School visits will take place on Thursday 26 May. The cost is $40.00 per person for one school visit which includes return bus transfers, lunch, and your visit to the school. Please note you can register to attend one school only. The one exception to this is the trip to Brisbane which includes a visit to two schools (also $40). Coaches depart from Conrad Jupiters and the exact departure time for each visit is listed below. All coaches will return to Conrad Jupiters by 1430, with the exception of the Brisbane visit which will return by 1600. The schools offering visits are listed below.
All Saints Anglican School is a P-12 coeducational school situated on the Gold Coast. In 1998 the school was restructured to include Junior, Middle and Senior Schools. The Middle School caters for 475 in Years 7-9, aiming to provide an atmosphere in which the development of relationships between all those involved in the students' learning is of primary importance; where a love of learning is encouraged; where experiences are relevant and purposeful. Teachers also aim to provide a safe, stimulating and flexible learning environment that encourages "Learning to Live and Living to Learn".
In 2001, St Peter's Catholic Primary School (Rochedale) officially launched the Middle Years of Schooling Learning Community for their Year 6/7 students. The Community works on a two-year cycle and Modules focus on developing in students the attributes of a lifelong learner. Two themes are strongly emphasised and underpin the philosophy of the Learning Community: "I am an Individual with Rights and Responsibilities" and "Together Each Achieves More". A visit to St Peter's enables various aspects of the Community at work to be observed. Groups of students will be engaging in the electives program, participating in a philosophical discussion, working at learning centre tasks and conducting a forum where questions can be asked of the students about their learning.
The school has an enrolment of approximately 1500 students from Years 8 to 12 and is situated on the northern end of the Gold Coast. It is recognised as a leading technology school. In 2004, the school began its journey with middle years reform. The outcomes of this journey have seen the development of a rich flexible curriculum that allows for integration where it is most suited. The staff undertook extensive research and, through empowering action teams to make recommendations, has begun the development of a new approach with middle years students.
Upper Coomera State College is a P-12 State College on the Gold Coast. It opened in 2003 with 900 students from Preschool to Year 8, the student range in 2005 being P-10. UCSC currently is comprised of two schools - the Chisholm Junior School, P-6, and the Jakaara Middle School 7- 9. It is a stage-based school.
The features of the Middle School include:
Jakaara Middle School Philosophy is based on caring for students' intellectual growth and personal and mental health
The school was traditionally a conservative learning establishment, but the learning and teaching processes in the middle years have been transformed with a dynamic, integrated approach for Years 8 and 9. Recognising that a positive relationship between students and teachers is central to learning, all classes are assigned a team of two teachers responsible for the four core subjects and for providing support for the diverse range of student needs.
The key areas of literacy and numeracy are explicitly targeted in common tasks each term. Units of work are meaningful and connected to students' worlds, and culminate in authentic Performance Tasks. ICT is firmly embedded into Integrated Studies where multimedia features heavily in all activities. The curriculum has been evolving over the past 3 years and this evolution is on- going. This has produced more creative and responsive approaches to learning and teaching with a greater focus on communication, teamwork, flexibility and lifelong learning for students and teachers alike.
Varsity College is a Preschool to Year 12 school located on two sites on the northern and southern sides of Lake Orr. The College is structured around four sub-schools. The Preparatory School (Preschool to Year 3), the Junior School (Years 4 to 6), the Middle School (Years 7 to 9), and the Senior School (Years 10 to 12). What is distinctive about Varsity College Middle School is the new basics curriculum which attempts to move beyond traditional organisation of subject areas. New basics demand that the curriculum is connected to the real world (through a suite of rich tasks) and orientated toward the future. Use of technology is a major focus in the curriculum. Our College motto is: Dare to Dream.
Please note this trip includes visits to two schools therefore your return time to Conrad Jupiters will be later than the other visits. You will return to Conrad Jupiters by 1600.
Mt Alvernia is a Franciscan Secondary Catholic Girls College with a focus on ensuring that young women become independent learners and are able to achieve success and feel secure in themselves. The Middle Years focus began with the introduction of Integrated Studies in 2002 for Year 8. This has now extended into Year 9 and is the central driver for middle schooling philosophies, pedagogies and authentic learning/curriculum. Curriculum is negotiated with the students incorporating an inquiry approach and outcomes focus. Teachers work in teams and provide many opportunities for cooperative learning, utilising Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles and Thinking Styles.
The concept of middle schooling is not new at St Peters. In 1979 the Middle School was founded, aiming to provide solutions to meet the developing needs of those in the early years of secondary education. Over the past 25 years the philosophy has continually developed and today St Peters Middle School still remains a separate sub-school within the college campus where approximately 500 young adolescent students in Years 6, 7 and 8 can be in a safe, secure and familiar environment, but still close enough to the Senior School to use their facilities. Over the past 5 years, the Middle School has undergone an extensive building programme with general classrooms, library, tuckshop, grandstand, oval, gymnasium and amenities added to the site. The curriculum is varied and flexible with special programs such as the Infinity (accelerated) Program and extension music courses included in the curriculum offerings.
The close proximity of these two schools has provided the opportunity for teachers to have classes or groups across both campuses and for the schools to develop and foster seamless programs and activities in performing arts and other key learning areas within the middle years of schooling. For the students, the move to the secondary campus now offers a range of positive and engaging experiences, with surveys of Year 8 students revealing that 86% enjoy their first semester, 96% make new friends and 81% experience success.
St James Primary School is aiming to produce class environments where students are motivated to understand the best ways to maximise their learning. Students incorporate information and communication technologies to explore integrated units based on an inquiry approach. Units are developed using a problem focus that has real life relevance. Students have a high degree of choice and responsibility for their learning and access a variety of ways to present their solutions.