"Children will develop a strong inner sense of fairness, of right and wrong, from which they can orient their life. As this develops they can live with diplomacy, compassion and social understanding” Maria Montessori.

The adolescent is intent on finding his or her role in society and in determining what is right and just, not just for them, but for the society in which they are preparing to live as adults. They learn, through their occupations, humanities and living and working together, to make judgements and assess their moral standards. Many of these are based on the basic human needs of food, water, shelter and clothing. Once the adolescent understands the human drive to ensure these things, he or she can balance their vision of the fairest and most ethical way to achieve this.

Parents of current Templestowe College students in years 7 and 8 who are interested in the Erdkinder program are invited to download the document below to gain a fuller understanding of the options for their children in 2012 and 2013.

Any students interested in applying for places within the Erdkinder program need to complete the following steps by Wednesday 23rd November.

• Name, address and contact details of the applying student and parent/s or guardians

• A written response to each of the Key Selection Criteria (see below). This should be no less than two pages but no more than four pages, typed in Times New Roman font size 12, 1.5 line spacing.

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

1: Demonstrated ability to show personal initiative and a range of strategies when faced by a challenging learning task.

2: Demonstrated ability to show perseverance and commitment in completion of a learning task that involves depth of exploration.

3: Demonstrated high quality creative and/or innovative response to a learning task and/or problem.

4: Demonstrated dedication to reaching high levels of achievement and attaining full learning potential.

5: Demonstrated high-level communication and interpersonal skills showing the ability to relate to both adults and peers with grace, courtesy and respect.

6: Demonstrated ability to develop constructive relationships with both adults and peers in a learning environment.

7: Demonstrated engagement in activities in community and/or neighbourhood settings outside the school and family environments.

FOLIO

A folio of 5 pieces of work. This folio should include at least three pieces of school work, but may also include work done at home or in other activities. The pieces can be written, they can be digital, they can be 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional art or construction, they can be oral, they can be performance, or they can be of any other demonstrable worth.

Students who apply for the program will be assessed by a panel and a shortlist of potential candidates will be selected. Those students will be notified of interview times. The folio will be presented at interview.