‘Wellness focus’: New Lindfield Learning Centre to abandon traditional ways of teaching
THE principal of an in-demand new school on Sydney’s north shore has given the NSW public school system a caning for churning out a generation of stressed-out students as she prepares to lead an education revolution.
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THE principal of an in-demand new school on Sydney’s north shore has given the NSW public school system a caning for producing a generation of stressed-out students as she prepares to lead an education revolution.
Stephanie McConnell will throw the traditional school playbook out the window as she takes both students and teachers into a brave new world of “empowerment” and “constant diagnosis” of performance to develop “well-rounded, resilient” children at the $40 million Lindfield Learning Village, which opens early next year.
“I’ve constantly seen the system isn’t serving the needs of our students and there’s a need for someone to step outside the boundaries and take risks in changing how we prepare our students for life after school,” the former Turramurra principal said.
“The underlying passion for me is to do something differently, in terms of education in NSW.”
Out will go school bells, desks facing the front of classrooms and the traditional ways of measuring a student’s success.
And in will come more choices for students, open learning spaces (including around ‘campfires’, ‘waterholes’ and ‘caves’), a modern mentoring system and a greater focus on children’s wellbeing at the K-12 school.
Ms McConnell says it’s time to remedy the emotional trauma caused by the “pressure to perform” in NAPLAN testing and the Higher School Certificate.
“The number one change we have to make (in the school system) is the way we measure success,” said the former head English teacher at Killara and Merrylands high schools.
“Everything about the way schools are set up, the way we assess kids, the way we teach them, the HSC and the whole emphasis that is placed on that and NAPLAN … is putting too much stress on students.
“At my previous school, I had a Year 7 student come to me in tears worrying about their NAPLAN results and what will happen to them in life if they fail. This is just awful.
“The anxiety levels that I see … well, I don’t believe I’d be doing my job properly if I just sat back and accepted the status quo.
“Student wellbeing is a big motivator for me.”
She said testing of students should be “just one slice of the pie” – “but unfortunately that one slice has become the whole pie”.
“And it’s seen a rise in anxiety levels in children,” Ms McConnell said.
“For me, the real HSC success story is the kid who was giving up on it and never going to make it, but with the right support they managed to get through it. That story in itself is the success of the HSC for me, not how many kids get 99.5 (in their Tertiary Entrance Rank), which is a great achievement but it’s not the whole story.
“It’s more than just about academic achievement. Students need a balance of sport, music, dance and drama, and a social life.
“We want to produce a well-rounded student who is successful in life.”
Ms McConnell is abandoning the traditional school bells because “they are a product of a system that takes responsibility away from people”.
“We need to develop responsibility in children from a young age because I think we underestimate our primary-age children in that respect,” she said.
And there will be no uniforms in the first year because there is no official school name yet. Plus, Ms McConnell wants to give the community and students the opportunity to give input into their design.
‘SCHOOL WILL OPEN IN TIME’
THE much-anticipated Lindfield K-12 school has been dogged by controversy since plans for it were unveiled in 2014.
There have been fears it won’t be built in time to accommodate the first intake of 350 students (kindergarten to Year 10) early next year, after the contract for stage one works at the former UTS Ku-ring-gai campus was only awarded last month.
However, the school’s principal says she is confident the repurposed Eton Rd site will be open in time for first term next year.
“When I put this (concern) to the school’s infrastructure people, they said it will happen without any question of doubt,” Stephanie McConnell said.
“Everything is being directed to make this happen in time. I have absolute confidence in it being ready to open in time.”
RUSH FOR FIRST-YEAR SPOTS
THE Lindfield Learning Centre has been flooded with more than 1000 expressions of interest for the 350 first-year spots following recent information sessions.
“I’m booked out till the end of August to conduct interviews with parents hoping to get their child into the new school,” Ms McConnell said.
“While we’ll start small, we’ll expand very quickly so I hope people aren’t dissuaded if they initially miss out.”
The catchment area for the new school — which will eventually cater for 2000 students, from kindergarten to Year 12 — is still being finalised by the Department of Education.
However, Ms McConnell has encouraged non-locals to seek enrolment for the children at the school.
“The boundaries won’t apply till 2020, but I would like to remain open to people from non-local areas, and beyond, applying for a spot,” she said.
“We’ll have a long way to go after 2019 to reach (student) capacity so the message is that non-local applicants are going to be welcome, because it’s important people can access this type of learning from all areas across Sydney.”
THE HIPPY SHAKES
CAMPBELLTOWN Labor MP Greg Warren lashed out at the “hippy-style” new north shore school last week after his electorate was overlooked for new education projects in the recent State Budget.
“Local schools are hamstrung by infrastructure backlogs into the millions of dollars, yet this state government has decided to open the chequebook and build what is essentially a hippy-style daycare centre in the leafy suburbs of northern Sydney,” he said.
However, Ms McConnell said the hippy label was “off the mark”.
“I’m keen to dispel this hippy myth around the school,” she said. “It’s not experimental. It’s based on best practice. And it will be properly resourced.
“We’ll have really strong foundations on literacy and numeracy, and rigorous educational measurement around every level, right through to the HSC.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Lindfield Learning Centre
● 2019 intake: 350 students, from kindergarten to Year 10
● Biggest first-year group: Year 7, 60 students (two classes)
● Classrooms: 13 in 2019; 52 by 2020
● By 2021: 2000 students
● 3 new homebase schools within the building
● Provision of a 40-space childcare facility