Service

Pastoral Care

All staff at the College are pastoral carers; in our many different roles and varied interactions with the girls, we strive to ensure the girls’ safety – physically and emotionally - and to support the development of their identity and sense of belonging, whilst honouring their passions, strengths and personal journey. We acknowledge this is key to allowing them to engage fully and successfully in their learning experiences.

‘A supportive and proactive learning environment promotes inclusion and collaboration’[1] and thus, in turn, effective care makes meaningful learning possible.

We recognise that effective pastoral care is important to the girls’ learning and something they all deserve from our community. We purposefully craft small family units – Holme Groups – in which girls interact with others from their Middle or Senior School each day, in some fashion. These small groups attend Assembly and Chapel together and work with their entire House each week. Beyond that, they celebrate together, encourage, support and share the journey together, just like a family.

The College actively pursues excellence in this field in both the day school and within the boarding community. A purposeful approach to this care is led collaboratively by The Wellness Team - a staff group whose expertise spans emotional, academic, health, boarding and spiritual care. Our dynamic approach promotes inclusivity and finds foundation in a restorative approach to managing relationships within a community.

Holme Groups undertake House-based projects throughout the year and devise their own activities to complement these. Groups work together towards our spirited Interhouse sport carnivals and cultural competitions each year. These shared activities are critical to a strong sense of belonging and genuine connections across a broad range of girls in the Middle and Senior School.

Throughout 2021, our Year 12 Leaders were absolutely vital to House and Holme Group connections, to establishing and sustaining a sense of identity and belonging, and supporting and recognising the accomplishments of the girls. Their purposeful care of the House – girls and staff – was most effective and truly commendable. This work is at the heart of the precious Fairholme spirit.

[1] Practice Principles for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Victorian State Government.

Learning Pathways

MS ARLIE HOLLINDALE, CO-ORDINATOR OF LEARNING PATHWAYS

CLEARING THE PATH AHEAD...

There’s no such thing as a clear pathway. Guy Laliberte

In 2021, Fairholme students accessed a plethora of unique opportunities, to explore their pathway interests in a supported, structured program. The dynamic learning journey of industry-based experiences, tertiaryequivalent study, online study strategies and authentic work placement, sees our students explore areas of career interest, as well as gain nationally-recognised qualifications; all whilst contributing to their ATAR and QCE. Direct entrance pathways to tertiary and postsecondary study complement and enhance our students opportunities, as well as gain them an employment advantage. The overabundance of choice through direct partnership with local, interstate and intrastate training providers, within our 2021 Pathway Programs, rivals no other Independent school in Queensland. Forging new networks and creating leading learning experiences guarantees that our program remains at the forefront of relevant education and training standards. Fairholme College is continuing to clear the path for our students, to ensure they are ahead of their counterparts as they travel through their Senior schooling journey. The Health Pathway Program proved the most sought-after learning experience in 2021. Enhancing the program with further off-campus experience at SQRH, Lifeflight and USQ allowed our students to upskill to a tertiary level within the Health industries. Whilst COVID-19 restrictions created an unprecedented challenge in accessing relevant hospital placements, our partnership with the Mater Hospital in Brisbane secured this opportunity for our students; an opportunity unique to Fairholme. Immunisations, serology testing, COVID-19 vaccinations; all mandatory Qld health regulations were followed within our own Health Hub, by our students.

To enhance the existing sought-after Health program, another pioneering school program was developed in 2021. Through partnership with local medical training facility, Rural Medical Education Australia (RMEA), formerly QRME, our Fairholme students were the first to access the opportunity to study a Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance. Including 120 hours of practical placement within the areas of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Dietetics and Nutrition, Podiatry, Speech Pathology, Exercise Physiology and Audiology, this qualification has been identified as the most relevant level of study aligned to the Allied Health Assistant roles within organisations such as State-funded health facilities and Residential Aged Care Facilities. School-based Traineeships in Individual Support (Aged Care) were also completed with AVEO, Toowoomba.

Animal Studies was reintroduced in 2021; as a pre-requisite for studying Vet Nursing, this VETiS-funded qualification proved popular with our students. Students explored the care of domestic animals, including dogs, cats and birds, as well as handling reptiles and captive animals. A highlight of the program was the Animal Encounters at the Darling Downs Zoo which included feeding and handling Marmosets, Meerkats, Giraffes, Zebras and Big Cats.

The Aviation program sees students study for the Certificate III in Aviation (RePL) and CASA licence and allows them to gain commercial, financial income from flying a drone. Flying experiences locally on our own oval and in Highfields were coupled with trips to Brendale Flying Fields in Brisbane, to complete