Introducing the Community
Mary MacKillop Memorial School, Penola
Leaders of Mary Mackillop Memorial School together with Tenison Woods College and LBI Foundation Community Lead, David Kelly.
Mary MacKillop Memorial School is an Early Years to Year 6 - Catholic Education Primary School in Penola, South Australia.
Mary MacKillop Memorial School provide children in Penola a high quality learning and growth environment.
LBI Foundation has partnered with the school community since 2021, founded upon the IMPACT Program as delivered across educational settings, and guided by the Resilient IMPACT capacity building strategy.
The support has been personalised to the school and geographic community. The work has dovetailed into the broader work occurring across the region with Tenison Woods College (Mt Gambier) and St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School (Millicent). The work has sought to strengthen the implementation of broader Catholic Education of South Australia’s wellbeing frameworks and learning initiatives (Living Learning Leading and Learn Well), as well as the whole-of-state CESA implementation of the Clarity framework.
The intent (or outcomes) and actions of this work is summarised below.
Local Quote
Role of IMPACT Tools
Staff have found that by engaging with LBI, and particularly using the What-What-How® tool, we now have a common language to use with students and also with each other when discussing students. We are already seeing the impact in our school when putting into action strategies to assist students to thrive and to flourish.
Intent ('What')
Build a Wellbeing and Trauma Responsive Educational Community
Where Wellbeing is a Way of Thinking and Being
Made Practical Through the Following Co-Designed Outcomes
System
To embed a cohesive, intentional, integrated and common approach (across main site and early years) to:
- Implement a safe, growth-focused and wellbeing-responsive learning environment.
- Deliver personalised student wellbeing and support services, and to meet all students at their individual starting point (needs and context).
- Embed a trauma-responsive and inclusive support culture.
Educators
To embed the awareness, skills and mindsets to:
- Intentionally respond (rather than react) to individual student needs (e.g., trauma, growth, learning, developmental) in a relationship focused and personalised manner.
- Grow student capacity through intentionally delivered social-emotional learning, side-by-side coaching, shared Growth Action Planning processes and through both implicit and explicit learning approaches.
- Empower educators to work together in shared intent (including with students and families).
Students
To provide students high quality resources and content that is focused on:
- Foundational wellbeing and resilience skills.
- Social-emotional learning competencies and curriculum.
- Meta-cognitive and problem solving.
- How to work side-by-side with others in shared intent.
Actions ('How')
Summary Actions of the Partnership Journey
- Entire capacity building initiative founded upon the science, research and practice of intentional practice, as made practical for educational and school settings.
- Implementation underpinned by the Resilient IMPACT capacity building strategy.
- LBI Foundation Community Lead: David Kelly.
- All staff were IMPACT Trained, supported by wrap-around coaching and two leaders being trained to the IMPACT Coach level.
- The focus has been on embedding IMPACT into local policies, procedures and systems, with extension training and coaching
- Maintenance and extension of embedding strategy, including through a community of practice and policy alignment.
- Advanced training and embedding of content related to attachment theory and trauma.
- Maintenance and extension of embedding strategy.
LBI Foundation IMPACT Trainer Kylie Agnew delivering the foundation IMPACT Training in 2021.
