Together in Learning. Together in life.
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Honor Non Honores 2 I The future of coeducation at Barker
Mission An Anglican community inspiring every learner every experience every day
Vision To be a leader in Christian education that is characterised by a global vision that inspires hope
Values Commitment Compassion Courage Integrity Respect
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Introduction Barker has been a part of the fabric of Sydney life since 1890. It is a thriving school with a rich heritage, providing outstanding education for both boys and girls. The transition to full coeducation completes a process that began decades ago. The pages that follow share the exciting news of our progress towards full coeducation. A Barker education is shaped by our focus on preparing for a life beyond the school gates. We seek to expose our students to diverse opportunities and experiences, so that they are able to develop resilience and adaptability within a supportive environment. Behind the scenes much work is being done to prepare for the girls that will join us in Pre-K, Kindergarten and Year 3 and from Year 7 in 2020. Educating girls at Barker is not new for us. In 1975 girls commenced in the Senior School. However, the world has changed enormously since 1890, since 1975 and certainly since 2000. More than 80% of the world’s great schools are coeducational. The world has shifted. The world of work, the world of education, the world of employment and the world of leadership has shifted considerably in the 21st Century.
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We have a beautiful heritage at Barker, yet we are preparing students for a future that will be far less defined by gender roles than in the past. The Christian heritage of Barker is the inspiration for our values and purpose. We draw on the rich narrative of the life of Jesus yet welcome all traditions into our diverse community. This is an exciting time to be considering a Barker education for your child. The School’s culture is inclusive, innovative and full of hope for the future. We are very excited about the years that lie ahead.
Phillip Heath AM Head of Barker College
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Transition to Coeducation
With a focus on the future, Barker College will transition to a fully coeducational environment by 2022.
Pre-K rten Kinderga Year 1, 3 11, 12 Year 10, Pre-K rten Kinderga 11, 12 , 10 r a Ye
2018
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Pre-K rten Kinderga , 3, 4, 7 2 1, r Yea 11, 12 Year 10,
Pre-K rten Kinderga , 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 Year 1, 2 11, 12 Year 10,
Pre-K rten Kinderga , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Year 1, 2 11, 12 Year 10,
2022 2021 2020
2019
Enrolments are open for girls to commence at Barker in Pre-K, Kindergarten and Year 3 in 2019. We also welcome enrolment applications for girls wishing to commence Year 7 in 2020 and beyond.
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Pastoral Care Well-being @Barker
As we move towards full coeducation, we have evaluated our existing wellregarded pastoral systems. We will be enhancing these to provide a more varied experience for our students with further opportunities for them to engage with other year groups. The development of positive self-esteem, the ability to set meaningful goals and a growing sense of resilience can be enhanced through a well organised and delivered pastoral system. Consideration is being given to an overarching House system to bind groups. Mentoring and leadership opportunities are available for older students within a vertical system as well as occasions where younger students can develop their own skills within a safe and supportive environment. Pastoral Care assists with the improvement of social cohesion which in turn can enhance a student’s overall sense of well-being and connectedness. Research suggests that a strong relationship with pastoral care leaders is paramount to creating a sense of belonging and academic morale. With the size of a pastoral unit at approximately 22 students, every student at Barker is known and cared for. The School is big enough and diverse enough for everybody to find their place, but the pastoral care system is well articulated to ensure individual care.
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Our Pastoral Care system sees the welfare of students as the responsibility of all staff, with key staff in House and Year leadership roles having overarching responsibility for students’ care. Our focus is on the well-being of the whole student; the academic, personal and social. At the core of a student’s school experience is the sense of belonging they gain from being a part of a community. The sense of unity that students from Pre-K – Year 12 gain from being a member of a House is genuine and helps students connect with each other, often bridging year groups. In Pre-K to Year 6, the class teacher is the primary pastoral carer, supported by our specialist teachers and support staff. The Junior School Executive Team oversee all pastoral and wellbeing programs in consultation with the Student Support Team.
Co-curricular Program Something for Everyone
Every Barker student enjoys the benefits of a broad, well rounded co-curricular program that includes creative and performing arts, sport, STEAM, debating, service and leadership development. The Barker program allows for greater student choice and opportunities for all our students. Co-curricular activities play a vital role in contributing to the sense of community felt by our students and staff and the physical and mental health benefits of being involved in a sports program are well known. Barker maintains a long standing membership of a variety of school and community sporting associations which will be maintained in the future. Given the increasing number of students, we have already expanded our sports choices to include AFL, Girls’ Rugby 7s, Boys Dance and Touch Football. Our focus is on providing the best possible co-curricular programs to complement the learning that occurs in a traditional classroom setting. Our well-established and regarded Performing Arts Program incorporates Music, Drama, Dance, Debating and Public Speaking. These have run very successfully at Barker for over 40 years and will continue to be an important part of Barker’s commitment
to providing an all-round education for our students. In addition, our Robotics program continues to go from strength to strength with the Redbacks team currenty ranked in the top 10 schools in the world. The annual Symphony Under the Stars and the much-loved Barker Musical Theatre production are highlights of our annual calendar. All Barker students are involved in the Outdoor Education program, allowing opportunities for the Extended Stay Program at Alice Springs, trips to Barker’s Outdoor Education property The Grange at Mt Victoria, along with camps and other outdoor opportunities. Students are also able to take part in our long standing Cadets program which has enjoyed a pivotal role since 1900. Service Learning at Barker is another example of our commitment to developing all-rounders who are committed to lifelong learning and making a positive contribution to society. Students contribute to local initiatives including Hampers for Hornsby, the Red Shield Appeal, donations to the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter, Beyond Blue and Closing the Gap. Student leadership and mentoring opportunities are also available and students are able to promote and contribute to initiatives which are of interest to them. The future of coeducation at Barker I 9
Academic Program Choice and Opportunity
Barker’s academic program is a wholeschool Pre-K to Year 12 approach to learning. We have a curriculum that is rigorous and which values inquiry, thinking and understanding. The teaching staff at Barker is committed to a whole-school approach to curriculum development and delivery, unified by a shared sense of purpose as expressed in our Mission and Vision. Barker’s curriculum is adaptive and flexible, allowing for student choice and catering for interest and ability. Within a Teaching for Understanding framework, Barker students
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are taught to think critically, apply knowledge in new situations and develop the skills needed to become lifelong learners. We use data to track student progress during each year and from year to year, giving us a deep understanding of student strengths, areas for improvement and development over time. Barker’s Blended Learning model allows for multiple delivery modes which give students some choice in their learning. Online content, flipped classrooms and collaborative learning options, together with traditional methods of delivery, mean the best of both worlds for students and teachers.
The introduction of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) in the Junior School, has its focus on developing young learners and providing them with the skills required to succeed. An expansion of our existing offerings in the Secondary School to allow subjects such as Food Technology, STEM, Robotics, Dance and Society and Culture, will allow for greater choice and opportunity for all students and augment our already diverse curriculum. Our curriculum develops the knowledge and skills needed by our future leaders; it challenges students and prepares them for tertiary and further education and for a future that is in many ways undefined. Academic enrichment is for all students. This would normally take the form of excursions, visiting speakers and immersion programs. Academic enrichment is also offered through subject support programs and Focus On. The School also delivers academic enrichment through school-wide initiatives like Philosophy and Rhetoric, Writing Across the School and numerous other Barker initiatives. Gifted and talented students have specific intellectual and social emotional needs that require extension in pace, depth and complexity. The academic program in the Senior School will build on the Aspire program in the Junior School offering a compacted curriculum, moving at a faster pace through core work, increased academic challenge and opportunities for personal interests and inquiry learning. Students are identified as being suitable for academic extension through a range of measures: teacher nomination, external objective measures, internal assessment measures and above level testing.
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Master Plan Building on our Heritage Barker has been located on its current site since 1895 and successive generations of leaders and families have contributed to the beautiful campus we see today. Naturally the educational landscape has changed immeasurably within that time and as such development work and refurbishment of key spaces are a key part of Barker’s Master Plan in order to provide the best facilities for our students. Our School dreams of contributing to a sense of hope, of confidence and capacity for young learners. We are thinking of the students of Barker today, whilst building with the future in mind. Construction on our new Junior School classrooms will be completed late 2018. This exciting development will bring the youngest members of the Barker community within the fold of the Junior School. The building itself
captures the essence of a future focused teaching and learning space; light and open, with maker spaces and areas for groups to gather together. It also allows greater access to the vast resources on the main campus. Flexible and engaging spaces will provide the Prep students with every opportunity to begin their Barker journey in the best possible learning environment. The Middle School area is undergoing significant refurbishment, which will see a dedicated Hub where students can meet, play, relax and enjoy their time together, whilst still being able to access key pastoral care providers. New seating and eating areas, an expanded canteen, lockers, change rooms and bathroom facilities that are bright and welcoming with the most modern and effective designs are being constructed for our future Middle School students.
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The Sports Hall and Learning Precinct which will be located along The Avenue is a modern, purpose designed and built facility which will provide five indoor courts, gym and exercise spaces, rooms for dance, general purpose teaching areas, a cafĂŠ, viewing platform and parking for over 150 cars. This space will allow us to showcase sporting events, hold full school assemblies and gatherings as well as providing a space for the wider community to access. Careful thought has been placed on the design of this space so that it will blend into the existing landscape and respect the way in which the environment shapes down the hill, and the way in which light operates across the surface of our grounds.
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Given the successive years of planning and the foresight of previous Barker Councils, we are fortunate to have a large campus and are able to retain our green spaces. These green spaces allows us to accommodate a range of student activities across all areas of the School whilst maintaining an aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sustainable campus.
Uniform Fit for Purpose
Working with renowned couture designer Jonathan Ward, we are excited by his designs for our new boys’ and girls’ uniforms.
The Junior and Middle School girls’ uniforms retain the much loved dress and stripe, but bring a fresh new look. Similarly girls may choose to wear pants and we are pleased to be be able to provide this choice.
It is timely that we also review our existing boys’ uniforms with a view to updating and refreshing their look to ensure each of our student’s uniforms are fit for purpose across the entire school.
The Barker stripe is an iconic part of our history and it is fitting that this be evident in the designs for our students’ uniforms. We are committed to providing a uniform that is uniquely Barker, one that students will take pride in wearing and that suits the range of activities in which our students are involved.
In the Prep School, a play based active curriculum requires a uniform that supports the needs and habits of our youngest learners. Mix and match options for boys and girls are available, allowing parents the ability to choose the items best suited to their child.
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91 PaciďŹ c Highway Hornsby NSW 2077 Australia
t +61 2 8438 7999 w barker.college
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