The Lakes South Morang College - Issue 7

COLLEGE CONNECTIONS

VERITAS, INNOVATE, ACCELERATE THE VIA LEARNING JOURNEY

The Lakes South Morang College takes pride in our ability to provide high quality, relevant and engaging learning programs for each and every student. As part of this commitment in 2021 we established the VIA Program that begins on the Secondary Campus in Year 7. The VIA (Veritas; latin for truth, Innovate, Accelerate) program seeks to support students to become the leaders, thinkers and creators of the future. Research consistently suggests that the key skills required for successful employment in the future are care, computing, cognitive and communication skills (National Skills Commission 2021). With these skills in mind The Lakes designed the VIA program to extend students through:

providing access to progressive, challenging, accelerated and tailored curriculum; addressing the individual academic needs of high - achieving learners with an explicit and continuous focus on the development of Creativity and Innovation; incorporating project - based, self - directed learning programs that encourage the development of next - century learning skills and competencies; promoting and modelling the value of independent and collaborative approaches to learning; and access to partnership programs with external providers including the Victorian High Ability Program and Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Programs

their time in the program. At VCE students benefit from the smaller class sizes offered at The Lakes, accessing a broad range of subjects across learning areas in combination with access to other subjects through Virtual Schools Victoria. As always, with the student at the heart of our programs, we looked to a range of stakeholders for feedback on the program. They shared with us the following: “ In VIA we work as a team using our knowledge to build our ideas and imagination - making our teamwork and learning exceptional. ” VIA Student “ In the VIA program there are many opportunities, like having the ability to dive into the depths of topics, discuss topics as a class, express your ideas and yourself freely. This program really helps and encourages all of us. ” VIA Student “ The VIA program has enabled my child to engage in critical thinking and analysis. ” VIA Parent “ The class has created a culture that values learning, is supportive and challenging. Students have the opportunity to engage in a wide academic program that embeds the capabilities for maximum learning. ” VIA Teacher We look forward to sharing information regarding the VIA program with our Grade 5/6 students during Term 2.

NAPLAN results attest to the success of the VIA program.

2021 VIA student results indicated:

100% of students were above National Standards for Reading and Spelling; 95% of students were above National Standards for Grammar and Punctuation; and 90% of students were above National Standards for Writing and Numeracy.

2022 VIA student results indicated:

100% of students were above National Standards for Grammar & Punctuation and Numeracy; and 85% of students were above National Standards for Reading, Writing & Spelling.

This program allows students to access a range of core and specialised subjects within their Year 7 - 9 Learning Programs. From Year 10 students will be supported to achieve optimised ATAR scores with access to early entry VCE and VET subjects where

applicable. Students also have the opportunity to undertake Extended

Investigation Units 3 and 4 at Year 11. This subject is offered at many private schools across the state as a preparatory course for the rigours of University study. Additionally, it allows students to deeply investigate an area of interest, allowing them to combine the range of skills accumulated throughout

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