Building Character - Sustainability

Y-Care

Y-Care is our targeted social and emotional wellbeing and pastoral care program in junior secondary, offered over the course of two years through a mixture of presentations, group workshops and online activities. Each student has a care class teacher, year level coordinator and targeted support staff who help them to navigate the challenges they may face as they transition into young adults. Topics include mental health awareness, healthy relationships, cyber safety and character development.

 Y-Track

At Yeronga SHS, we value students “ability to build social networks of support and feel confident as learners, and to manage the difficult and challenging emotions” they will face throughout their teenage years. (Brunzell et al, 2019, Berry Street Education Model). Students at Yeronga SHS who experience difficulty with their transition to high school can be provided with a mentor teacher to help re-engage with their schooling and find outlets for their stress. This research centred program offers students weekly check-ins, goal setting and support conversations. If you feel your child may benefit from some additional support, you can book an appointment with the Dean of Students.

Y-Reflect

Students who disengage from their education often find the need to re-build connections with peers and teachers. At Yeronga, we offer an activity based detention program whereby students work with teachers in various clubs during their breaks as a consequence for lateness, uniform and behaviour. The purpose of this is to provide students with opportunities to re-engage rather than disconnecting further from their learning.

Philosophy and Reason

Philosophy will be taught to all year 7 and 8 students at Yeronga State High School, once a week. These sessions will be conducted during a designated lesson coded PRI on the timetable.

Philosophy at Yeronga involves developing a ‘community of inquiry’ that is based on the values of care and respect for all its members.

Why is Philosophy and Reasoning important?

Philosophy provides opportunities for students to investigate philosophical ideas that have shaped and continue to influence contemporary society, including what it means to be human, how we understand the role of reason in our individual and collective lives and how we think about and care for each other and the world around us.

Philosophy aims to develop students’ thinking skills in order to develop a depth of engagement with other subject areas and improve written expression. Philosophy will be taught to all year 7 and 8 students at Yeronga State High School, once a week. These sessions will be conducted during a designated lesson coded PRI on the timetable.

Philosophy at Yeronga involves developing a ‘community of inquiry’ that is based on the values of care and respect for all its members.

Philosophical Inquiry:

• enables students to participate in facilitated philosophical discussions about the big questions of life
• enables students to participate in facilitated philosophical discussions about the big questions of life
• assists in the development of thinking and social skills
• encourages students to develop hypotheses, give examples and reasons, build on each other’s ideas, justify decisions and recognise inconsistencies in arguments
• values the ability to change one’s mind in response to a justified reason
• helps students to think deeply, make reasoned judgments and deal appropriately with conflict
• allows students to apply their knowledge more effectively
  

The teaching of Philosophy directly addresses many of the General Capabilities in the Australian National Curriculum.

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