TEACHER - LIFE DESIGN

Mentor, talent spotter, passion pusher, purpose driver, learning facilitator, pastoral carer, and coach.

The School

Having commenced in 2017 with 86 students across Kindergarten to Year 6, St Luke’s at Marsden Park is a next generation learning community within the Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD). As a ‘next generation Catholic Learning Community’ we are designing and establishing the ‘new normal’ for preschool to post school learning in an environment characterised by a flexible, stage based curriculum which nurtures and grows faith-filled, curious children to become creative contributors and innovative problem solvers for a changing world. In 2024 we will enrol over 1750 students from Kindergarten to Year 12 in addition to 77 children per day in our long day centre.

Role Summary 

With a clever use of time, ‘Life Design’ is timetabled more than any other subject or course at St Luke’s. By doing this we nurture, grow, enable and empower young people to more deeply understand who they are, what they can do, and what problems they wish to confront in the rapidly changing world. With a creative approach and innovative mindset, the Teacher - Life Design leads the development of the whole person through specialised life design content, collaborative team based projects, individualised self paced learning and other self directed options including community service, school service, micro credentials and internships so all students are well prepared for a changing, post school world.

The Person

We seek an innovative thinker and creative teacher who can manage the ambiguity that comes with providing learning beyond the core curriculum. 

With the support of part-time Life Coaches, the Teacher - Life Design nurtures and grows young adults through a strengths based coaching approach to support students to design personalised experiences which are tested and trialled through passion projects and responds to local community challenges. 

The life design program is a comprehensive approach to developing the whole person by using individualised strengths based SIM data (SIM = Strengths, Interest and Motivators). 

After establishing a life purpose statement by the end of Year 8, students in years 9 & 10, iteratively develop their personal development plan to increase the chances of post school success for each student. The Teacher - Life Design has the capacity to seek solutions by matching each student’s interests with endless learning opportunities which build their understanding of one’s self as a learner and as a person.

The person we are looking for is: 

• A curious learner that is keen to embrace new ideas and put them into practice.

• An advocate for a strengths based approach

• A person with the desire to contribute new ideas and continually improve learning outcomes for students.

• an energetic educator with open mind & approach to helping young people uncover their unique self

• A great communicator who works effectively in a team

• Adaptable/ flexible to the changing nature of education & classroom needs

• a person with a  passion for unlocking the potential of all young people as they gain tools to design their own life

• Ability to build rapport quickly, draw on real world experiences to guide students self-discovery journey 

The course

https://youtu.be/Eb5JWbjUBdU

Life Design from Year 7 to 10 uses strengths-based data, evidence of learning progress, development of social skills and enterprise skills, and self determined interests to ensure each student comes to know more deeply who they are, what they can do and what problems they want to solve in a rapidly changing world.

With a creative approach and innovative mindset, Life Design teachers and industry life coaches provide specialised content to facilitate collaborative team based projects and oversee individualised self paced learning so all students can be well prepared for a changing world. 

In Year 7, students engage with their capabilities through the St Luke’s 6 Pillars of Learning; learn about their talents as surveyed using the Junior Clifton Strengthsfinder (Gallup); and, research the seven clusters of work from Foundation for Young Australians. Essentially, students adopt an ‘inside out’ approach to learning where they more deeply understand their strengths, interests and motivators (SIM). which sees each student by the end of Year 8 develop and share their draft life purpose statement with a panel of local thought leaders from across a number of organisations and industries.

Teacher Role Requirements

At St Luke’s, teachers strategically work in teams across a stage to collaboratively plan, prepare, teach, assess and evaluate student learning and are required to: 

• Support and assist the evangelising mission of Catholic education;

• See themselves as learners and be committed to ongoing professional learning;

• Work collaboratively with other teachers to design inquiry learning experiences where students exercise choice to demonstrate knowledge and understanding;

• Coach students to discover who they are, what they can do and what problems they want to solve in order to understand their purpose

• Use digital technology as an enabler and accelerator for student learning and professional learning;

• Regularly provide students with feedback as part of the teaching and learning cycle; 

• Use diagnostic data, summative data and formative data, including observations, annotations and work samples, to inform ‘next steps’ for students;

• Other duties as directed by the principal.

Qualifications and accreditations:

• Compliance with NSW Child Protection Legislation - Working with Children Check clearance

• Eligibility to teach in NSW according to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)

• Tertiary Qualification (minimum 4-year degree, or 75% complete)

• Statement of Service 

For further details, contact  Mrs Kelly Bauer on 9854 3100 or  via jobsatslcc@parra.catholic.edu.au 

We seek people with ‘character’ and skills!