PBL Exhibition - Thursday 26th November

PBL Exhibition 2020 – Thursday 26th November 5.30pm – 7.30pm
 
Originally scheduled for July this year, we are finally able to hold our PBL Exhibition for 2020.  Like so many other things – the Ball, Bishop’s Shield, and the Quad Tournament - the second iteration of Project Based Learning experienced significant disruption with the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic. 

This coming Thursday our students will showcase their learning from the year at the Exhibition in our School Hall, between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.  While many students may have finished items on display and others not, they will all be able to show and explain their learning journey this year.

What a range of learning there has been!  One group has learned and then taught basic New Zealand Sign Language, one of our official languages, while another has developed resources and strategies to help students with dyslexia improve their reading abilities.  Projects such as these as well as several involving sports have seen St Peter’s students collaborating with staff and students from local primary schools such as St Mary’s, Gore Main and East Gore.  One group has been focused at West Gore school working with staff and students in the area of Play Based Learning.

For some, the focus has been at St Peter’s.  One group has prepared and presented a business plan to the Board of Trustees for the installation of solar panels to alleviate our reliance on coal, while another has been conducting rubbish audits to help the school consider the impact of rubbish generated on the environment. 
There are many more projects, each demonstrating an aspect of Catholic Social Teaching such as Common Good, Respect for Human Dignity, Stewardship and Participation.  Our young people have learned and shared much and demonstrated Compassion, Community and Commitment as they have developed projects that seek to feed the hungry, clothe those in need, welcome the stranger and remove barriers for those who face difficulties because of disabilities, illness, poverty and homelessness.  Several projects celebrate the diversity of our student population and the population of Gore through food, language and culture.  Do you know what a racist microaggression is?  You can learn more about this on Thursday night.

Science, Engineering and Technology feature strongly too, with research projects into the best way to recycle plastic and fabric, prove the effects of pesticides used on plants, the construction of a solar heater, the development of animation skills and the building of a range of children’s toys.

You are very welcome to come and find out more about these projects and so many more next Thursday.  At 6.45pm the Awards Ceremony will be held during which we will acknowledge a range of skills and values demonstrated by the students.  At this time we will also announce the winners of this year’s St Peter’s College Wearable Arts Competition which we were unable to hold during the normal time of the Eisteddfod – another Covid casualty!  The final award of the night will be the project that you will be able to vote for to receive the People’s Choice Award. 

So, after a terribly disrupted year, we are almost there and we look forward to seeing you all at this celebration of our young people’s learning!!
 
Bridget Ryan
DP Teaching and Learning