Our Supporting Schools
Our Local Schools - Strengthening our bonds
St. Gabriel's is fortunate to have formed close bonds with many mainstream high schools. Opportunities for social interaction with other schools are important to our programs. This interaction could be in the form of inter school visits, sport activities or collaborative classroom and group activities.
Many schools have fundraised for St Gabriel's to allow us to purchase anything from drums to computers. We are very appreciative of this. Money raised by 2009 Year 12 Students at Barker College, allowed us to purchase a new ceiling mounted projector and AV System including a pull down screen for our assembly area, which has enhanced the usibility of this space enormously.
Our thanks go to the following schools for their partnership:-
Barker College, Hornsby; Gilroy College, Castle Hill; Oak Hill College, Castle Hill; St Patricks College, Strathfield; St Bernadette's Primary School, Castle Hill; St Piux College, Chatswood.
Students from St Gabriel's Present at St Piux College Chatswood
Collaborative Programs at work:
Design2Shine
The brainchild of the Principals of St Bernadette's, St Gabriel's and Gilroy College Schools, Paul Colyer Kathy Freeman and Brad Campbell, respectively, Design 2 Shine was conceived in 2009 out of discussions covering a wide range of possibilities that would continue the longstanding partnership between their schools.
Gilroy College is host school to high school students with hearing impairment from St Gabriel's School. Students attend mainstream classes on Gilroy College site and are supported by staff from St Gabriel's - an authentic working model of inclusive practice. St Bernadette's School has been a host school for inclusion of students from St Gabriel's for many years. Under this arrangement, students with hearing impairment from St Gabriel's spent one day of their school week in St Bernadette's classrooms learning in the mainstream environment and mixing with their hearing peers.
For the past few years this has been a valuable part of St Gabriel's Inclusion and Transition programs, however, with the nature of St Gabriel's students changing in 2010, this particular program is not running and the Principals have come up with an alternate plan for the longstanding partnership to continue. It is called: Design 2 Shine
This is a pilot project to involve St Bernadette's Year 4 students, some senior students from Gilroy College and all the students at St Gabriel's School. It is being co-ordinated by Jason Fisher, Year 4 Coordinator St Bernadette's Primary School, Dianne Hooke, Head of Campus at St Gabriel's School for students with hearing impairment and other special needs and will have input from a representative from the Parramatta Diocese.
Under the supervision of Jason Fisher and with the cooperation of senior students from Gilroy College each term for the next three terms, one Year 4 class from St Bernadette's will visit St Gabriel's for a total of one week to work on a specific project designed to improve a learning and recreation space within the school.
Each class will tackle a specific area to improve its appearance and functionality. These spaces have been identified as: 1.The small break out area between the school building and the "flat" 2.The front courtyard and play area 3.The multipurpose assembly space within the main school building. The week will be broken into one session of two days covering introductions, setting up technology spaces and planning the project.
The second session is scheduled a few weeks later to allow time to work on the plans off site, gathering required materials and skills and then the final three days will be spent back at St Gabriel's to implement the project.
The Aims of Design 2 Shine are:
- Prepare the Year 4 Students for a flexible learning environment that is part of the curriculum in Year 5 at St Bernadette's;
- Challenge all children involved regardless of ability to think creatively and problem-solve as an extension of the regular classroom curriculum
- Raise awareness of disability within the community
- Work collaboratively in peer tutoring capacities
- Provide leadership experience for the Gilroy College Students
- Provide a local, safe offsite learning environment for St Bernadette's students
- Give all students the opportunity to learn how to collaborate, co-operate, plan, manage, complete and critically review a project.
- Provide a conduit to local business from which may come financial and/or practical support for the project with materials, advice or skills
- Provide an insight into potential employment paths through working with various businesses and media.
Each class of 28 Year 4 children is broken up into groups of four and will, under supervision and guidance of the Gilroy College Year 11 Students, St Bernadette's Year 4 Coordinator, and St Gabriel's class teachers, decide on what their project will be, plan how to make it happen including how to fund it and obtain the necessary components to complete the work, work with the St Gabriel's students on aspects of their given project, and undertake promotion and marketing of their project to relevant outlets.
The nature of each project is decided on by the students as they work with their peers to plan, cost and complete the project by the end of their week at the school. The children will source materials and funds to meet the needs of their projects.
There will also be a media and marketing group from each class that will promote the project to relevant outlets. St Gabriel's Development and Marketing Manager, Georgina Springer has engaged Adrian Dolahenty, PR and Communications Manager for Bayer Health Care to come in once each term to talk to the Media delegates from each group of children about how to approach media, write and send a press release etc. She will also look to the local newspaper to get a journalist to come and talk to the students about what they look for to make a newsworthy piece of writing from a journalistic point of view.
After each project has been completed there will be analysis of it and any worthwhile lessons of improvement will be applied to the next group. At the end of the year, the pilot will be critically reviewed by all parties and a report prepared for potential funding for the following year.
The Breakout space before the work....
...and after. What an amazing improvement!