Character and Leadership Development Program (CLD)

Today’s young people are living in an exciting time, with an increasingly diverse society, new technologies, and expanding opportunities. Early adolescents face unique and diverse challenges, both personally and developmentally, that have an impact on academic achievement. The CLD program aims to enhance the learning process and promote academic achievement. For students to become capable, they must be ready and motivated to learn, and able to integrate new information into their lives. For students to connect, they must be able to understand risks and opportunities, and be motivated to choose actions and behaviours that serve not only their own interests but those of others. For students to contribute, they must be able to see beyond themselves and appreciate the concerns of others and their community.

In the Middle School, the CLD program begins with the individual and moves to the community.  In Year 7, the focus is on responsibility and independence; in Year 8, on self awareness and; in Year 9, on developing resilience and a sense of community. Values, ethics and personal development are embedded in the Character and Leadership Development program. Lessons conducted by the Form Teacher help to address the changing needs of students by discussing relevant issues and promoting the acquisition of skills and values that help the girls to develop and deepen their understanding of these concepts, and of themselves and others.

Learning Skills

Students in Years 7 to 9 participate in learning skills as part of the CLD program. The purpose of this program is to assist students’ understanding of how they learn, what type of learners they are and develop strategies for learning that are most effective for them. The program encourages students to become reflective learners by understanding and using the language of learning.

Once students move from Junior School to Middle School, they will generally find that they have a greater number of subjects and hence teachers and this can be more demanding; the work has increased in difficulty; and students are expected to be responsible for their learning and be more independent. Success in Middle School requires high motivation and effort, strong study skills, effective time management, and good test-taking strategies.
The objectives of the learning skills program are to:

Equip students with the skills, knowledge and attitudes required for academic success

• Provide students with the opportunity to experience and develop a range of different strategies
• Increase student motivation and overall satisfaction
• Contribute to students’ academic success and lifelong learning goals
• Facilitate the development of confidence in students' ability to succeed
• Enable students to be more responsible for their own learning

• Enable students to make connections across curriculum areas
  
  

  General Study Skills	Time Management	Motivation	Literacy and Numeracy	Test Taking Skills
  Note taking Effective listening Graphic organisers Study environment Homework	Planning Prioritising Making the best use of time Procrastination Tools for time management	Mindset/attitude Goal setting Learning styles Stress management	Reading strategies Comprehension Writing Analysing questions Planning, drafting & editing Oral communication & presentation Problem solving Creative & critical thinking Higher Order Thinking skills Calculator skills	Preparing for tests Multiple choice tests Short answer tests True/false tests Memory strategies Revision techniques Study techniques Test anxiety

TSS Connection Program
Young adolescents are strongly driven by the need for interpersonal involvement. Social interaction opportunities with TSS, enhance communication and builds community connections. Years 7 and 8 are involved in activity afternoons which provide avenues for the girls to interact with the boys from TSS in a social context, strengthening the connections between the two schools. While the highlight for Year 8 is the Social, one of the most anticipated rite of passage events for girls in Year 9 is the dance classes with TSS. These opportunities to socialize and form friendships whilst learning new skills add another dimension to the girls’ experience.