What makes Santa Sabina special? A cross campus practitioner inquiry project.

BackgroundInspired by the ‘Kids as Curators’ project, (shared by a the State Librarian Representative for the Coalition of Knowledge of Building Schools), this project sought to promote student voice, in a cross campus project by developing a deeper appreciation and understanding of ‘What makes our place (SSC) special?Approximately 24 students took part in the project, 12 from Primary (2 SRC Representatives per grade) and 12 from Secondary (approx. 2 per year 6-9)

Inquiry question: What makes us (Santa Sabina College) special?

Focus questions

1. What does St Dominic’s Day mean to you?2. What does it mean to be Dominican?3. What do we value at SSC?4. How can we communicate our uniqueness to the wider community?

Methodology

Data was gathered in 3 ways

1. in separate campus groups focus groups were held using the visible thinking routine of colour, symbol, image (SSC) and Image, word, phrase (DM)

2. In order to give the students a greater 'voice' in sharing their understanding of St Dominic and what it means to be a Dominican we engaged the students in 'Visible Thinking Routine': 3, 2, 1.This routine often begins the exploration of a new topic: for example ' What does it mean to be Dominican?', by trying to uncover students' prior knowledge of that topic. It aims to push beyond revealing just the facts students might know. Instead this routine focuses on the associations one has around the topic in terms of words, questions and connections. The 3, 2, 1 Routine helps students link their prior knowledge, questions and understandings with the new ideas they develop as the project progresses.

3. Cross campus buddy task where students were asked toa. record three highlights of St Dom's Day Celebrationsb. record two questions, that you have about St Dom's Day Celebrationsc. record one image that will stay with you long after St Dom's Day 2013

4. Small cross campus groups were then formed to take photos that to them represent our place in a special way. The students then shared their photos with the whole group.

Findings

1. Both groups had approximately 30 minutes to complete the task and this was too limited. A greater range of responses or different responses may have been given if the time frame was greater. The focus groups were organized as a round table discussion. On the secondary campus all students but one had prior experience of Dom’s Day. The responses given were all quite literal e.g. ‘white’ was seen as representative of saints, or pictures of Dominic. It is possible that some of the responses were influenced by peer responses. (See Appendix 1) Students in the primary groups focused more on drawings as a way of representing their thoughts. As with the secondary group all of these responses were literal as well e.g. Dominic, Rosary Beads etc. (See appendix 2) Is this perhaps the result of peer influence or are they giving us what they think we want to see? The primary students then documented their feelings in a poem. (See Appendix 3)

2. and 3.Groups met after St Dom’s Day to view, share and discuss official photographs that were taken on the day. This enabled further discussion to take place about other aspects of Dom’s Day that had not been at the forefront of their minds. The discussion centering on thinking routines resulted in further questions that required further research e.g.

Why is Dom’s day celebrated on a different day to the actual feast day? Why can’t we sit on Dom’s Plot? Why do the dance every year? How did they teach the birds to fly? Why do we have banners?

Enduring images included the dancers, the performance, the choir, the doves, singing the school song, the crowning of St Domimic.

4 The range of photos was very broad and while some students chose the same images their reasons for doing so differed. The secondary students paired with the younger students to take photos on their iPads and then document the reasons for choosing the photos. The students were asked to respond to three questions: Why did you take this photo? What does it mean to you? Why is it important? Some of the responses are documented below. (Appendix 4)

Conclusion

The diversity of the group had a positive impact on building relationships across campus. The older students enjoyed the opportunity of returning to or exploring for the first time, the Del Monte campus and of working with younger children from Kindergarten to Year 5. This also had its challenges as meetings could only occur at lunch times which were at slightly different times. The overlapping period was too short to achieve lasting collaboration. Blocks of time for further development of this project

would be valuable. Despite this the motivation and engagement among all participants was initially high. The project timeline was lengthened because of the short blocks of meeting time and this caused problems for some students with ongoing participation as other activities demanded a time commitment. The student voice element of this project was valuable and the prospect of sharing their work with the wider community to help others appreciate the Santa Sabina’s rich cultural capital was a motivation in itself. The project will continue with a smaller group next year with a view to developing an app to be used by new students and parents as an introduction to College life and history past and present.

Appendix 1.

Students were asked to think of a colour, a symbol and an image in answer to the question “What does St Dominic’s Day mean to you?”

Colour Representation Symbol Representation ImageGreen Activity, grass,

artwork, uniform, green

everywhere.

Dog School song Year 12 dancing around the plot x2

House colours

Banners, coming together Torch Fire of our spirit Aerial view of Dom’s Plot

Orange Happiness Red + yellow:

representative, more than one element

Dancers always wear orange

Happiness, fire of our spirit, journeying together

Dove Peace, togetherness Crowd celebrating including nuns and MBH

White Nuns wear white Clean, pure,

College crest

Dominican colours

Re-enactment of our founding which reflects

Saintly, and it is our feast day.*

Represents us our heritage

Crown Year 12 crowing St Dominic.

He is the head of our Faith so sort of like royalty.

St Dominic wears a crown in some pictures

Crowds of everyone celebrating together

Light Purity, celebration, light to guide us

Bright colours especially as seen from above.

Tree Branches coming together as one.

The Gospel

CrossPart of our celebrationReligious day, priests.

The backs of people’s heads because I always see that view form where I sit.

Santa Sabina College

St Dominic is our patron saint *

The awe after the crowning

Veritas Important to the school community

Unveiling the banners which are always new.St Dominic *

*the girl who made these responses is new to SSC whereas the other students have experienced from one to many Dom’s days.

Appendix 2

Drawings representing being Dominican

Appendix 3

Being Dominican is---

Being Dominican is being inclusive

Being Domincan is treating others the way you want to be treated

Being Domincan is being appreciative

Being Dominican is being amnesty

Being Dominican is being hopeful

Being Dominican is being reflective

Being Dominican is being resilient

Being Dominican is helping others in need

Being Dominican is being respectful

Being Dominican is showing peace

Being Dominican is being reciprocal

Appendix 4

Why did you take this photo?

I took this photo as I think that this building has been around for so long and is something that is used for many events and occasions. This building is one you can never miss as you walk from class to class, therefore it was something I felt that it is a physical part of the school which is extremely prominent and vital to the daily eye. To think that this building could possibly be demolished one day (not that it will) would make me feel so bare as I walk across Dom's Plot and towards my next class. This building is used for countless purposes from subjects like theatre and musical ensembles to offices and meeting rooms all within a bizarre of two stories. This building is also used for special occasions such as St Dom's Day. This building is one of the oldest and due to its large size, it creates an atmosphere where you feel like you're standing in front of the Parliament House because it has such a grand opening and may be very difficult to take a photo at the majority of timeWhy is it an important part of Santa Sabina College?

On Tuesday 18th October 1904 the Cardinal Archbishop visited Santa Sabina to open and bless the new just completed wing. It consisted of a circular brick building connecting the original building to the new. The circular building was intended for use as classrooms. The new wing finished next to where the large front door is now positioned. The ground floor ceilings were 18 ft in height and this floor was used as a chapel and a science room. The top floor consisted of various bedrooms alongside a central corridor. There was a wide balcony on the north side and a tower with an octagonal roof covered in copper. There was a cloister around the ground. The whole building was made of red brick with terracotta trimmings and it was designed and carried out by the original architects Messrs Sheerin and Hennessy whose office was in Pitt Street, Sydney. On Monday 10th July 1927 Archbishop Kelly opened and blessed the extensions to the 1904 building. Designed by the same architect firm the extension matched the 1904 building perfectly. The 1927 building consisted of a big reception hall 30 ft. x 20ft, a library roughly the same size and classrooms. The top floor had 2 classrooms, a typing room, a science lab, an infirmary (sick bay) and bedrooms. The chapel over the years has become the library, then a staff room. The original library was only for senior girls. The circular corridor was once the only place where there was a telephone and it was there that boarders would be called to take phone calls from home.

What does this part of the school/person mean to you?

This part of the school means so much to me because it holds the bulk of the school together. It is used for an array of purposes including performing arts, theatre, music, talents, business, special occasions

and theorist goes on. This building replicates an example of how multi-purpose our school community is and how resilient we are among our campus.

The Veritas Mosaic

I took this photo because our school crest includes many symbolic images and is an important part of our heritage. The Veritas mosaic is located in the Piazza of the senior school.

The term 'Veritas' means truth. Santa Sabina College is a Dominican school and models their beliefs and faith on St Dominic, a truthful person. There are four Dominican pillars: learning, service, community and prayer. As a school, Santa Sabina uses these pillars as a foundation of spiritual growth.

The dog with the torch in its mouth represents the dream Dominic's mother had before he was born. The torch represents St Dominic being the leading light of truth (Veritas). The black dog represents dogs in the wild, which are often great leaders like St Dominic.

The Middle School Kite

I took this photo because I thought that the kite must have a history behind it; I thought it might be more than a pretty decoration.

The Middle School Kite was created in 2002 by a group of students and staff. Each person was given a small piece of the kite to decorate and put together. The kite we see in middle school represents what we call our homerooms; KITE groups (Kids In Trusting Environments).

Bob The Kangaroo

I took this photo because I knew that this statue was very old and must have been involved in the architectural heritage of the school.

This statue of a kangaroo was once situated on the top of one of the old buildings with an emu (The Australian Crest), many years ago. It was taken down and the emu went missing. The Kangaroo was placed on the grass near the Grotto. It is now used as a meeting place for the students and has been nick- named 'Bob' by one of the girls.