A planning project by our Stellatus students has recently been recognised by the peak professional body of Western Australian Town Planners, the Planning Institute of Australia (WA) and awarded ‘Best Secondary Student Project’.

On Friday 4 November, Mr Paul Shanahan, our Stellatus teacher attended the Planning Institute of Australia’s (WA Branch) Annual Awards night and accepted the State Award on the College’s behalf.

As part of their Stellatus course, our Year 8 Gifted and Talented students undertake an extended project called “My Suburb in 50 Years: Students Planning for the Future.” In this Project, the students are tasked with examining the suburb where they live and creating a vision that makes it ‘fit for purpose’ in 50 years’ time.

The students are placed in groups and are assigned a strategic location in their suburb that becomes the focus of their Project. They conduct a site visit to assess the current conditions in their location. With the help of expert Town Planners Eleni Thorman (General Manager and Principal Planner at CLE); and Ben Doyle (Director at Planning Solutions), the groups apply town planning principles to answer these questions: “What role does my local suburb have in helping Perth address issues relating to its rapidly growing population? How can I plan for my suburb to become vibrant; liveable; sustainable; and prosperous in 50 years’ time?”

The Project provides the students with opportunities to develop their critical and creative thinking skills. It forces the students to collaborate effectively with their group members to enforce the disciplines required to meet a project deadline.

Huge congratulations to Stellatus students and their teachers who, over the last three years, have engaged deeply with this Project and made it the success that it is.

Mr Paul Shanahan
Stellatus Teacher