PARED School Melbourne Update - Marina Haines on YouTube

Here is the latest update on the PARED School Melbourne project.

Marina Haines - YouTube link

In March, Marina gave us a wonderful presentation on the beginnings of the third PARED school in Sydney, Montgrove College (originally Orchard Hills Preparatory School). Marina was the founding principal of this school, and retired from that position last year.

Orchard Hills Preparatory School

First class

She brought an entertaining set of photos showing the very first class of 15 boys, bright as buttons! And also the original small house and land that has become a beautiful school building and grounds. The original land featured the "grove", that served in those early years as a playground, performing arts and public speaking arena, tutorial space and anything else required at a moment's notice!  The final photo, very moving, was taken at Marina's retirement farewell dinner - attended by the vast majority of the students in that very first class.

It was inspiring to hear how well every single student's character and abilities can be developed with the care and attention given by staff members and parents in a PARED school, even in the very beginning when numbers are small and facilities are makeshift. With enthusiasm and creativity, the possibilities are endless!

Montgrove College (originally Orchard Hills Preparatory)

Marina's presentation can now be viewed on YouTube here.

Weekly "mottoes" and the human virtues program

Each month, the PARED schools bring a particular virtue into focus for different age groups.  This virtue is then explored through different mottoes circulated each week in the newsletter. Parents and staff members are encouraged to discuss the virtues and mottoes with the students in different circumstances, and to demonstrate through their own example how the virtues can be lived.

For example, last term, Redfield College in Sydney suggested these virtues and mottoes for the last week of term:

Primary school - up to year 3

Virtue - Friendship.  Motto - "I say please and thank you."

Primary school - years 4-6

Virtue - Study.  Motto - "I finish things well and on time."

Secondary school - years 7-9

Virtue - Good use of time

Motto - "I strive to start on time."

Reflection - Punctuality saves my time and other people’s time. It is a good habit which helps me grow out of laziness and self centredness.

Secondary school - years 10-12

Virtue - Personal presentation and bearings

Motto - "The eyes are the windows of the soul." (Shakespeare)

Reflection - Do I look at others when I talk to them? Do I give my full attention to the person I am talking to? Do I smile when I greet people? Do my eyes reflect happiness and peace in my heart?

New prospective families

We will be holding information sessions in different parts of Melbourne, and meeting with interested families individually, in order to explain the school model and answer each family's questions.  Please think seriously about friends and family you have who might be interested in hearing about the school - and pass their contact details onto us (or our details onto them) - we would love to hear about new families, and they might love to hear about us!

Of course, if you would like to know more about the Melbourne PARED school or have any questions about the project, please don't hesitate to email paredschoolmelbourne@gmail.com.

Warm regards,
The PARED School Melbourne Steering Committee

PARED School Melbourne Update -Town Planner etc.

Marina Haines - what is it like to be part of a new, small school?

Marina Haines, former principal of Montgrove College in Sydney, addressed parents last Sunday about what it will be like to be part of a new, small school.

Town planner

We are considering quotes from town planners, who will assist us in the monumental task of identifying a suitable piece of land, liaising with council representatives and applying for council permits and approvals.

Acquiring a site is a key priority for the steering committee at present, and securing the assistance of a town planner will be an exciting development.

Registration

We recently attended a meeting with Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) to confirm the requirements for registration.  The VRQA also invited us to attend a very helpful information session on financial governance skills for schools.

Interested families

We have been delighted to find that interest in this particular model of education is growing month by month.  The word is spreading!

Also...

Please navigate through our blog for up-to-date information about the project, links to further information about the school model and philosophy, and footage of previous seminars.

We will continue  to update you on the progress we are making on a monthly basis.  Updates will be sent by email and posted on the blog.

If you would like to know more about the Melbourne PARED school or have any questions about the project, please don't hesitate to contact us via email at paredschoolmelbourne@gmail.com, or to personally contact any member of the steering committee.  We would love to hear from you.

For more information on the PARED Foundation please visit www.pared.edu.au

PARED School Melbourne Update - Marina Haines Invitation

Following on from our last update, we would like to invite you to our first information session of 2014.  We are hosting these sessions to give prospective parents of the new Melbourne PARED school the information they need to help them with their decision regarding the enrolment of their children.

We have invited Marina Haines to address parents on the topic: “The practicalities of sending your child to a new small school”.

Marina Haines has recently retired as principal of Montgrove College – a school in Sydney of the PARED (Parents for Education) Foundation. Marina was the first principal of the then called Orchard Hills Preparatory School, which opened in 1999 with 15 children in foundation (prep). Orchard Hills Prep has now grown into Montgrove College for Girls and Wollemi College for boys.

Her presentation will cover how parents and teachers worked together to have a fully functional school with a small number of students. The PARED school in Melbourne will be based on a similar model.  

Details:

Date: Sunday 23 March 2014

Time: 2pm

Place: Damien & Tatiana Burger’s home. 

Note:  Babysitting can be provided, but please advise the ages of children who will be attending.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could please RSVP by 16 March for catering purposes. 

For further enquiries please contact paredschoolmelbourne@gmail.com

Kind regards,

The PARED School Melbourne Steering Committee

PARED School Melbourne - Donations!

We'd like to let you know a few things that have been going on over the last few months with the Melbourne PARED school project.

In short, we're very much on track for the school to open in 2016.  As you know, it will start with a foundation (prep) and grade 1 class.  It will be coeducational until the end of grade 2, at which point it will continue on as a girls school.

Donations
We're really excited to announce that, to date, we've received commitments totalling $205,000 in donations!  We hope to use this money to purchase land in the coming months.

We also have an ongoing commitment of $20,000 per year in donations for the first few years.

Location
We are avidly searching for a suitable piece of land.  We are expanding our sights to include not only Officer, but Beaconsfield, Pakenham, Upper Beaconsfield, Harkaway and Clyde.

Melbourne school principal
The search for a principal has begun!  The PARED board in Sydney is actively looking for a suitable appointment, hopefully by the start of next year.  

Once this appointment has been made, the formal enrolment process for the school can commence.

Support from Sydney
A PARED subcommittee has been formed in Sydney specifically to assist with the Melbourne project.  This committee consists of Frank Monagle, Elizabeth McKeown and Marina Haines.

Frank Monagle was the founding headmaster of both Redfield College, and Wollemi College, where he is currently a member of the Wollemi School Executive. Elizabeth McKeown was a founding parent as well as a teacher and tutor at Tangara School for Girls and has been a member of the PARED board for many years. Marina Haines was the founding principal of Montgrove College and served in that role until the end of 2013.

School registration
We have commenced the formal application process to register our school with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, and we are on track to make the submission later this year.


The PARED School Melbourne Steering Committee 

PARED School Melbourne - Family Picnic Invitation

The PARED Melbourne Steering Committee would like to invite parents, grandparents and friends to a FAMILY PICNIC!

Please find details below:

Date:       Monday 27 January 2014

Location:  Damien and Tatiana Burger's home

Time:       11am to 4pm.

Please bring a salad and/or dessert and your own drinks.

You are also welcome to bring swimming gear!

Meat, plates and cups etc will be supplied and we ask each family to contribute $20 to the costs.


RSVP: Essential via email paredschoolmelbourne@gmail.com

PARED School Melbourne - Seminars

Seminars

We are hosting a series of seminars to introduce parents to the school and to explain the PARED model of education.

Information about future seminars will be publicised in due course.

Andrew Mullins – A school that supports parents as the primary educators of their children: Two sides of a partnership – September 2014

Andrew Mullins was one of the founding teachers at Redfield College, the first PARED boys’ school in Australia.  Andrew is now Headmaster of Wollemi College, the PARED boys’ school in Western Sydney.

Andrew describes how a PARED school works together with families by means of the tutorial system, which is unique to the PARED schools.  He will also give an overview of the academic program, and describe how the school supports parents in the spiritual development of their children and provides an education in the Catholic faith.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJGk-N0y_8U&feature=youtu.be

Dr Marie Therese Gibson – Personalised Education – June 2014

Dr Marie Therese Gibson is the Principal of Tangara School for Girls, the first PARED school in Australia.

Dr Gibson explains the school’s focus on character formation.  She describes how, in addition to the pursuit of academic excellence and the acquisition of skills, the emphasis placed on the development of virtue is what ultimately forms a well rounded and happy person. This integrated education is realised through the partnership between parents and school. It is made concrete and given a practical efficacy through the ‘Personal Tutorial System’ that is unique to the PARED Schools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAgfm0A_qnU

Elizabeth McKeown – Introduction to the PARED schools – March 2012

Elizabeth McKeown and her family were one of the founding families of the first PARED schools in Sydney.  She is herself a qualified teacher and remains an active member of the PARED Board, as well as of the steering committee in Melbourne.

Elizabeth introduces the PARED model of education and describes its key features.  She brings the personal perspective gained by being among the founding families, as well as insights emerging from her own expertise as a teacher and tutor.

http://youtu.be/tekBuyhJY7o

PARED School Melbourne - Welcome!

Welcome!

A group of parents in Melbourne is proposing to open a PARED school in 2016.

The PARED Foundation has established four schools in Sydney over the past 30 years, and has achieved great success in assisting families in the task of educating their children.  For more information on the PARED Foundation, its educational philosophy and the existing Sydney schools, please visit www.pared.edu.au.

The school will open in Melbourne in 2016 with a foundation (previously known as “preparatory” or “prep”) and a grade 1 class. One additional year level will then be introduced each subsequent calendar year (e.g.: grade 2 in 2017; grade 3 in 2018). 

Enrolments will be open to both girls and boys until the end of grade 2. From year 3 onwards this school will continue on as a girls’ school up until year 12.

We have been laying the groundwork for the school for several years already, and in 2013 we convened a more formal steering committee, under the guidance of the PARED Board.  The current members of that committee are:

Damien and Tatiana Burger

Daniel and Elizabeth Carrick

Patrick and Maureen Coyne

Elizabeth McKeown

Rosemary Mullins

Trent and Isabelle Thomas

If you would like to know more about the Melbourne project, please email paredschoolmelbourne@gmail.com.

What is the PARED model of education?

In 1982, the founders of the PARED schools introduced into Australia a personalised system of education which had been successfully implemented in many schools throughout the world.

Two prominent features which characterise the PARED schools:

·  The education is personalised: that is directed towards the whole person, seeking to integrate the pursuit of academic excellence, the acquisition of skills and the development of the student's character.

·  The Personalised Tutorial System, pioneered in Australia by PARED, ensures that each child is helped to be the best person he or she can be. It facilitates the partnership between parents and school, which ensures the children receive a holistic and efficacious education.

For more detailed information about the model and its unique features, please visit www.pared.edu.au.

Where will the Melbourne school be located?

At the moment, the steering committee is looking for a suitable piece of land in the south-eastern growth corridor.  We are looking in or around Officer, Pakenham, Beaconsfield, Narre Warren, Harkaway, Clyde, Cranbourne etc.