Just last week we had 28 people from across all 3 regions come together in Melbourne for our final Free to Flourish immersion of the year.
We spent 2 days at Woodline Primary where the focus is on using Reggio Emilia inspired inquiry to place wellbeing and research though play as the lens for learning.
Our third day was spent with the leaders of Newmark Primary challenging us to rethink the purpose of education and the role it plays in children’s lives, in the afternoon we got to see their vision and purpose in action as we spent time observing and engaging with year 4/5 children working on their Project Ventures designing solutions to help Yarraville Community Centre reduce their energy consumption and the Year 6 children working on their personal social enterprise business that will be launching in Term 4 with stalls at the Purpose Precinct of Queen Victoria Markets.
On Thursday we visited Dr Esme Capp and her team at Princes Hill to learn about their collective inquiry model that utilises community experts to leverage projects into the real world. It was inspiring to hear about the wayfinding project that began with helping Prep learners learn the stories of the playground and has evolved into working with local council to design new signage in and around the school site as part of community wayfinding. The week concluded with a workshop for attendees at the LEVNT office to reflect on and process learning into tangible change for their own community by leveraging an Experimental Design Canvas.
All schools that we visited were vastly different but the message was united around the concept of clarity of identity and purpose. Something that the group reflected we have been gifted as a system in Growing Deep and Free to Flourish.
Feedback from Participants
"The immersion tour was a week of wonderful learning and challenge. It was inspiring to see different philosophies of education and schools who have a definitive and beautifully articulated 'why'."
"The Free to Flourish Immersion was both practical and inspiring. Seeing how learning environments can be intentionally designed to spark investigation, and having the chance to connect with other educators, gave me concrete ideas that I can adapt and transfer into our own setting. It has created a strong sense of hope for what our kindergartens and schools can continue to become, and for the skills, mindsets, and growth our students can continue to achieve."
"This immersion provides provocations for staff in all settings including secondary - don’t let the ideas that they are primary schools stop you from exploring how schools are living their “why” and keeping students in the centre."
"The Melbourne immersion felt as though it was designed around my own personal philosophy. I feel my passion for teaching has been re-ignited. I look forward to the future working in Lutheran Education and am grateful that this system has put the child at the centre of education."
"An amazing immersion that challenged and inspired me. The depth of learning and the meaningful conversations all contributed to an environment of growth. I’m returning to my learning community with practical insights, and a strong desire to lead meaningful change."
Kim Powell
Learning Leader: Innovation
kimberly.powell@levnt.edu.au
