Lanyon High School, established in 1996, is situated at the southern end of the Tuggeranong Valley in Canberra. The vision at Lanyon High School is a community fostering excellence in learning, inclusivity and active citizenship. At Lanyon High School we value student empowerment, respectful relationships, pride in our community and resilience.
Lanyon High School provides a curriculum that is aligned to the Australian Curriculum whilst at the same time aims to provide flexibility and responsiveness to students’ learning needs and interests. All students undertake a program of study consisting of core subjects, as well as Arts and Technologies subjects. The core subjects include English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Health & Physical Education. In year 7 and 8 students are also required to study Japanese and complete a rotation of short courses in the Arts and Technologies. In year 9 and 10 students have options to choose a range of electives in the Arts and Technologies, along with continuing Japanese and some other specialised subjects such as Leadership. More details of the curriculum structure and subjects offered can be found on the school’s website under the Curriculum tab.
Curriculum planning is designed to have fluidity and teachers are encouraged to be responsive to the needs of various students and the influences of broader society. At the same time, teachers aim to have some level of commonality between classes in order to provide consistency in both teaching and assessment. A new subject introduced in 2019 is that of Enrichment. The Enrichment class has a mixtures of year groups and students have several options from which to choose. Students studying ASBAs and VLOs may choose to use this time to catch up missed work with the support of a teacher. Some clubs and externally run programs such as Band, DanceFest, Dance Nation and Drama club will occur during this time slot. Teachers offer courses that relate to their personal interests such as; automotive, upcycling clothes, horticulture and STEM club. This subject provides learning opportunities that run alongside the academic curriculum and allows both teachers and students to explore their hobbies and interests.
Assessment is comprised of a combination of larger tasks and ongoing, daily learning tasks that are assessed through a process of ongoing collection of evidence of learning. Teachers use the Understanding by Design planning framework that is used in the Australian Curriculum to ensure that learning focuses on the knowledge, skills and understandings expected for each subject and year level/two-year-band. Large assessment tasks could be exams, essays, reports, oral presentations, as well as products such as artworks or constructed items. Teachers use common assessment tasks to assist with consistency and moderation. They also use a range of class-based learning activities to determine students’ levels of achievement against the relevant Achievement Standard of the Australian Curriculum.
The pastoral care program was redesigned in 2019 in order to align the curriculum to the Personal and Social Capability of the Australian Curriculum. Along with this, each year group has specific modules that are suited to the social development of the students therein. Examples include cyber-safety for year 7 and 8, and careers planning for year 9 and 10. Pastoral Care Teachers stay attached to the Pastoral Care class from year 7 through to year 10 in order to build and maintain relationships, supporting students throughout their time at Lanyon High School.
One of the new initiatives of the school is the implementation of the Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) program which began in 2017 and will take around 5 years to fully implement. PBL is an evidence-based whole school process to improve learning outcomes for all students. It focusses on creating a clear set of behavioural expectations in each setting of the school. Students are provided with acknowledgements and rewards for positive behaviours. They also earn points which contributed to the house points system. The program involves a high level of consultation between all members of the community; staff, students and parents/carers.
Some students require more individualised supports in their learning or more flexible learning programs in order to accommodate their socio-emotional and academic needs. The school has a Learning Support Unit (LSU) and Inclusion Support Program for those students with formally diagnosed disabilities. Students’ timetables have varying amounts of time in mainstream classes or LSU classes, or they may complete their entire learning program in mainstream classes. Teachers are specifically assigned to case-manage these students. The school also takes a case management approach to those students who need modified learning programs. These students may spend time in the school Enrichment Centre to focus on wellbeing activities, be provided with additional supports or time to catch up on learning tasks due to their commitment to other activities. This can include study lines for students who are elite sports people or elite dancers and those completing Australian School Based Apprenticeships.
Parents/carers are welcome to contact their child’s teacher at any time in order to seek feedback about their child’s progress or if they have any concerns. Mid semester reports are provided around weeks 7 or 8 of terms 1 and 3 in anticipation of parent-teacher night. Parents/carers are encouraged to attend these evenings in order to develop an open line of communication with their teachers. If parents have broader concerns about their child then they are advised to contact the child’s Pastoral Care Teacher in the first instance, or the year group’s Pastoral Care Advisor.
One of the strengths of our school is that teachers have high levels of commitment to our students as ‘the whole child’. With around 360 students we can easily get to know them well, their family situations, backgrounds, strengths, interests and areas in which they need support and enrichment. Our staff are passionate about developing themselves and providing a range of opportunities to meet the whole spectrum of our student community. We trust that parents and carers will work cooperatively with us so that when students leave our school they are; successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active, informed citizens.
Barbara Monsma
Principal
(2017 - )
