Home rooms and learning environment

Students begin at Year 4 in our Enviro immersion which is set in its own garden with a kitchen and classrooms, adjacent to the main areas of the Middle School. They spend time learning in the garden and in their classrooms guided by learning mentors, visiting the specialist learning areas for Science, Physical Education, Music and Drama. From Years 5 to 8 students are allocated homerooms within their learning precinct, which continues to develop tight knit peer groups. With the significant intake of new students in Year 7 homeroom groups are mixed with students who have been at College in primary school and new students and a camp is held early in the year to help to gel the groups together. 

Learning Mentors

From Year 4 to 6 each homeroom has one learning mentor who works closely with the children teaching them core subjects and is the main point of contact for parents.

In Years 7 and 8 each homeroom has two mentors who teach core subjects to their group and work closely with them on Triple R and other development activities such as the Year 7 camp and boat building challenge, and the Year 8 camp and Cre8 self-directed project.

Learning mentors are selected for their skills and experience in developing the whole person and form special bonds with their class each year.

Triple R

The College wide Triple R program provides a framework for student wellbeing. Middle School students have regular sessions with their learning mentors about topics such as goal setting, mindfulness, motivation, decision making and general wellbeing. A range of parent and student education sessions such as cybersafety, anti-bullying and confidence building held each year.

Houses
The House system at the Middle School divides the students into 4 groups or Houses. The four Houses are Bellerophon, Helicon, Minerva and Pegasus. The cross-age nature of the groupings gives the older students a chance to buddy and mentor their younger counterparts. Every child can make a positive contribution to their House; whether it is on the sporting field, singing in House Music or simply getting to know, support and encourage each other in the House and during House competitions. 

Regular meetings where a range of fun activities are organised by the respective Heads of House further assist in the process of uniting the students of each House. Students are proud of the Houses they represent, and the Year 8 students especially aspire to a range of leadership positions, as captains of various sporting teams or as the overall House captain.