Quaere

Quaere is the initial semester in a student's secondary school experience. Student's in Year 7 will begin the school year in Quaere. This semester long transition program focuses on the core values of belonging and becoming.

The goal of Quaere is to introduce students to secondary school and aid their transition from primary school. Throughout term one, a student's learning experience will be structured around a series of themes. All classes will structure some part of their lessons around these themes (seen below). In term one there is no expectation for students to complete formal assessment tasks.

Also during this time, students will begin the creation of their myPortfolio. The myPortfolio offers students the chance to reflect on their learning in each subject as well as their highlights of there time at Assumption College. As students move forward through myMAP and VCE they will be able to add further reflections and work samples to this myPortfolio.

The first two weeks during Quaere are focused on ensuring a smooth transition into secondary school. Students are engaged in a variety of activities that will focus on connecting with their new peers and teachers. As students settle into life as part of the Quaere program, classes in each learning domain will focus on the key theme of belonging. As the term progresses, classes will then draw inspiration for some learning activities from the themes allocated for each week.

In term one there is no expectation that staff will conduct a formal assessment task of students. A desire to introduce a variety of learning experiences that engage deeply the students to each subject is central to the transition into Quaere. Teachers are still able to gain an understanding of students capabilities through their class work activities and the reflections in their myPortfolio. In term two, it would be the expectation that each class has completed one formal assessment task that can appear on the students semester one report. In the instance of drama/dance/music and food/wood/textiles classes where students complete a reduced amount of time in each class (six weeks) then a folio task that combines each of these subjects can be the assessment.