Welcome to 7-10

Inquire - Play - Create - Collaborate in a learning environment designed for young teens.

Small school experience

Intentionally small and multiage to prioritise personalised learning, individual and team growth and positive relationships.

Dynamic inquiry learning environment

Bespoke curriculum design, teaching models and learning formats that enable meaningful learning in indoor and outdoor locations.

Young person focused

Fostering belonging, adaptability and innovation through flexible scheduling, collaborative curriculum design and community-oriented experiences.

Our day

Our day begins at 10am and ends at 4pm.

Upon arrival, we get settled and get started with our learning plan.

Each young person's learning plan is unique, so there is no set timetable.

A learning plan will involve some or all of the following and more:

Open studio

Outdoor experiences

Studio time

Coaching sessions

Group lessons

1:1 sessions

Workshops

Inquiry time

Wellbeing sessions

Languages!

Each young person chooses the language they would like to learn in Years 7 and 8 (from the approved Australian Curriculum languages list).

While it is optional in Years 9 and 10 to study a language, we encourage each young person to continue with their language learning.

The Compass framework for learning (7-10)

utilises the dimensions of

inquiries, focused learning and partnerships

to deliver the Australian Curriculum in engaging, active and rigorous ways.

Inquiry is a fundamental part of Compass, informing curriculum design and being our core pedagogy as it is an approach that makes the most of a young person’s sense of curiosity and wonder.

Compass embraces the fluid nature of the inquiry process and realises the many forms this can take. These range from teacher to young person-initiated inquiries, guided or self-directed inquiries and project or problem-oriented inquiries.

Three levels of inquiry

Each young person is engaged in three levels of inquiry.

COMMUNITY

Focuses on the world around us and involves working as a whole cohort toward a shared goal.

TEAM

Focuses on a shared area of interest and involves working in a small, multi-age team.

PERSONAL

Focuses on you and supports you to independently pursue an interest, passion and inquiry while focusing on your academic and personal growth.

Each young person works with their teacher coaches to schedule focused learning options such as

Focused learning sessions target and support specific learning needs and preferences.

In these session, young people build upon their knowledge, concepts, skills and strategies through tailored instruction, practise and application.

This may also include a focus on habits, techniques or mindsets useful to a lifelong learning journey.

Focused learning is a time when Compass teachers pay particular attention to the young person’s level and employ tailored instruction and coaching methods.

Focused learning sessions target the learning of discipline concepts, knowledge and skills ‘just in time’ rather than ‘just in case’.

Each young person works with their personal and team coaches to identify focused learning opportunities that target learning from across disciplines that are relevant to the young person's needs, interests and goals.

Focused learning sessions include -

1:1 CONFERENCING

GROUP LESSONS

SELF-PACED MODULES

OPEN STUDIOS

Partnerships refers to relationships and networks within and beyond the school that support each young person to learn, flourish and thrive in learning and in life and feel a true sense of belonging.

These partnerships include:

The Compass team
A collab team
The Compass community.

Our unique Compass community is special to us and each person’s contribution enriches the experience for us all.

COMPASS TEAM

Family

Staff

Peers

COLLAB TEAM

Teacher coach

Connect team

COMMUNITY

QUT

Mentors

Volunteering experiences

Networking

Immersion experiences

Flexible learning spaces

Community resources

Compass secondary in action

In this example, Alex is enrolled in Year 7 at Compass.

It is Term 1 and they are currently engaged in these inquiries:

Personal Inquiry

What is the science behind skateboarding?

Team Inquiry

Who do you think you are?

Ancestry and people through the ages

Community Inquiry

Short film extravaganza:

How can short films raise awareness of social and environmental issues?

Alex will work with a teacher coach to map out the activities for this inquiry.

They will work together to link learning to the Australian curriculum at the level suited to Alex's interests and needs.

Each week, Alex will meet with their teacher coach to talk about and reflect on their progress and to identify next steps.

Alex will book in focused learning options to suit their needs. For example:

a 1:1 session with a Maths teacher to focus on angles
a small group lesson with an English teacher to look at skateboarding culture in texts
a self-paced module about product (skateboard) design
studio sessions using CAD and construction tools to design and build a skateboard.

The teaching team will collaborate with the Y7-10 cohort to identify the activities, roles and responsibilities for the community inquiry.

This will be mapped to the Australian curriculum for Years 7-10.

During the week, Alex will work on their own or with others to engage in their community inquiry activities and tasks. Each fortnight, the Y7-10 cohort gather to monitor progress, support one another and identify next steps.

Example learning experiences Alex might engage with include:

a small group task focused on designing and conducting surveys about issues that matter to the local community
a whole cohort visit to the Brisbane river area to investigate environmental concerns
a workshop with an external expert on media strategies for campaigning
a self-paced tutorial focused on local government legislation
a visit to the courthouse to witness a case related to community action
a 1:1 session with a design and digital technologies teacher to focus on user stories, website analysis and design.

Alex's team inquiry group will work with a teacher coach to map out the activities, roles and responsibilities for their team inquiry.

This will be mapped to the Australian curriculum for Years 7-10.

The teacher coach will check in regularly with the team to monitor and support progress and to book in focused sessions as needed. For example:

a small group lesson with a Media teacher to look at filming techniques
a session at the State Library to learn about and engage in archive searching
a workshop with an Drama teacher on scriptwriting
a self-paced tutorial focused on algorithms in databases
a visit to a production studio to learn about the production process
a 1:1 session with an English teacher to focus on sentence structure and punctuation to convey ideas.

ACADEMIC FOCUS

A tailored learning approach means we can boost, extend and accelerate as needed. We support all future pathways with a rigorous and fulfilling academic journey that supports each young person to thrive.