Co-ed learning opportunities at Penrhos While Penrhos is firmly committed to an all girls’ learning environment, we also offer a host of initiatives which are designed to facilitate student collaboration in co-ed working environments. Penrhos Wesley Year 7 collaboration days Year 7 students from Penrhos collaborate in academic and pastoral learning opportunities over three jampacked days with their counterparts from brother school Wesley College.
Penrhos Aquinas Art Club for Indigenous program Penrhos Ngala Maya students will meet with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys from Aquinas College each term to collaborate as part of the new PenrhosAquinas Art Club project.
Hosted across both campuses, students apply their 21st century skills to navigate modern world activities — at Penrhos, small groups of 10 girls and 10 boys take to the dancefloor to choreograph their own pop or jazz routine, cook up a storm in the MasterChef challenge, try their hand at podcasting, virtual reality and 3D filming, Minecraft design and textiles challenges.
Student art collaboration with a cultural focus is a significant opportunity for the sharing of stories, ideas and experiences. Through the process of creating their artworks, students talk about the messages they want to share with the broader community and students from both schools offer support to each other as they explore current issues such as racism, prejudice, educational opportunities and access to culture.
At Wesley College, the other half of the cohort cycle through some phenomenal team-building exercises including percussion composition, STEM-focused Formula One engineering, Indigenous and cultural activities as well as design and technology projects. The final day provides some competition between groups through an Escape Room challenge, as well as bit of down-time around a social sausage sizzle. “The days are full of excitement, friendship and comradeship as girls and boys work together to solve real-world problems, use innovative technologies and learn new skills. This is just one way we are preparing our girls to be future-ready and prepared for a coed working environment,” said Assistant Dean of Teaching and Learning, Shannon Armitage.
The first artworks will be a set of murals, one for Penrhos and one for Aquinas, which celebrate this year’s NAIDOC theme of ‘Always Was, Always Will Be.’ “In contemporary Aboriginal communities, the differentiation between women’s business and men’s business is still most evident in the custodianship of stories and sacred places.” Working Two Way (2020). “There are times where it may not be appropriate for students of either gender to participate in an activity or practice, however it may be important for them to witness and appreciate these. Co-ed collaboration allows students to access and gain a general understanding of both sides.” says Penrhos Aboriginal Liaison Officer, Jess O’Donnell. By forming a relationship with boys’ schools, Penrhos students can learn more about the knowledge which Aboriginal males have custodianship for. Penrhos girls give back reciprocally and will share their experiences and knowledge wherever appropriate. For example, on a recent visit to Aquinas, the boys demonstrated their dancing and spear throwing and played the didgeridoo so that our students can begin to understand and appreciate their significance.
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THE PENRHOSIAN
