In the final week of August 21 leaders from across all 3 regions flew into Sydney for the Free to Flourish Immersion. Across the three days we spent time in the Paramatta region visiting schools that are part of the innovative Paramatta Catholic Diocese. We spent Monday at St Luke’s Catholic College in Marsden Park learning about how their Life Design program that begins in year 7 leads to a comprehensive pathway program that has students identifying and exploring their strengths, interests and missions as they seek to create lives of personal fulfillment and civic purpose. Tuesday was spent at St John’s XXIII Catholic College where the leaders inspired us with the many ways that they have created opportunity for true agency in their secondary program. We discussed how they onboard and upskill new staff into their learning culture and we heard from student leaders who spoke about their varied forms of leadership including instigating multi-faith forums across the community. On Tuesday night we were joined for a twilight session with Greg Miller, founding principal of St Luke’s and current principal of Chevalier College in Bowral who spoke to us about leading change in traditional contexts.
The final day saw us return to St John XXIII to engage in a creative thinking workshop to focus on how to take the learning from the immersion back into our own context in meaningful ways.
Reflections from Attendees
"The Sydney Free to Flourish immersion was a transformative experience. Immersed in challenging the learning experiences that provide creativity. The immersion empowered me to think critically, engage with perspectives, and discover potential. It was inspiring to see and listen to students flourish not just academically, but personally growing in confidence, empathy, and purpose. This immersion truly exemplified what future-focused education can look like."
"The Immersion Tour has been the most rewarding and thought-provoking professional learning experience I’ve ever engaged in. I wholeheartedly encourage individuals to take up this opportunity and strongly recommend that school leaders support relevant teams—ideally accompanied by members of the school executive—to participate and fully capitalise on this incredible experience."
"The Immersion was a powerful pedagogical experience for me. It showcased how our schools can approach learning using a different lens. This was beautiful supported by experienced and skilled practitioners who were extremely supportive us as we unpacked the necessary philosophical and pragmatic steps make changes for our on contexts."
"This professional development has been both inspiring and challenging, pushing me to reflect on the direction of our practice. It has become clear that meaningful change is necessary within our school, and that we have a responsibility to actively drive this change. The sessions highlighted the importance of being future-focused in our course design, creating pathways that recognise and build on students’ strengths and capabilities, rather than relying solely on content knowledge and grades as the measure of success. This shift will empower our students to shape their own futures with confidence and purpose."
Kim Powell
Learning Leader: Innovation
kimberly.powell@levnt.edu.au
