2023 Loreto Academy

An experiential and academic program that provides challenge while fostering excitement in learning.

Loreto Academy offers a suite of rich learning experiences to extend curiosity and add depth to learning programs covered at Loreto Toorak. Open to all students entering Years 10 and 11 in 2022, and Year 9 by nomination, and facilitated by Loreto Toorak subject experts, Loreto Academy offers a suite of rich learning experiences to extend curiosity and add depth to learning programs covered at Loreto Toorak.

Scholars participating in Loreto Academy will:

• deepen their excitement for learning and intellectual endeavour;
• cultivate enhanced knowledge of a subject area or field of inquiry;
• develop soft skills such as verbal communication, interpersonal and collaborative skills, problem solving and analytical skills;
• foster character strengths and growth mindset.

What kind of learning experience will scholars enjoy?

Learning and knowing go hand-in-hand: Scholars develop a disposition to learn and make smart choices about what, how, where and why they learn. This disposition will be evident in their relentless curiosity, their command of a range of knowledge and ways of thinking, and their desire to grapple with unclear and thorny problems.

Low threat, high challenge learning experiences.

Scholars are made to feel supported. Tasks are designed to allow students to ask better questions, not just give concrete answers – support is high, but so are expectations and challenges. Scholars are liberated by their learning; their experience opens their minds to new worlds. Learning is not fixed to a specific time or place. Scholars take what they learn and apply it to all contexts.

Learning is personally significant.

Facilitators focus on how the learning is personally significant for the student. They make thoughtful decisions about learning and prioritise deep, prolonged engagement. Facilitators enable learning that allows students to build their capacity to self-manage their learning. Inquiry guides the learning and scholar engagement – there is no assessment.

Discomfort and the unfamiliar are embraced.

Scholars are comfortable with “the grey area” and are okay with “not yet” being able to do something, they tolerate discomfort and welcome complications of error-making, rather than playing it safe through memorisation.

What can scholars expect to learn?

Courses in a range of fields including STEM, Humanities, Art and Literature are offered. Scholars will receive Micro-Credentials that will be recorded on their Loreto Toorak academic transcripts. There is no additional cost to participate in the 2023 Summer Loreto Academy program.

Summer Academy: 19-24 January 2023

Theme: Ideation

Ideation is the exploration of the creative process of GENERATING, DEVELOPING, and COMMUNICATING new ideas.

“It’s not about coming up with the ‘right’ idea, it’s about generating the broadest range of possibilities.” - Hasso Plattner, Institute of Design, Stanford.

You often experience liminality in transformative moments in your life. These are moments of uncertainty, but that also are ripe with possibility.

Ideation: Taking an idea that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract through the stages of a thought cycle, from innovation, to development, to actualisation.

Objective:To promote the understanding that Ideation:

• is a creative process which promotes open thinking and risk taking to create strong and unique ideas.
• involves planning sessions which allow independent thinking and collaboration.
• instils the value of combining multiple ideas and sharing different perspectives.
• does not involve judgement; participants are encouraged to push their ideas and imagination far and wide. 

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Winter Academy: 26-27 June 2023

Theme: Sense of Direction

SENSE OF DIRECTION - the ability to orient yourself in the world.

As the theme suggests, notions of growth and moving toward the future imply elements of change and navigating through unfamiliar contexts. Change, moving from the familiar to the lesser known, is often fraught with sensations of distress and unease. Perseverance is key! Growth is about moving through discomfort while seeking both individual and collective well-being.

Having a ‘Sense of Direction’ is the ability to know your location and perform wayfinding; that is, using specific elements which may help you navigate a space. Developing your ‘Sense of Direction’ can provide you with an effective tool to assist you with managing your movements, improve future experiences, and contribute to a sense of well-being and security.

Sometimes all that is required is a simple shift in perspective to improve your understanding; this shift may include taking a different path to reach the same destination.

Experiencing moments of understanding which can result in a personal transformation are often of a transient nature, fleeting, and may occur in a random nature. Yet at the same time, these very moments can be euphoric and give much joy.

Through exposure to interdisciplinary learning, scholars are encouraged to make connections between people and places and how they relate to each other, in order to get a better sense of how things connect.

During the two-day 2023 Loreto Winter Academy program scholars will participate in 4 courses across 6 sessions, presented by Loreto Toorak expert Facilitators and guest speakers. These courses are designed to empower scholars to make sense of the world by reflecting critically on new ideas and issues by considering them from multiple perspectives. Scholars will become more deeply aware of their own perspectives, enabling them to identify global concepts and apply those concepts in inventive ways.

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