From the Deputy Principal – Academic (K-12)
Adjustments to the Secondary Day structure for 2022
At the start of next year, Secondary students and staff will be working from a new five-period day timetable.
The current six-period day was designed to provide daily check-ins for Compass teachers with their students and to unlock time for students to be taught a Wellbeing curriculum in Directions lessons. Unfortunately, staff and students have found that the current six-period day timetable amplified key issues such as:
- A busier day with additional homework and movement around campus
- Interruptions to academic class time
- Two periods after lunch, which is not optimal for learning
- A reduction in Chapel time.
Based on this feedback, the academic leaders of the College met to design key principles upon which a new timetable could be designed.
This new timetable is designed around some key principles:
- Reducing cognitive overload – design for less classes per day
- Increasing academic care time – provide time in the day for students to access support and help from their teachers, develop great study practices and prepare well for assessments
- Create the conditions for high impact teaching and learning
- Increased alignment between academic structures across stages.
From these principles a new timetable has been designed with a consistent time each day for Compass teachers to see their class. It provides the option for shorter and longer lessons to better support a variety of teaching and learning approaches and subject types. Opportunities for supervised study periods for students in Years 7 to 10 are unlocked, helping them prepare for their Senior years of study.
