Teaching and Learning

Senior School

MS CATRINA SHARP, DEPUTY PRINCIPAL/HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL

To the Senior School girls of 2020 … In 2020, you accepted the challenge to learn differently and engage with your teachers in new ways. Your independence increased, and you discovered new found-skills – some as pleasant surprises and others through sheer determination. To your credit, you were not content to accept the distance forced upon us. Rather, you stood up for all that our community is about – connections, relationships and support, and you reached out to your own families and to our Fairholme family. In doing so, you all tipped the world in our favour, more than just a little.

As Head Girl, Laura Craft, proclaimed at Presenting Fairholme, the moniker ’20-two-0: Year of the Hero!’ was one befitting the entire world as well as one which proved to be perfect for our own community. Heroism – or courage, was seen in virtually every setting. For some time, we all needed to learn differently, communicate in new ways, remain connected through atypical means and do this all from new places. However, such was the Senior School community’s attitude and persistence that this was managed with a fabulous outlook, and was thus successful, but it also set the stage for positive, ongoing change! The understanding that the new frontier was one we were experiencing together was a comfort and indeed provided great encouragement. As Zara Bambling and Phoebe Meyer Elks rightly claimed, in a year that could have manoeuvred us all towards being spectators alone, the girls at Fairholme refused to be defined by such a position and chose instead to unveil their true hero qualities.

Distance, restrictions, constant change and uncertainty were not match for a community such as ours, and one led by an incredible group of Senior Leaders. A global pandemic was no match for their commitment to their servant leadership responsibilities. Never just spectators, our Year 12 girls deserve the warmest congratulations.

We remain grateful that you reminded us that we can be heroes to others and encouraged us to remember that small acts can be heroic. You prompted us all to grow through serving others and to appreciate our inner glow – shining with our strengths and recognising that finding our passions definitely perpetuates the domino flow for our community!

Girls, you protected all that is important to us at Fairholme – relationships, connections and belonging. The world forced you to do it differently and to stretch yourselves to manage obstacles that just kept on coming! In truth, the goings on of the year propelled you to be better people, better friends, better community members and magnificent leaders! Your work alone was one of the great silver linings of 2020!

We wish our leaders every blessing in their new adventures. May you all continue to be dedicated to the people in your lives, may you reach out to those who need care, work hard, be kind, be strong and be comforted by the fact the Lord will forever hold you in the palm of his hand.

Teaching and Learning

MR STEWART PEACOCK, HEAD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

In 2020 we embarked on several firsts; the first time that students across Years 10–12 completed their study under the new QCE system, and the first time since 1972 that a large proportion of Queensland Year 12 students sat subject-based external assessments. Yet the most significant ‘first’ was the global pandemic.

Perhaps one of the most perplexing characteristics of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it presented us with a challenge with no fixed end point. At the time of writing we still have no idea how long this might last. We learnt that online learning places increased demands on students to become more independent learners, but therein lies the opportunity to develop resilience. They say that conflict breeds innovation, that adversity creates change. So, while ‘Learning from Holme’ produced some inspirational moments, some irritating moments, some fun moments and some frustrating moments, like many teachers, parents and students across the world we experienced new possibilities to do things differently and with greater flexibility, resulting in potential benefits. Staying united and learning together, regardless of opinions on the degree of how positive versus negative potential outcomes are, one can argue that throughout 2020 we were all able to see how truly adaptable life can be.

The Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) is now the ‘main game’. For our girls, achieving their best results in their subjects and courses is the key to maximising their ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank). Yet, balancing their studies with nonacademic pursuits, for most, remains in context.

The single biggest change in the new QCE system is the way students are now assessed in General subjects. Three school-based assessments and an external assessment means fewer assessments overall — an emphasis on quality over quantity. Thankfully, in response to the pandemic, the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) reduced the number of internal assessments for Queensland Year 12s by one, to alleviate the pressure on students.

Fairholme College received very positive feedback from the QCAA with regards to our Endorsement and subsequent Confirmation submissions for 2020. Under the new system, Queensland schools are required to develop internal assessments according to the parameters outlined in the syllabus. These assessment items are then submitted to the QCAA for endorsement before they are used in the classroom. This process ensures that all assessments provide sufficient opportunities for students to demonstrate syllabus requirements and to build teachers’ capacity to develop high-quality assessments. Confirmation, on the other hand, is the annual quality assurance process for ensuring the comparability of student results for summative internal