Community

Our meetings are a key feature of our democratic approach. They are co-run, collaborative and consensus-driven.

Whole School Meeting, jointly run by students and staff, enables every voice to be heard as we collectively decide how the school will function. Students learn to self-advocate, and negotiate with others, who may have different needs or points of view. Discussion and voting tools are used towards a consensus approach in which the school reaches shared agreements.

Staff Meeting allows all staff to add agenda items relevant to them. The team works together to co-create solutions for staff processes, or discuss and amend proposals.

General Meetings welcome all parents and carers to contribute to ideas and input into Humanitas High School. Community members can raise or request topics to be explored alongside agenda items, often followed by a shared meal or time to chat or play.

Multiple sources of knowledge. Students learn with multi-age peers, adults and community experts in various fields. Teachers move between the roles of co-creator, coach, subject expert, and facilitator. They enlist professionals, amateur enthusiasts or experts from within the school community, or the wider community, to enrich learning.

School building as a base. Every day our students have the chance to leave the walls of the school building for activity or enrichment, giving students the chance to interact often within their local community. Field trips are frequent, seizing a spark of student interest. Ongoing relationships are built with local organisations, from galleries and museums to sporting venues, kindergartens and community centres.

Engaging the whole person. Learning is connected to interests, passions and needs. Students and staff are invited to bring their full selves to the space. Value is placed on people's hobbies, interests and involvements beyond school. This brings authenticity to our school community.

Wellbeing tools help Learning Coaches check-in frequently with the young people in their care, and direct them to additional support when needed.

Family check-ins facilitate sharing of priorities, needs and wellbeing goals.

Conflict Mapping guides a democratic approach to understanding conflict between people, and reaching a shared agreement in response.

Compassionate Communication (aka NVC) equips us with language to state our truth in a low-demand, non-confrontational way that respects each persons autonomy. It helps us understand ourselves, and communicate more effectively with each other.

Workshops for families are run in response to parent requests, FAQ's, or needs noticed in our community. Some have been held as evenings, at school or online, and others are offered before General Meetings.

Every student in our school works with a Learning Coach they feel comfortable with. Learning Coaches look out for students' wellbeing, help track their engagement with curriculum requirements, and encourage goal-setting and reflective problem-solving cycles, towards self-directed learning. 

Building on a foundation of respect for students as agents in life and learning, Learning Coaches take the role of supportive coach. With input from families, students are encouraged to reflect and choose meaningful and self-savvy ways to hit their curriculum requirements and develop themselves across Learning Areas. Through modelling and coaching students to devise, trial and reflect on solutions, Learning Coaches scaffold support for students in their journey towards self-directed learning.

Intentions groups meet twice each day. In the morning, students and staff share their top goals for the day; in the afternoon, they reflect and debrief. This agile routine sets an expectation of self-directed productivity and self-reflection, supported by each other.