2026 and Beyond – Plans and Updates

Living School's 2026 and Beyond

By John Stewart, Conductor of Living School

(no AI used)

Co-Learning not just a ‘service-provider’

Firstly, we want to be a co-learning community – not just a ‘service-provider’.  This is important: parents and carers (and our staff) enrolling in Living School understand our community focus is developmentally sound because we know it takes a community to grow a learner.  You are a key stakeholder (sometimes I have visions of people running through villages with ‘stakes’! Gulp!!).  You would have received surveys – please take the time to respond – as we will be using this data regularly and referencing input to refine and improve our programs.  We will listen – and we will adapt and evolve.

There are four key areas we have been planning over the past year – and earlier – as we continue to map to our strategic goals – what we call sight-lines.

Brown and Jolly Middle School program

The Heart of a Town should be children – rehousing our amazing middle school to become a core feature of the CBD – or heart – of Lismore.  And we are pushing to be in that space from the start of next school year – or after the first term – if we can swerve through all of the regulations.  I can communicate the Middle School is going to be even BETTER!  We are soon to finalise a lease that will offer us a ‘front of school’ and seven MORE learning spaces.  It cannot be better for our plans – as our students WILL be integral in our narrative, which will be documented as “The School the Kids Built”.  To initiate this, we have a professional documentary maker working with a middle school project to teach the art of narrative and documentary-making.

Thriver (Survivor and Alone) - a unified camping and intentional outdoor experiential character development program.

This is a program that will map out our camps and outdoor experiences so they are intentional, well-planned. We are looking at incorporating our Expeditionary Learning – which is on a Year A / Year B rotation – with the camps we currently offer to be more explicit in their educational and developmental goals.  As well, it will offer Rites of Passage programs – especially as we transition students from Primary to Middle School to Academy.  This is a special focus of Living School: we see the K-13 journey as an intentional pathway through seasons of change.   Our offering IS to have the whole child develop into a ‘good’ civic-minded community member – with the conviction, confidence, intellect and empathy to thrive in a rapidly changing – technologically bizarre – world.  Trust me – the future is not ‘knowing stuff’ – it will be ‘knowing how’ – and that will be based on a person’s conviction to act – to have a crack!  You cannot learn this sitting in a classroom – and you cannot learn this without making mistakes, without being challenged, without leaning into ‘hard’ things.  THAT is why Project Based Learning and Challenge Based experiential learning is VITAL!  THAT is what Living School is addressing intentionally from Kindergarten to Year 13.

Horizon (Distance Education) - this is another thread that will allow us to develop a learning

program that is not ‘locked’ into a daily timetable – place and trace.  Horizon will be offered to a small group of students in Years 9-12 initially, as we refine and develop the curriculum program.  We will be using Toddle as a learning platform, AI tutors, tutors and guides.  This program will offer a pathway to the ROSA and the HSC.

Strengthening further the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.

Living School is the only IBDP school on the North Coast of NSW.  We are trail-blazers but only in initiating this program.  The IBO is a massive global organisation with huge resources and training/assessment resources.  To be the first school between the Hunter Valley and the Gold Coast is a badge of honour – and offers an academic rigorous pathway to a global tertiary education.  The IBDP is renowned and we offer this in the most incredible campus – our Z Block campus.  Sara Correlia is our IBDP Coordinator – and is driving this program, taking on the reins of Jo Loiterton to steer this program into our second year – and first graduates.

CLASSTER APP - our new school management system

As well as these four keys, we are strengthening our administration and communication systems.  I trust you have noticed this development over the past year.  We are launching Classter for parents – and this will provide parents with an App.  You can download this app from the App Store – see https://apps.apple.com/us/app/classter/id1485845874

PRIMARY SCHOOL (K-4)

We have been arranging our staffing plans and we have some adjustments still being factored in for our Middle and Academy.  However, the K-4 Primary School is settled (although changes can happen at any time) – and we can share the following:

  • Kindergarten – Annie Roberts / Sharyn
  • Year 1 – Vicky Purser / Jayden
  • Year 2 – Anthony Penhall / Jorelle
    • And Ruby Voyzen will be with Year 2 on Friday Onland – we are excited to grow Ruby into a teaching role, now she has completed her qualifications, as we have done with Sarah Christensen this year.

       

  • Year 3 – Charlotte Pritchard / Nick / Donny
  • Year 4 – Warwick England / Anna Conomos

  • Music – Justine Bristow for K-2 (our former Music Tutor – who is a qualified primary teacher and an accomplished musician) and Adam Felton for Years 3-4.

  • Visual Arts – Penny McManus and Cindy Hill

  • Adam Felton is taking a proactive role in guiding the music across Yrs 3 and 4 at Conway – and Middle School. He will also be coordinating the music tutors, and teaching the “Rock and Water” program in K-4. He will continue to be our amazing surf coach on Fridays – yes, Onland Learning remains a key feature of our school.  Adam will also be managing music in the Middle School – and so will be a key part of our rite of passage and transition program – guiding our Year 4 students into our unique Middle School.

 

We are also implementing a Year 4 Passion Project – Capstone – to move our student’s understanding of inquiry based learning focus toward project based learning – and this will be a good headstart entry into our Middle School’s Catalyst Curriculum.

SPORT AND THRIVER - Areas of focus for staffing development

Although I cannot share the staffing outline for the Middle School or Academy ‘just’ yet – I can inform our community that we are looking at our Sports and Outdoor Education program.  As mentioned our Thriver program will offer a more unified and organised mapping of progress through the VAST learning lens (our emphasis on character development).  We will offer ‘training’ sessions as part of our new teacher role descriptions – so we will offer after school support for sports and team training.  Jorelle Yock will play an integral role in this development.


This will expand on our Expeditionary Learning – to incorporate all of our camps and add new rites of passage.  We are also looking to further develop this through our unique Friday Onland program – so it is intentional and targets academic and social/emotional growth.  Parents are invited to view this outline soon – and to make comments.  We have been working on this outline since April and staff have had input – as this is a major pathway of difference for Living School.