Independent Schools Guide 2023: How Sacré Coeur is preparing students for the world beyond its gates

When Sacré Coeur decided to review its Year 9 program, Notre Monde, the independent Catholic school consulted with those who had the most valuable insights – past and present students, families and teachers.

The two-year review and a wealth of feedback from the Sacré Coeur community have resulted in a reinvigorated program launched this year that develops skills, including life skills, while also maintaining academic rigour and excellence.

“We wanted a Year 9 program that engages students and prepares them for the demands of their senior years and for the world beyond the gates of Burke Road,” says the Director of Learning and Teaching, Megan Marshall.

“Notre Monde (Our World) supports authentic learning, and the focus is on building skills, self-efficacy, independence and collaboration – these are all important in navigating the contemporary world.”

Over the course of the year, students choose from 17 electives that range from podcasting to forensic science. One of the electives, My Garden Grows, teaches students about climate change and agriculture by involving them in growing beans and setting up an aquarium.

Other electives include sports leadership, women’s health, economics and aviation. Through the aviation elective, students learn the physics of flying and build a model plane that takes to the skies.

Over the course of the year, students complete two compulsory electives: a social justice unit, Walk the Talk, and a financial literacy unit, Money Matters.

The school aims to help students recognise that they are in a privileged position and use that privilege wisely in helping others and creating a better world. Walk the Talk exposes students to different types of hands-on community service, and this year’s cohort is supporting a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse.

While fundraising to support the shelter, students learn about the lives of women and children who survive violence and what changes are needed in society to reduce the prevalence of domestic abuse. The financial literacy elective has been created to reduce the number of women experiencing financial disadvantage.

“We want our students to be financially independent and to have financial freedom. They study budgeting, the gender pay gap, tax, banking and the stock and property markets. They set financial goals and learn investment strategies,” says Marshall.

“Students are presented with realistic scenarios, and they have to work out their pay, their expenses or outlay, and what they can do with the money that is left. Guest speakers talk to the students about what is involved in starting a business, establishing a property portfolio and even basic budgeting to help them achieve their dreams of buying a car and travelling.

“We also run a forum for parents because research suggests that while parents of girls teach them about ‘saving’, for boys, parents talk about ‘wealth creation’. So we discuss with parents about how we can talk to young people about financial independence.”

Sacré Coeur is also looking to the future of education with the recently opened Sophie Centre. The four-storey building houses a creative arts space for media and visual communications students, contemporary science labs, a digital technology hub and a new multilevel junior and senior library.

The library hosts an after-school tutoring program in which graduates from the previous year help students with their learning.

Marshall says the investment in the Sophie Centre reflects Sacré Coeur’s commitment to preparing the school’s students for the future. This, coupled with a curriculum that focuses on developing transferable skills, means students will be prepared to adapt to an ever-changing world.

“We aim to develop outstanding people who strive to find their own potential … but who are also kind to others. We want them to believe they can make a difference,” she says.

SACRÉ COEUR

172 Burke Road, Glen Iris, VIC

Website: www.sacrecoeur.vic.edu.au
Enquiries: (03) 9835 2700 /reception@sac.vic.edu.au
Years: Prep – Year 12
Denomination: Catholic
Gender: Girls
Fees: On the website
Boarding: No
Scholarships: Yes
ATAR(Median for 2022): 88.35

This article appeared in Domain’s 2023 Independent Schools Guide.