Curriculum News

Everyday Matters

The College is committed to providing excellent and relevant professional development for their staff. During the week prior to students returning to a new year, all new teachers were privileged to attend a one day in-service through Discoveries, which centred on Relationships @ Work.  There was much discussion between staff members regarding the importance of positive and cohesive relationships in the work environment and Discoveries presented a number of straightforward strategies that could be used should conflict arise in the work place, or indeed in personal life. Additionally all College Leaders and Pastoral Care attended workshops, tailored to the requirements of their roles within the College.

Habits of Mind

Costa and Kallick define Habits of Mind (HOM) as “a set of 16 problem solving, life related skills, necessary to effectively operate in society and promote strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity and craftsmanship.” Understanding how we think and equipping ourselves with the tools to enable us to work through problems that may arise are essential skills everyone requires.  Putting these habits into practice so that they become routine and a part of our general vocabulary, is probably a little more difficult.  Please assist us in promoting these habits by adopting the HOM language and modelling these essential life skills at home.

Learning Extension and Enrichment

At Genesis, we believe that every child should be provided with the opportunities to develop to their full potential. Our aim is to extend and enrich students in one or more domains through:

• exposure to special programs and competitions,
• a differentiated classroom teaching approach, and
• the provision of a Learning Extension and Enrichment Program (LEEP), either as elective subjects in the Secondary School or special programs in the Primary School.

The identification of student ability and aptitude through a variety of diagnostic testing modes assists in the academic profiling of each student.  Each academic profile is built upon the results of diagnostic tests, including NAPLAN and Edutest, academic reports, psychological assessments (if available), performance in external competitions, and teacher recommendations.

A dedicated Gifted and Talented Team, together with classroom teachers, use these profiles to guide them in providing appropriately targeted and engaging academic support for identified students.

Read Every Day Program Commences

Formally known as Support A Reader this rewarding program is designed to assist Prep to Year 3 develop stronger reading skills in a fun learning environment. The program operates Monday to Thursday 8:30 am – 9:30 am and we are currently calling for volunteers to join us in 2020 to work one-on-one or in small groups with our readers. Flexible times to volunteer within the hour available.  Please join us at the Read Every Day information session to learn more about the program here and how you can be involved.  Register your interest to Gayle Solly g.solly@genesis.qld.edu.au or the sign on sheet in classrooms.

Secondary Assessment Calendars

Assessment calendars are published in Parent Lounge and Student Café as both a PDF and editable version.  Parents and students are encouraged to take a careful look at the calendars and plan accordingly.

Assessment for Years 7-10 can take a variety of formats such as research assignments, tests, practical activities, student folios and in-class tasks. In-class tasks will not be published on the assessment calendar as they are intended to provide a point-in-time indication of a students’ progression and feedback on student learning.  All assessment (in-class or other) makes up a student’s final semester grading.

Year 12 Academic Results 2019

An OP is a student’s position in a state-wide rank order based on their overall achievement in Authority subjects and indicates how a student has performed in comparison to all other OP-eligible students in Queensland. Students are placed within broad bands from OP1 (highest) to OP25 (lowest) that are used to determine tertiary entrance. High demand university courses are offered to students with higher OPs.

At the end of last year, the realisation of hard work and commitment has finally paid off for Genesis students as their journey of formal schooling came to an end.

We congratulate our class of 2019 on their results. May they each pursue their individual passions with the purpose and determination that has assisted them throughout their school life at the College. Our goal has been to encourage, challenge and nurture students so that they can pursue and reach their potential beyond school and become active and servant-hearted members of the workforce.

Congratulations go to Sophie Kingsford and Robert Burton for achieving an OP1. However, it is not only these two OP1 students that have reason to celebrate, with a large number of students from Genesis Christian College achieving an OP1-10 and many gaining entry into their preferred tertiary or after school pathway courses

Nichola Welsh, Di Todd, Fiona Hogan, Anne-Maree Kingston & Wayne van den Bos

Curriculum Team