Penbank Letter Home
Real World of Opportunity
There’s been lots of ‘newsy news’ this term, and with the changes ahead, we can all be excited about the school’s future. I am extremely delighted with the imminent structures in place, and I especially congratulate Andy Khoza who will lead the Penbank Campus at the commencement of the 2024 school year. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to have a little more flexibility in my life while remaining deeply connected to the school through the Wugubank collaboration. I thank you for the beautiful messages I have received this past week.
A Term of Real World and Experiential Learning
Book Week – Read, Grow, Inspire
This term has provided many wonderful experiences for the children. Concluding the term, we celebrated the much-loved Book Week that featured guest authors and plenty of storytelling and sharing of favourite books. The Book Week School Meeting is always a most creative celebration with special highlights, including a pantomime of Who Sank the Boat performed by staff and our whole school singing Justine Clark’s song, Words Make the World Go Round. This song was specially written for Book Week. Justine’s song was partially written in Australian Kriol, the language of the Wugularr/Beswick and Barunga communities. We were delighted to show a video clip of the Wugularr children singing the song with Andy while we were in Wugularr some weeks ago.
Sovereign Hill – Back in time!
Leading into Book Week, Year 5 students thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Sovereign Hill Costume School. For several days they were transported back in time, the children immersed in the many perspectives of the 1850’s from being a child on the goldfields to the historical significance of the Eureka Stockade. Preparation leading up to the camp involved students researching and creating a particular character. This formed the persona of the young person they were portraying while on the goldfields – such learning in action! Watching the making of boiled lollies, being a part of the interactive Aura by night, the gold pour, panning for gold and generally being out and about as part of the costume school all contributed to an amazing experience.
Wugubank NT
The Year 6s and team experienced an amazing time meeting up with their friends from Wugularr School and the Beswick Community. Friendships were quickly renewed upon our arrival, and we were warmly welcomed by the community with a beautiful smoking ceremony. Our experiences with the Wugularr mob are like no other. We can learn from the Beswick community and children when with them, which was reflected in the Wugubank Expo presented to parents this week. Our focus on community, the environment and the future is developed through this partnership that builds inter-cultural understanding, friendship and respect.
As for our school community, you too are a part of the experience! Rock Quiz was your gig this term and what a night!
My very best wishes and thanks for your support and contribution – everyone deserves a relaxed and enjoyable upcoming break.
Warmest regards,
Vivienne
HEAD OF PENBANK, DEPUTY PRINCIPAL – WOODLEIGH SCHOOL
Building Resilience and Awareness
Midway through the term, we were delighted to introduce parents to the Connected Parenting presentation by Lael Stone from the Resilience Project. Her passion involves supporting parents to understand their children by developing an emotional awareness of their needs with the fundamental principles – connection and compassion. We were extremely pleased with the attendance of parents from both Minimbah and Penbank who all commented on the value of the presentation. Through Body Safe and other teaching practices, engaging in emotional literacy is integrated through all that we do. I thank you for your contribution to the evening.
Inspiration and Creativity
At the heart of learning is the ability to create. School Meeting this term inspired our imagination, allowing children to perform and share their learning. We are often in awe of the talents of our students and congratulate all children on their individual achievements. At an early age, the passions and interests of children emerge, and it is wonderful to see the children’s excitement as they enthusiastically launch into the school day. For staff, the love of our work inspires us as we work together to ensure the children are learning in the best possible way. Our inclusive approach engages our children in Real World learning, developing, and motivating our young people to have the knowledge, skills and sense of purpose that enables them to thrive and contribute to a better world.
The significance and quality of the experiences provided to our children are due to the commitment of staff who diligently plan and execute the work of our school. I thank all staff for their dedication and commitment to the learning environment at Penbank. It is truly an amazing place for children to learn and grow.
Vivienne Wearne
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - HEAD OF PENBANK CAMPUS
A Time to Reflect
As Term Three comes to a close, it is timely for us to reflect on what we have achieved this year and continue our plans for the future.
At all three campuses, we have been busy creating life-changing experiences for our students. At our Junior Campuses, we have had students attending camps in Victoria, the Northern Territory, and internationally. As I write this article, I am preparing to attend the Year 6 Wugubank experience evening at Penbank, and our Year 6 students from Minimbah have just touched down in Bali as part of their sustainability experience at the Green School. Both have been and will be life-changing for the students involved as they are immersed in cultures and languages different from their own and experience perspectives from Aboriginal people in Beswick and Indonesian people in Bali.
These experiences and Camps Week for our Senior students all help to shape a Woodleigh education. This is an education that prepares students for life both at school and beyond. They are real-world, challenging, and provide provocations for some of the most important issues facing our country and the world. While life-changing, they can be daunting if we don’t offer optimism and the opportunity to develop the complex capabilities required to engage with such complicated and overwhelming issues. The capabilities to unpack and understand complexity, solve problems, and organise others as they project manage possible solutions. These are the skills required for life and the skills our student generation will need to impact the world in which they live, positively. If we add to our list of provocations increasing inequality in our world, rising well-being issues, the growth of artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution, global boiling, shifting geopolitical tensions and world conflict, and closer to home an upcoming referendum and the cost of living crisis.
To fully understand and be prepared to find solutions for societal issues, our students still need the basics, and it is important for us to ensure they have a strong understanding of the fundamentals of education; however, we aim to go much further than mere competence and explicit teaching and wish for our students to master complex concepts and be able to apply these to real-life contexts in which they will have depth and mastery.
We continue to look for and find opportunities for student agency and the ability to teach students about the capabilities they will need for life. This occurs through our approach to the International Baccalaureate, the PYP, and the MYP and also through our introduction of the Futures Program to Year 10 in 2024. I look forward to further engaging with our community about this program in Term Four and inviting our advisor, Joost Bakker to the school in October. Together with our architects, they will talk about how we can create generative ecosystems in place of buildings to encourage the depth of thinking our students require for their future.
I am often asked, what about NAPLAN and VCE results, how do they fit with our philosophy as a school and our plans for the future? The NAPLAN tests and ATAR are not going anywhere, and I strongly believe that the work we do will complement both of these measures; however, we also aim to provide our students with more than just a number. We hope to provide a personal transcript of the complex capabilities they have developed during their time at Woodleigh. We continue to work with the University of Melbourne to develop tools for the measurement of character growth that are genuine, authentic, and warrantable. The Year 10 Futures Program will provide us with an opportunity to road-test these tools and provide feedback and data to over 35 schools involved in this project.
It has been a very busy term, and yet we still have much work to do. I hope that all of our families will have an opportunity to enjoy some family time over the holidays and I wish them well for this time and look forward to continuing this conversation in Term Four.
Best wishes
DAVID BAKER
PRINCIPAL - WOODLEIGH SCHOOL
A sense of freedom
A Musical Celebration
Our amazing team of clever musicians and music teachers spent weeks working with students for this year's Soiree, held in the hall last Wednesday night. It was such a treat to have everyone together.
Our brave students performed to a sea of faces, in many cases, all by themselves. Despite the nerves, they knew they were up to the challenge. Some even spoke of music's influence and effect on their lives. It was a real celebration of all the hard work they put in.
Music is another way our students can show themselves and a way to feel a part of something big. Thank you to everyone who helped to make such a joyful occasion.
COMING TOGETHER FOR LITERACY
It was Book Week, a little late this year, but just as mighty. We had author Vikki Conley visit, chatting to the kids about writing methods and strategies and how she creates stories celebrating a spirit of wonder, freedom and adventure.
AND on top of that, Penbank raised $1,175 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation during book week, with everyone coming together to run a sausage sizzle, busking and fabulous bookmark sales competition and sales.
2023 Woodleigh Arts Festival Opening & Showcase Concert – Transcendence
All Woodleigh families and friends, past and present, are invited to join us in the Visual Arts Courtyard from 6.30pm to enjoy refreshments and to take in and celebrate the work of this year’s VCE Studio Art, Visual Communication and Product Design Technology students.
The Showcase Concert, commencing in the Hall at 7.30pm, will feature Year 12 Drama, Media and Music performances and screenings.
Please join us as we celebrate the creativity and craft of Woodleigh's Art Students!
BOOK NOW!2023 Woodleigh School Film Festival – Friday the 13th!
It's Freaky Friday Film Night, and the Senior Campus Hall will never be the same again.
Join us on Friday 13 October from 6.30pm to enjoy the short films produced by the 2023 Year 12 Media Class.
Drinks, popcorn and choc tops will be available to purchase on the night! Entry to see the films is free.
There will be prizes for best dressed, so test-drive your Halloween getup and help us celebrate the hard-work and talents of the 2023 Media Class.
BOOK NOW!Midway through the term, we were delighted to introduce parents to the Connected Parenting presentation by Lael Stone from the Resilience Project. Her passion involves supporting parents to understand their children by developing an emotional awareness of their needs with the fundamental principles – connection and compassion. We were extremely pleased with the attendance of parents from both Minimbah and Penbank who all commented on the value of the presentation. Through Body Safe and other teaching practices, engaging in emotional literacy is integrated through all that we do. I thank you for your contribution to the evening.
Inspiration and Creativity
At the heart of learning is the ability to create. School Meeting this term inspired our imagination, allowing children to perform and share their learning. We are often in awe of the talents of our students and congratulate all children on their individual achievements. At an early age, the passions and interests of children emerge, and it is wonderful to see the children’s excitement as they enthusiastically launch into the school day. For staff, the love of our work inspires us as we work together to ensure the children are learning in the best possible way. Our inclusive approach engages our children in Real World learning, developing, and motivating our young people to have the knowledge, skills and sense of purpose that enables them to thrive and contribute to a better world.
The significance and quality of the experiences provided to our children are due to the commitment of staff who diligently plan and execute the work of our school. I thank all staff for their dedication and commitment to the learning environment at Penbank. It is truly an amazing place for children to learn and grow.
Vivienne Wearne
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - HEAD OF PENBANK CAMPUS
As Term Three comes to a close, it is timely for us to reflect on what we have achieved this year and continue our plans for the future.
At all three campuses, we have been busy creating life-changing experiences for our students. At our Junior Campuses, we have had students attending camps in Victoria, the Northern Territory, and internationally. As I write this article, I am preparing to attend the Year 6 Wugubank experience evening at Penbank, and our Year 6 students from Minimbah have just touched down in Bali as part of their sustainability experience at the Green School. Both have been and will be life-changing for the students involved as they are immersed in cultures and languages different from their own and experience perspectives from Aboriginal people in Beswick and Indonesian people in Bali.
These experiences and Camps Week for our Senior students all help to shape a Woodleigh education. This is an education that prepares students for life both at school and beyond. They are real-world, challenging, and provide provocations for some of the most important issues facing our country and the world. While life-changing, they can be daunting if we don’t offer optimism and the opportunity to develop the complex capabilities required to engage with such complicated and overwhelming issues. The capabilities to unpack and understand complexity, solve problems, and organise others as they project manage possible solutions. These are the skills required for life and the skills our student generation will need to impact the world in which they live, positively. If we add to our list of provocations increasing inequality in our world, rising well-being issues, the growth of artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution, global boiling, shifting geopolitical tensions and world conflict, and closer to home an upcoming referendum and the cost of living crisis.
To fully understand and be prepared to find solutions for societal issues, our students still need the basics, and it is important for us to ensure they have a strong understanding of the fundamentals of education; however, we aim to go much further than mere competence and explicit teaching and wish for our students to master complex concepts and be able to apply these to real-life contexts in which they will have depth and mastery.
We continue to look for and find opportunities for student agency and the ability to teach students about the capabilities they will need for life. This occurs through our approach to the International Baccalaureate, the PYP, and the MYP and also through our introduction of the Futures Program to Year 10 in 2024. I look forward to further engaging with our community about this program in Term Four and inviting our advisor, Joost Bakker to the school in October. Together with our architects, they will talk about how we can create generative ecosystems in place of buildings to encourage the depth of thinking our students require for their future.
I am often asked, what about NAPLAN and VCE results, how do they fit with our philosophy as a school and our plans for the future? The NAPLAN tests and ATAR are not going anywhere, and I strongly believe that the work we do will complement both of these measures; however, we also aim to provide our students with more than just a number. We hope to provide a personal transcript of the complex capabilities they have developed during their time at Woodleigh. We continue to work with the University of Melbourne to develop tools for the measurement of character growth that are genuine, authentic, and warrantable. The Year 10 Futures Program will provide us with an opportunity to road-test these tools and provide feedback and data to over 35 schools involved in this project.
It has been a very busy term, and yet we still have much work to do. I hope that all of our families will have an opportunity to enjoy some family time over the holidays and I wish them well for this time and look forward to continuing this conversation in Term Four.
Best wishes
DAVID BAKER
PRINCIPAL - WOODLEIGH SCHOOL
Our amazing team of clever musicians and music teachers spent weeks working with students for this year's Soiree, held in the hall last Wednesday night. It was such a treat to have everyone together.
Our brave students performed to a sea of faces, in many cases, all by themselves. Despite the nerves, they knew they were up to the challenge. Some even spoke of music's influence and effect on their lives. It was a real celebration of all the hard work they put in.
Music is another way our students can show themselves and a way to feel a part of something big. Thank you to everyone who helped to make such a joyful occasion.
It was Book Week, a little late this year, but just as mighty. We had author Vikki Conley visit, chatting to the kids about writing methods and strategies and how she creates stories celebrating a spirit of wonder, freedom and adventure.
AND on top of that, Penbank raised $1,175 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation during book week, with everyone coming together to run a sausage sizzle, busking and fabulous bookmark sales competition and sales.
All Woodleigh families and friends, past and present, are invited to join us in the Visual Arts Courtyard from 6.30pm to enjoy refreshments and to take in and celebrate the work of this year’s VCE Studio Art, Visual Communication and Product Design Technology students.
The Showcase Concert, commencing in the Hall at 7.30pm, will feature Year 12 Drama, Media and Music performances and screenings.
Please join us as we celebrate the creativity and craft of Woodleigh's Art Students!
BOOK NOW!It's Freaky Friday Film Night, and the Senior Campus Hall will never be the same again.
Join us on Friday 13 October from 6.30pm to enjoy the short films produced by the 2023 Year 12 Media Class.
Drinks, popcorn and choc tops will be available to purchase on the night! Entry to see the films is free.
There will be prizes for best dressed, so test-drive your Halloween getup and help us celebrate the hard-work and talents of the 2023 Media Class.
BOOK NOW!