Holy Spirit School’s annual Newman Selective Gifted Education program symposium was held towards the end of last year.
It honours pupils’ achievements, shares professional learnings from the program and promotes the Newman Selective Gifted Education program in the school and wider community.
Holy Spirit School is a Newman Selective Gifted Education school. As such, it seeks to provide a whole-school gifted education program embedded across the curriculum in a nurturing Catholic environment.
The program addresses the academic and social/emotional needs of gifted pupils, recognising these are best catered to when pupils work with like-minded peers.
Within Newman schools, teachers trained in gifted education deliver an appropriately differentiated curriculum to ensure that the diverse learning needs of gifted students are met within, and beyond, the four walls of the classrooms.
Since 2016, Holy Spirit School has been on an amazing Newman journey. The staff and parents have identified gifted pupils and worked at best addressing their learning needs in supportive, engaging learning environments.
The staff have been trained in gifted education in a variety of ways to best deliver a differentiated curriculum to all pupils, particularly those who are gifted.
The staff have worked at ensuring that gifted education, most especially through curriculum offerings and differentiation, occur across the school, kindergarten to year 6.
Last September, the school underwent Newman accreditation. This involves a team of highly-qualified educators in gifted education from Sydney Catholic Schools and external bodies reviewing school documentation, visiting classrooms, meeting with the leadership team, staff, pupils and parents and evaluating the school’s performance against the standards framework of SCS Gifted Education.
The validation panel was very impressed with the school and it was announced that Holy Spirit School was confirmed as a Newman Selective Gifted Education school for the four-year period starting this year and running through to 2023.
The school community — the Newman Team of teachers, all staff, parents and pupils — are acknowledged for ensuring that the Newman program has become such a significant part of the educational agenda here at the School.
Our symposium put on display the tremendous work and achievements of the Newman pupils and the Newman program.
Article originally appeared in the Liverpool Champion