While most students were enjoying a well-earned rest over the term break, Year 12 students have been preparing for the upcoming Trial Exams. It was great to see girls using the available revision sessions, and I would like to thank the teachers for taking the time to run these over the break. Some sessions involved targeted revision, some gave the opportunity to complete past papers under exam conditions, and others were an opportunity to answer specific questions from the students’ independent revision. Students also spent time on their major works and received feedback from their teachers. There will be a range of emotions for Year 12 as they continue to prepare for their final exams and enjoy the last full term at school.
We saw more success over the break, with our very talented Year 9 da Vinci Decathlon team earning a silver medal at the very competitive National Competition. This is an outstanding achievement which showcases the diversity of critical and creative thinking that is developed in our students. In this competition, the team achieved first place in English, second place in Cartography, Ideation and Codebreaking, and third place in Science and Mathematics. I would like to give credit to Mrs Sharna Kershaw for preparing the students so well and encouraging and guiding them along the way.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a global program in which 600,000 fifteen-year-old students from over sixty-five OECD countries complete a two-hour test to assess their skills and knowledge in Science, Reading and Mathematics. Interestingly, in 2024, Australia was identified as significantly better at creative thinking than other OECD countries. PISA defines creative thinking as the ability to generate, evaluate and improve ideas to produce original and effective solutions, advance knowledge and create impactful expressions of imagination (OECD, 2024).* This is an exciting development which is worthy of reflection. It gives us encouragement to continue to pursue and challenge students into programs that can develop a diversity of skills and prepare them to be innovative thinkers in the future.
*OECD (2024), New PISA results on Creative Thinking: can students think outside the box?, OECD Publishing, Paris