Activate Program

The ACTIVATE program was developed by students for students, and commenced in 2022 to meet the needs of Year 9 students who could benefit from a change in approach to their learning. In 2023 we expanded the program to Year 8s to help all our Year 8 students learn in a productive and positive learning environment.

The ACTIVATE program offers an alternative path to traditional timetabled classes for a selected group of Year 8 and 9 students. It has been driven by students identifying what makes school hard for them to engage in and is a solution focused approach to engaging students in their learning and building self-management skills.

The program runs in our ACTIVATE Learning Centre with one classroom per year level and a small room for quiet learning known as The Mood Room. A small, select group of teachers are timetabled into classes at each year level.

Students spend most of their time at school in their space, while mixing with other students from their year level for elective subjects. While in class together, the students negotiate an Individual Learning Program that includes compulsory and optional tasks for core subjects such as English, Maths, Humanities and Science. With mentor support, students design their own weekly “learning contract” selecting from compulsory and optional tasks. Students have choices about what work they complete and when and how they complete it.

Activate provides an opportunity for students to direct their own learning through provision of learning contracts, preparing them for a successful VCE or VM pathway. Students must apply for the program and maintain consistent work completion, GPA and attendance to remain in the program. In 2022, we saw greatly improved GPAs, attendance, and engagement, as well as significant learning growth for most participants in the program.