Collaborating for Success

In 2025, Wenona is further strengthening its approach to staff professional learning, ensuring consistency of practice, while making use of the School’s extensive internal talent base. Through a series of masterclasses, it is focusing on key teaching skills, bringing together educators from different faculties to share expertise and enhance student outcomes across the Senior School.

"Research shows that teachers learn best when they learn from each other," explains Dean of Research and Practice, Ms Natasha Isbel. "Those opportunities for collaborative cross-curricular conversations are really an untapped, rich source of transformative learning for us."

The masterclasses will follow a carefully planned framework, ensuring Wenona teachers develop consistent approaches to assessing student work, gathering evidence of learning, and providing targeted feedback that promotes continued achievement.

Rather than relying on external consultants, the School is harnessing the knowledge of our existing staff, many of whom are regularly engaged to speak at state, national, and international education conferences and serve as HSC examiners, senior markers, and supervisors of marking.

"It’s extraordinary the expertise that we have here,” Ms Natasha Isbel. “So, we thought, let's tap into that, have those people lean in and share … it helps with teacher agency, teacher voice, and so much more."

Currently, our teachers are meeting in cross-curricular groups to discuss pedagogical approaches, followed by faculty-specific sessions where they apply these insights to their subject areas. This multi-layered approach ensures both School-wide consistency and subject-specific relevance.

The benefits of the masterclasses extend beyond traditional academic subjects. Educators from our more practical disciplines, such as Academic Dance, are equally exploring ways to enhance the skills of students preparing for the written components that sit alongside HSC practical exams. This cross-transfer of expertise demonstrates Wenona’s collaborative and holistic approach to the girls’ development.

A key objective is what staff refer to as ‘operationalising the theory’ – taking evidence-based best practices and converting them into effective strategies in the classroom. By providing a space and time for teachers to share, reflect and refine their techniques, Wenona is ultimately empowering students to achieve personal best in all areas of their education.