Learning Enrichment Centre

 

The quest for personal excellence is central to the idea of success. Students are encouraged and supported to do their very best and to take an increasing responsibility for their own goals and achievements.

At Living Waters Lutheran College, we recognise that at times students will need assistance throughout their education in order to achieve their personal milestones. Our Learning Enrichment Centre (LEC) is a network of teachers and education assistants who support students, as they pursue personal excellence. The LEC offers curriculum support programs as well as curriculum extension programs to supplement student learning.

The Opti-MINDS Creative Sustainability Challenge (Opti-MINDS) is a program that gives students the opportunity to participate in open-ended and creative problem-solving events. Participants are required to form teams and participate in two separate challenges which together make up the Opti-MINDS Creative Sustainability Challenge.

The Opti-MINDS Creative Challenge is available for students in Years 11 to 12. It involves teams applying creative knowledge, from engineering, mathematical, drawing and music, to more ‘hands-on’ skills. Teams are required to think ‘outside the box’ and students should expect the unexpected!

The Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge is an international Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) project which challenges teams to build a radio-controlled four-wheel drive to the specifications provided. The vehicle will be required to successfully navigate and complete obstacles on an off-road test track.

The goal of the project is to raise awareness, interest and enthusiasm in Engineering through the practical application of STEM subjects. The challenge can be undertaken either in or outside of school lessons. During school time, the challenge can be run during Engineering and Design and Technology classes, or simply as an Co-curricular activity.

The Engineering industry requires creative multi-disciplined individuals who are capable of problem-solving through individual endeavour and working in motivated teams. This project emulates a work situation where specialists come together to resolve a complex problem and share intellectual and practical resources to affect a solution.

We are always in search of providing cross-curricular opportunities that will provide our students with genuine learning experiences. Students are exposed to the growing demand and applications of technology and STEM programs – an area where we could reveal real world applications that students are already aware of.

Being in the early stages of developing the club, we have decided to open it up to all students who have shown an interest in drones. As we progress and develop our program, we will be focusing on the more specialised areas such as coding and the design of drones within the program structure.

The Bright Sparx Club is a partnership between Kwinana Industries Council (KIC) and Murdoch University. The program provides students in Year 9 with the opportunity to raise their confidence and aspirations while building their awareness of STEM careers.

KIC coordinates and facilitates the Bright Sparx Club, while Murdoch University Outreach Officers organise the weekly program activities.

Over nine weeks, students will:

  • Participate in a range of STEM-based activities
  • Attend a full day excursion to an industry site and Murdoch University
  • Participate in workshops involving team building, personal development and exploring career pathways.

The program will provide students with an opportunity to work together and share experiences while raising their awareness of future technologies and STEM careers.

The STEPS program is a specialist approach which can be used by non-specialists. It is unique because it works on many levels. Literacy approaches can be challenging for students who do not possess the skills needed to process information. The most effective approach to helping students learn is by identifying and applying an effective learning style. This learning style should simplify the visual perception and memory that develops the underlying processing and cognitive skills as well as literacy knowledge.

The learner will complete a whole series of activities in the order specified to make sure that he or she can:

  • Read the word confidently and without hesitation
  • Recognise the word instantaneously
  • Put the word into context
  • Spell the word
  • Break the word into individual sounds
  • Blend the word together (from sounds or chunks)
  • Define the word
  • Type or write the word.

The College has qualified staff working with students who have been identified as needing extra support in literacy based on standardised test results. In these support sessions, students will have the program specifically tailored to cater for their literary needs. Once students have a stronger and more solid foundation in literacy, they will be moved into the general English classes.

“It takes a village to bring up a child”, and likewise at Living Waters Lutheran College, we have a team of people working together to support students with learning disabilities and additional learning requirements. Education assistants work collaboratively with the Head of LEC and teaching staff in providing direct and timely support to students in regular timetabled classes with these difficulties. The role of the education assistant reflects the needs of individual students as well as school priorities and support programs.

To learn more, see additional information below: