TRACK 1:
Primary and Middle Schools

Chaired by: Julie Sonnemann, School Education Fellow, Grattan Institute

TACKLING STUDENT POPULATION GROWTH

14:10 CASE STUDY | Growth Corridor Schools Require Creative Solutions

• Demographics of your area – predicting the future
• Timetabling for success
• Creating a ‘family friendly approach’ in a boom environment
• Maintaining a focus on the ‘right work’

Lynette Jobson, Principal, Alamanda College
Kirsten Sullivan, Assistant Principal, Alamanda College
Ryan Ma, Assistant Principal, Alamanda College

INDIGENOUS STUDENTS

14:30 Indigenous Learning as a Lifelong Process

• Indigenous Education as a birth-to-death process
• Building education partnerships and ensuring community vision and voice is central to Indigenous education and training
• Creating culturally safe and inclusive learning environments

Geraldine Atkinson, President, VAEAI

WELLNESS AND WELLBEING

14:50 PANEL | Implementing a whole school culture of wellness

• Why we should care about wellness and wellbeing in schools
• What the evidence tells us
• What is being done today in Victoria
• Challenges and success factors to improve wellbeing
• Balancing a whole school approach to wellbeing with inclusive education for specific cohorts
• Creating an ecosystem of support that involves teachers, support staff and parents

Nadine Bartholomeusz-Raymond, General Manager, Education & Families Group, Beyond Blue
Rhys Coulson, Principal, Templestowe Heights Primary School
Jeanette Rawlings, Head of Campus, Haileybury Berwick
Moderator: Dr. Peter Goss, School Education Program Director, Grattan Institute

15:30 Afternoon tea and networking break

TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS

15:50 CASE STUDY | Inspiring Innovation: Wooranna Park Primary School

• Build your own STEAM Centre
• Own your own intellectual property with BLOCK CHAIN
• How capable are primary school students with TECHNOLOGY

Ray Trotter, Principal, Wooranna Park Primary School
Kieran Nolan, Educational Technologist, Wooranna Park Primary School

SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

16:10 PANEL | Improving School Performance

• First steps towards progress
• Key structures for school improvement
• Defining quality teaching and learning in your school
• Teaching towards the test (NAPLAN) – yes or no?

Mal Cater, Principal, Mentone Grammar
Andrew Moore, Principal, Ruskin Park Primary School
Vanessa Harrison, Principal, Melton Primary School
Annette Rome, Principal, St. Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar School
Moderator: Julie Sonnemann, School Education Fellow, Grattan Institute

TRACK 2:
Secondary Schools

Chaired by: Dr. Jen Jackson, Education Policy Lead, Mitchell Institute for Education and Health Policy, Victoria University

INDIGENOUS STUDENTS

14:10 CASE STUDY | Creating a place of belonging for remote Indigenous students in Melbourne

• Creating a community: leveraging partnerships to open a new school with a clear mission
• School culture: from cultural safety to cultural celebration
• Parent voice: walking hand-in-hand with remote and regional parents
• Pathways Program: a long-term commitment to our students

Edward Tudor, Executive Director, Melbourne Indigenous Transition School

BEYOND YEAR 12

14:30 CASE STUDY | ReimaginED: Transforming Secondary Education

• Insights from a pilot project with Deakin University focused on micro-credentials and the development of transferable skills
• The development of a digital graduation transcript that reflects the unique skills, strengths, and interests of each learner
• The nurturing of cross-sector collaboration focused on building new models for senior secondary education

Mr. David Burton, Deputy Principal – Head of Senior Campus, Woodleigh School

SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

14:50 PANEL | Improving School Performance

• First steps towards progress
• Teaching towards the tests (NAPLAN and VCE) – yes or no?
• What resources are in place?
• Quality teaching and learning in the classroom – what does this involve?

Meg Hansen, Principal, Westbourne Grammar School
Maria Karvouni, Executive Principal, Auburn High School
Marco DiCesare, Principal, Caroline Chisholm Catholic College
Dr. Fiona Mueller, Director, Education Program, Centre for Independent Studies
Moderator: Madeleine Heffernan, Reporter, The Age

15:30 Afternoon tea and networking break

CATERING TO DIVERSE LEARNERS

15:50 Unpacking Inclusive Education – enabling giftedness and disabilities

• Understanding the clinical basis of a diagnosis
• Identifying student potential
• Differentiating teaching approaches and curriculum
• Teacher knowledge and professional development

Dr. Leonie Kronborg, Senior Lecturer, Educational Psychology & Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University

WELLNESS AND WELLBEING

16:10 PANEL | Implementing a whole school culture of wellness

• Victoria’s response to bullying
• Funding, programs to be rolled out
• Fostering student and staff resilience
• Positive learning environments for students of all backgrounds, sexualities and gender identities
• Combating alarming rises in youth anxiety and depression rates – early intervention strategies
• Parent engagement in building a culture of wellness in a school

Louisa Ellum, Head of Development and Implementation, Education, Beyond Blue
Dr. Toni E. Meath, Principal, Melbourne Girls Grammar
Dr. Ray Swann, Deputy Headmaster, Head of Crowther, Brighton Grammar School
Edwina Ricci, Project Manager: Maroondah Positive Education Network, Heathmont College
Moderator: Madeleine Heffernan, Reporter, The Age