As we farewelled the final cohort of Year 7 children from our primary school in 2021, we recognised the significance of this transition for our Year 6 students, as they become the senior students of our school. This change has allowed us to re-imagine the opportunities for children as they complete their final year of primary schooling.
Throughout 2021, St Peter’s Woodlands staff have worked to design a bespoke learning program for Year 6 students.
We are thrilled to Launch the DARE Graduate Diploma, a 12 month Year 6 learning program with an event launch including a very special guest speaker.
We look forward to sharing more about DARE Graduate Diploma as the children engage in the activities.
What is DARE Graduate Diploma
Children are born creative, curious and imaginative. It’s a wonderful thing and through the DARE Graduate Diploma, we strive to keep these traits alive. At St Peter’s Woodlands we nurture a love of learning, a thirst for discovery and a desire to be creative, so making sense of the world is always fun and exciting.
Throughout DARE Graduate Diploma we throw a gauntlet down for our students and DARE them to:
What’s the purpose of DARE?
The primary purpose of DARE Graduate Diploma, is for Year 6 students to engage in a series of learning activities that allow them to Dream, Achieve, Reach and Experience. Over a 12-month period students will be encouraged to develop their independence, character and be equipped with life-skills.
Life-long success is not a fixed state nor is it ever complete. It is not homogeneous and looks different for every child as they move through the phases of their school life and beyond. At St Peter’s Woodlands we believe the pursuit of success should be about achieving your personal best.
We designed DARE Graduate Diploma to encourage active participation, perseverance and the desire to excel. It supports students to set goals and work hard to achieve them. The series of learning activities are designed to develop skills that are transferable from one learning experience to another.
DARE consists of activities completed at home as well as at school, being a partnership between home and school. Support and guidance from parents and other family members throughout the DARE journey is important to the success, growth and positive outcomes for students.
Our hope is that through active participation in DARE Graduate Diploma, our children will develop resilience, joyfulness, and respect, whilst building life-long skills, characteristics and behaviours to help them flourish.
Seven Learning Capabilities
DARE embodies Seven Learning Capabilities (7Cs) developed by Prof. Guy Claxton and Bill Lucas. Every learning activity embeds the elements of the 7Cs, giving students many opportunities to develop these important attributes over the course of the year.
It is important for children to have the opportunity to actively develop these skills and the program helps them to identify each skill and hone their capabilities.
Learning Areas Overview
DARE Graduate Diploma is organised into eight Learning Areas with different Learning Activities under each stream.
The Learning Activities include Passion Project, Life Skills, My Voice, Service, World Around Me, Safety, Spirituality and Wellbeing & Grit.
Many of the activities within the DARE program were formerly a much loved part of our Year 6 and 7 program; Canberra trip, Jumble Sale, City Week, Surf Safety to name a few. There are also new and exciting opportunities for children, particularly the Passion Project which allows children the opportunity to focus on an area of passion and interest.
You can find out more about our DARE Graduate Diploma – Year 6 Learning Program in our information brochure here.
If you would like to here more about St Peter’s Woodlands and learn about the DARE Graduate Diploma feel free to contact Jo Gray, Enrolments Manager.