Making the transition to Junior Secondary | Coomera Anglican College

Making the transition to Junior Secondary

As an adolescent growing up, I can remember (for the most part) being free-spirited without a care in the world. 

By: Greg Golder
Head of Junior Secondary

Little did I know that the habits developed throughout this adventurous time, would be the habits that shape me for the rest of my life. I invite you to reflect on your life as a young teenager. Were you impulsive? Perhaps sometimes rash and not necessarily thinking through the consequences of your actions? I’m sure at some point throughout this phase, we all wished (maybe even regrettably), we’d approached some events in another way. With the benefit of hindsight, would this ‘younger’ version of yourself have responded differently, had they been exposed to the well-researched idea that you are actually forming habits of behaviour that you are likely to repeat when you are older?

Great habits are enduring and even self- improving, like when the teenager makes a habit of being productive, exercising or forward planning. Poor habits can be self-defeating and even unhelpful, like when the teenager makes a habit of quitting, of cheating, or of lying. At their finest, habits provide efficient practices, structures for organization, and self-disciplines that allow the young person to lead a life that works well for them. At their worst they contribute to pressures, obsessions, and compulsions that cause the young person to follow a course of increasing unhappiness and uncertainty.

At Coomera Anglican College we recognise and understand that adolescence is a completely fluid stage of development and that the transition into secondary schooling can be tumultuous. Every student arrives at the ‘Quadrangle’ with a unique set of physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual and wellbeing challenges. These help form their habits. Accordingly, we tailor our curriculum and pedagogy to successfully facilitate wholesome engagement, in positive partnership with the home that will help shape, improve and explore habits. The Junior Secondary Campus at Coomera Anglican College provides a unique and wonderful transition for your adolescent to connect and interact, and become part of a warm Christian community, where individuality is not only accepted, but embraced.

Arrival at the Junior Secondary Campus sees every student assigned to a Pastoral Care class, where a teacher monitors his or her academic and personal development, with the support of the Head of Year. The Junior Secondary teaching team, which includes the Pastoral Care teachers, Heads of Year, Subject Specialists, the College Psychologist, the Head of Junior Secondary, and the Continuous Learning Coordinator, meet at regular times during the academic cycle. Our staff work collaboratively to ensure that holistic educational outcomes are met through discussions involving curricular scope and sequence, long-term projects, event planning, and individual student concerns. We meticulously plan for and share a common vision that informs the habit-shaping programmes we are so very proud of.

Our aim for the Junior Secondary Campus is to set the foundations for each individual student to develop and grow as we educate the whole person.  During this time, we focus on developing the skills of learning and the development of knowledge and understanding. All of which are core skills which can be used across our range of subjects as our students transition into Senior Schooling and then onto their career of choice.

While Coomera Anglican College is located in a growing region of the Gold Coast, we work hard to maintain the qualities of a small community, based on our iLR values of imagine, listen and respect. Our philosophy is based on a commitment to advancing the learning capacity of all students and to achieve outcomes that are meaningful and advantageous to the students and their future in the world. As a result, we are proud of the warm, welcoming and flourishing learning environment that has been created to foster such development. Consequently, we continue to be amazed by the growth witnessed and success-building habits that emerge throughout their journey.