Positive Education
The Ravenswood Residential College follows and puts into practice the School’s trailblazing principles of Positive Education and Wellbeing.
Our innovative boarding wellbeing programs, wellbeing rooms, gardens and outdoor games spaces and reflection areas provide a unique opportunity for Boarders to thrive, academically and personally.
The RRC is a supportive environment that encourages self-awareness, promotes self-reflection, and builds a strong framework for effective communication and collaboration.
Ravenswood recently expanded its Wellbeing Department to five full-time psychologists. In Term 4, Junior Boarders (Years 7 to 10, as well as Year 6 students about to start boarding) embark on the Collective Wellbeing Program. This helps to re-orient academic study time into meaningful, intentional activities designed to finalise the year and to cultivate opportunities to explore and embrace wellbeing. Boarders also participate in daily mindful activities such as mindful reflection time, and take opportunities to practise gratitude through creating and ‘filling buckets’ with messages of encouragement and appreciation.
Academic Learning and Support
Ravenswood is the only school on Sydney’s Upper North Shore that offers senior students the choice of undertaking either the International Baccalaureate (IB) or the HSC.
Academic success is paramount, and the RRC Prep tutoring program plays a pivotal role in this. Facilitated by recently graduated, high-performing Alumni tutors with bespoke skills and credentials, students work within their year group every school night and engage in comprehensive recaps, forward-planning sessions, and targeted study skills ‘spotlight’ sessions tailored to individual needs. The tutors cover a broad spectrum of subjects, catering to both HSC and IB Diploma curriculum requirements.
Through specialised study skills sessions, forward-planning activities and individualised goal-setting, tutors empower students to cultivate effective learning strategies and unlock their full potential. This personalised approach not only enhances academic performance but also instils valuable skills such as time-management, critical thinking and self-discipline – skills essential for lifelong success.
The School Career Pathways Advisor regularly visits the RRC for dinner, providing a casual opportunity to discuss career options and university pathways.
Read more about the academic opportunities at Ravenswood here.
Family Support
Ravenswood’s Boarding Community Welcome Event is an excellent opportunity for parents to meet the academic and support staff who will be assisting their daughters. Held at the start of the academic year, the event is a catalyst for ongoing rapport-building. Boarding families meet key academic and wellbeing staff, including Year Coordinators, subject teachers, Heads of Curriculum, and members of the Wellbeing Team.
Throughout the year, boarding families engage with the School community through Parent–Teacher meetings via Zoom, catch-ups with the Director of Boarding, and weekly email updates from Boarding and their Year Coordinator, informing them about their daughters’ learning progress.
For new parents, Ravenswood has introduced a four-part ‘New Boarding Family Seminar’. These highly engaging sessions, covering topics such as wellbeing, routines and homesickness, and communication. With 100% attendance, it will provide valuable support and advice to boarding families, furthering the sense of community within our Boarding families.