight, the return to school has been exciting, engaging and certainly colourful! Learning through ‘doing’ has been in full flight over the last two weeks.

Staff dress up for Arts Festival Celebrations

Year 9 Community Projects

Last week I was fortunate to witness the amazing work of our Year 9s and their connection with the Community Project journey. This body of work is an important part of the IB Middle Years Programme, and is a key component that all Year 9’s undertake over 6 months (15 hours minimum), beginning at City Bound, then culminating in a presentation of their work this week. Students have either worked alone, in pairs, or in groups of 3. They identified a community need that resonated with them, and then researched, planned, and carried out a project to meet that need. This process is scaffolded through an online process journal. I encourage you to ask your child to share their findings with you and encourage them to think about what potential next steps they might take to further their Community Project experience.

Ongoing Professional Learning for Staff

Our staff started the term engaging in a range of workshops showcasing their professional interests and learning throughout the 2022 academic year. A suite of learning labs were designed by our teachers across all three campuses, to build and improve holistic outcomes for students by creating and sustaining a culture of inquiry and learning. Staff explored a range of different topics that they were passionate about, and were empowered to explore these individually, collaboratively, and to trial ideas in the classroom. Our teachers have been action-orientated in their professional development, modelling life-long learning to our students. Their work also exemplifies their commitment to personal growth and an ongoing school improvement agenda in line with our new strategic plan ‘Learning to Thrive’. It’s important for our students to realise that their teachers continue to explore and inquire as adult learners and that learning is not just confined to school.

Woodleigh Arts Festival is BACK! In living colour!

It has also been exciting to finally see our school celebrate events that are regarded as ‘rites of passage’ in our community. This past week saw the return of the annual Woodleigh Arts Festival ‘In Living Colour’, a special and unique highlight of the Woodleigh School calendar. With COVID regulations, I have not witnessed an Arts Week celebration at Woodleigh since my commencement in this role. With the opening Showcase, arts activities, media productions and live performances, the week was a huge success. We could not be prouder of the young people and staff that have given their time, dedication, and energy to such an outstanding week of events and performances. Preparation, rehearsals, and the perseverance for excellence has been showcased in this year’s festival. I would like to congratulate all involved and praise the hard work of the students and staff. Congratulations!

Paul Dillion Drug and Alcohol Information Session for Years 10 to 12

We have been lucky to have Paul Dillon return onsite. Paul has a unique investment in the well-being of young people. Founder of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) and a former school teacher, Paul conducts drug information sessions and workshops for school students both in Australia and internationally. He provided our students with skills to navigate the risk-taking behaviour of young people and manage challenging situations. Each year Paul presents to our community with updated data and strategies and our Woodleigh students find his sessions engaging and valuable. This year, he focused on vaping, and I encourage you to access his website and podcasts to explore further insights and strategies on this topic here.

What a start to the term it has been! I look forward to watching Term 4 unfold and celebrating the year with you over the coming weeks.

Take care,

NAT McLENNAN
Deputy Principal - Head of Senior Campus