Last week MRPS was featured in a 45 minute presentation at the national Edutech 2014 Congress in Brisbane. Six of our staff attended the congress which attracted over 5 000 educators with international keynote speakers, including Sir Ken Robinson and Sugata Mitra, who are luminaries in the field of education.
What was very exciting was the fact that MRPS was invited for the first time ever to present at the Edutech conference! Our very own Mr K and Mr Mainard presented “Our (school’s) journey to an inquiry led, flexible learning environment: lessons from 3 years at EduTECH” to an audience of over 900. Their presentation was enthusiastically received with delegates immediately tweeting their approval and support.
One of the most affirming comments came from the General Manager of ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority ) who, having listened to our presentation, then took the stage and said, “Thank you Margaret River Primary!” because we have encapsulated the vision ACARA had hoped for when designing the Australian Curriculum. He said, “the process of immersing the staff and implementing it creatively within our own inquiry-based learning pedagogy was excellent and heart warming.”
It was a huge buzz ……
The conference overall was outstanding. Our presentation was a career highlight for me and I felt very proud to be associated with MRPS. The hard work by our staff over the years was showcased to over 900 participants from all over Australia. It affirmed to us that we are on the right track with our implementation of the Australian Curriculum.
Edutech K-12 Congress aims to provide: Big picture vision and strategy for Principals and their leadership teams looking at how teaching and learning technology can be used to improve pedagogy and educational outcomes; and better prepare students for the tech-world of tomorrow. [Edutech 2014 Congress website]
Mr K acknowledged the years of work our staff have invested in developing and implementing Inquiry-based pedagogy at Margaret River Primary School. How wonderful it was to hear from other leading educators that we are out there on the right track as we continue to pursue our school vision of providing an innovative 21st Century learning environment to enable “our students to become lifelong learners, active participants and resilient, accomplished creators of tomorrow’s history.” [MRPS School Vision Statement]
Written, photos and posted by D. Veary
You summed it up well wsek. We have never looked back since enrolling our daughters. They came from a Perth Montessori school and fitted straight into the enquiry model. Many thanks to all the staff at MRPS. And can I just mention the P&C as well. Their cooperation with the school and the fundraising they do is immeasurable.
I agree. A progressive school where our kids are valued for who they are, how they learn and where they are heading. Thankyou MRPS.
I teach in Rockhampton Qld and attended the presentation MRPS gave at the conference. It was inspiring and has been the motivation to make change in our Primary School. Thank you.
Sounds amazing!
As a parent of a child at MRPS, I am very proud of all the staff members who attended the conference. We have great teachers, EA’s and staff at our wonderful school, and I must add one excellent Principal.