ISSUE 6, FRIDAY, 31 JULY 2015 As such, schools in the 21st century are creating students who do not have the skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century working environment. We need to have a much more creative view of schooling to ensure that students, who start at Prep, develop skills which will enhance their adult life experiences even though that may be more than a decade away.
PRINCIPAL, JEFF DAVIS
Education in the 21st Century has evolved considerably. Some schools, however, have failed to harness the learning potential provided by the advent of digital technology. In addition, there is a collaborative synergy that can be achieved through individuals and the school working together to create learning environments that facilitate incredible opportunities for all students. Education, as a universally accepted right, only came into vogue less than 300 years ago. Prior to this time, education was seen as an opportunity for the elite, with general citizens being able to access education of a basic standard. The advent of the industrial revolution resulted in schools being established by wealthy churches to support the improvement of educational understanding throughout society. The concepts that were the premise of the construction of these school still remain with students lining up in rows, being given information, and then being tested on their retention of such information. This form of learning is, at best, of a very low standard and does not resemble the experiences that these students will have when they enter the adult workforce.
One of the difficulties school leadership teams face is the held perception of what schooling should look like by parents and others within our community. I am often challenged about whether I would be happy to visit a surgeon from the 1950s in parallel to a physician in today's time, who could use keyhole surgery for even the most complex of operations, significantly reducing possible complications within these complex procedures. Schools need to understand the benefits that can be gained by iterating the education process to ensure that student engagement and mastery of skills remains at the forefront of the education intent. This is difficult to achieve as preconceived ideas, that failure is not an acceptable part of the educational paradigm, need to be challenged. It is often said that we learn little by success but much more by failure. Therefore, we need to create learning experiences, where students experience both success and failure so they can understand both and develop the ideals that hard work can create success opportunities. Hillcrest Christian College is undergoing some of this transformation at this point in time. Many of you will have read about the developments that are currently being planned which include the new Prep-Year 2 Campus and fullsize oval construction, which is due to commence later this year. As previously announced, we are also planning for the complete renovation of our aging facilities. This will make them better-suited
to create an educational learning environment for your children to experience and develop a complex range of skills needed in adult life. This will take place over the next two years and, by that time, Hillcrest will boast some of the most modern and highlydeveloped learning environments on the Gold Coast. Even though we have not publicised these changes to the external Gold Coast community, Hillcrest has been inundated with a large amount of enrolment enquiries, which has resulted in some classes currently being run above the numbers that we would normally expect. The current growth is well beyond what we had anticipated and we are finding ourselves in a reactive position rather than taking a proactive approach, which would be our preferred option in this situation. I want to assure parents that the current large class sizes, in some year levels, are being catered for effectively through strategies other than reducing the number of students by one or two in each class. The strategies we are using are listed below. 1. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT for teachers in all classes is being provided in 2015 to support differentiation. This support will ensure the development of each child is maximised through this support program. 2. CLASS SIZES in 2016 will return to normal with the addition of extra classes throughout the primary school. 3. THE NEW FACILITIES IN THE PREP-YEAR 2 CAMPUS are expected to be open in June 2016, which will provide students with the most modern and up-to-date learning environment on the Gold Coast. 4. EXISTING JLC FACILITIES WILL BE UPGRADED to cater for the growth (including playgrounds).
5. CONSTANT MONITORING OF ALL STUDENTS is taking place to ensure their own personal learning journey is not compromised this year. It is also important to note that Hillcrest provides genuine full-time Teacher Aides in the classroom across all Prep classes, as well as the provision of intervention specialists in Prep to Year 3 classes to ensure that each child is monitored carefully and effectively. We are expecting enrolments at Hillcrest to peak between 1250 and 1300 students in the next 2-3 years. At that point in time, we will have incredible facilities, new playgrounds, state of the art sporting facilities, and a broad range of subjects that will match anything offered by other public and private schools. We will be announcing a number of significant new initiatives that will establish Hillcrest as a leader in the educational field, not only on the Gold Coast, but also in Australia. I wish to assure all in our community that, as an administration, we are well aware of the difficulties that growth produces. I am aware that some families may be upset by the changes that are occurring in this period of growth, but please understand that our desire is to provide your children with the most comprehensive and modern learning platform available. Please feel free to come along to my parent forums, further dates of which are listed below, or contact me to arrange a personal meeting to discuss any issues that you feel need to be addressed. PARENT FORUMS ď‚Ž http://www.trybooking.com/IOIU Mon 3 August 2015, 8:45am Wed 5 August 2015, 5.30pm* Fri 14 August 2015, 8.45am Thurs 27 August 2015, 2.30pm Wed 2 September 2015, 5.30pm* Wed 16 September 2015, 2.30pm *All forums at The Hub unless indicated, otherwise Main Reception.
21 Bridgman Drive, Reedy Creek Q 4227 | PO Box 2503, Burleigh Waters Q 4220 | 07 5593 4226 | hillcrest.qld.edu.au | office@hillcrest.qld.edu.au ACN 010381334 ABN 68 947 459 366 CRICOS 01043C Hillcrest Christian College is an interdenominational ministry of Reedy Creek Baptist Church and is operated by Hillcrest Christian College Ltd.