Ohana Education

Ohana College provides a dynamic secondary education with a strong focus on a safe, inclusive, supportive, progressive and supple suite of educational experiences.

It is our mission as professionals to support and empower young people to achieve individual and collective success, offering an engaging, pleasurable and future-focused program. We seek to empower our students to be life-long learners, who are productive, compassionate and engaged in their communities. We believe that learning should be about having skills to navigate the 21^st century, these skills include social and emotional wellbeing as well as academic achievements.

Ohana College is a co-educational secondary school offering a nurturing and inclusive 21^st century focused educational and well-being program. As a special assistance school, we cater for a diverse range of students’ learning, developing and nurturing the emotional, psychological and physical needs of our students. Our curriculum is aligned to the Australian Curriculum, the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) and guided by the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Ohana College staff evaluate high quality, responsive and supportive programs with respect to the abilities, aptitudes and development of our students. Through targeted teaching of core subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science.

Ohana College embeds literacy and numeracy intervention strategies for those students who require additional assistance, knowing that these fundamentals are the building blocks of education. Senior students are able to begin their career pathways from year 9 if they are 15 years of age. One of our senior programs includes obtaining the Queensland Certificate of Education through non-traditional pathways, such as through third party RTO training and work experience programs as part of individualised set plans. Students begin their path to autonomy by self-directing their own pathways.

Project-Based Learning

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a student-centred learning approach, engaging students in a variety of curriculum areas, concepts and ideas. Fostering students to develop their potential as independent learners, creative and critical thinkers and collaborators, PBL explores a variety of issues through a range of projects related to ‘real life,’ experiences. This teaching and learning framework, encourages students to navigate their own learning journeys, whilst gaining skills and knowledge to assist their future career and employment aspirations.

Arts

Linked heavily to the guiding principles of PBL, an Arts-based pedagogy is also embedded throughout learning in several cohorts, acting not only as a tool for re-engagement, but also as a powerful therapeutic tool. The Italian pedagogy of Reggio Emilia suggests that the classroom environment acts as ‘the third teacher,’ (Malaguzzi 1998) and, as such, learning areas must be aesthetically pleasing, stimulating, filled with light and the constant display and documentation of students’ work and thinking. As such, students are encouraged to participate in the active creation of their learning environments and transform their classrooms to reflect the themes or topics each semester. Staff encourage students to equally participate in this process, to ensure that they are the architects of their own learning spaces, and they have autonomy over their work. This process is also linked to the ‘entry event,’ PBL activity, that is held at the beginning of each topic to promote interest and gain student buy in. Students will contribute to the learning environment during each term, where they can visibly see their efforts and track their own learning.

Service Learning/Community

Through a structured, targeted learning model, service learning is an educational approach that actively involves students in a wide range of experiences, which often benefits others and the community, whilst advancing the goals of the curriculum. Community-based activities are delivered through a progressive learning experience and are often paired with structured preparation and student reflection. Students have the opportunity to engage in a variety of community-based projects, integrating meaningful learning experiences with the curriculum outcomes.

English and Mathematics units across the Year 7, 7/8 and 9 classes, have a strong emphasis on students’ literacy and numeracy needs, with interventional support leading and nurturing students to their expected year level achievement standards in the Australian Curriculum. English and Mathematics are implemented and explicitly delivered in the curriculum delivery time allocated to targeted literacy and numeracy.

The programs implemented at Ohana College, recognise future education, work pathways or any other career or interest communicated.

Ohana College offers four pathways to provide students with the opportunity to complete their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE), whilst they attend Ohana College. The pathways include: The Arts Pathway, University Pathway, Work Ready Pathway and Individual Pathway.

All senior students are mapped out an individual SET plan, based on a subject selection form (see Appendix 2) in consultation with our Careers and Training Coordinator, Guidance Officer, Teaching staff and parents, in line with students’ interests, strengths and ability. Students are given the opportunity to guide their own learning journeys, as well as enter into the workplace.

This award is a powerful youth development program where students follow and develop their passion within the following domains;

Voluntary Service:  Volunteering time to assist others or the community.

Physical Recreation: Improving fitness and discovering new sports or active recreational activity

Skill:  Undertake a new interest or hobby or extending on a current role.

Adventurous Journey:  Undertaking a journey in an unfamiliar environment and creating opportunities for team building through sharing planning, role allocation, problem solving and accommodation physical and personality differences.

One completion of the required hours of each level, students must complete their adventurous journey.  The aim of this section is to provide students with the opportunity to learn more about the wider environment, as well as to develop their self-confidence, team work and health.  Participants are taken out of their comfort zone in an unfamiliar environment but kept within a safe and secure setting, achieved through suitable training and supervision by Arcadia College’s Adventurous Journey Supervisors (AJS).

Ohana College tailors the Duke of Edinburgh Award to support students achieving their personal best.  Taking responsibility for their goals and choices, The Bridge Award is offered to the Junior School as a positive introduction to the program.