Beyond the Classroom
Students at Ruyton have access to a broad, inclusive curriculum relevant to their stage of development. Through the curriculum offered, each student has the opportunity to maximise her potential as an individual, as a learner, as a member of the community, as a leader and as a citizen and in most faculties there are a number of extension and enrichment activities offered for gifted and talented students. There are, though, other areas in which the students are provided further extension beyond the classroom and faculties:
Extended School Programme
The Extended School Programme at Years 7 and 8 has been developed to provide challenge and extend the learning opportunities for talented girls from Years 7 and 8 (in the senior school) and is now in its third year. This year the students participated in a range of units including Philosophy, Airline Online (a business simulation activity where the students established their own airlines and competed for routes and passengers against each other) and unit similar to Tournament of Minds. These units act as an extension beyond the classroom, allowing for more advanced instruction and thinking skills.
Boroondara Cluster
Ruyton is a member of the Boorondara Cluster of schools where each school offers units to be undertaken by the gifted students of the cluster groups from Years 7 to 10. Not only does this provide our students with intellectual challenges, but it also provides social opportunities beyond the classroom. This year Alison Davies of the English department offered a unit where students explored the link between selected classical art works and poetry. This involved an art appreciation analysis of the selected works and a poetry analysis of corresponding poems. Students then wrote their own poem, drawing inspiration from a classical painting, having researched the story behind the painting. Students from Scotch, Fintona, MLC, Camberwell Girls' School and Koonung Secondary College joined selected students from Ruyton for this whole-day activity.
Da Vinci Day
At the end of Term Two, sixteen girls from Year 7 competed in Da Vinci Day at MLC. The two teams placed seven and eight out of twenty five teams from all around the state. They competed in ten different areas including games of strategy, code breaking, engineering, forensics and art/poetry.
The girls had been involved in a training programme before the day and utilised this training to their advantage. While one team came first in English and tied second and third in Maths and Forensic Sleuths, the other team came first in Art and Poetry. The 'Angels and Demons' themed Art/Poetry combination which they produced, in less than an hour, was particularly impressive.
Eight Year 8 students were also involved in a similar day in Term 4.
The Ruyton Master Scholar Programme
Opportunities from within the Curriculum also include:
The Ruyton Master Scholar Programme
This is offered to gifted students from Years 9 to 12 and provides for more individual focused opportunities within the curriculum. This allows for early enrolment into VCE Units and the eligibility for Year 12 students to undertake a University Extension Study in a discipline agreed upon by the staff and student.
Subject-Specific Enrichment Opportunities
There is a plethora of subject-specific enrichment opportunities offered to students at each level of the school. These range from competitions (internal and external) to masterclasses, awards and clubs.
Ms Georgina Canty, Co-ordinator Gifted and Talented