Improving Learning Across Every Subject

San Damiano College in Yarrabilba, Brisbane opened in 2021.  The co-educational secondary college is part of the Brisbane Catholic Education network of schools.  A new school in a new suburb, San Damiano has quickly grown to over 1,250 students and plays a pivotal role in the growing community.

When shaping the school’s vision and delivery methods—how to give their students the best possible future—Deputy Principal Paul Mead and Principal Peter Edwards focused on literacy.  

The implementation of Writer’s Toolbox at San Damiano was successful and swift as Mead introduced the programme school wide—every skill level, year level, and subject.

“Writer’s Toolbox is used across all subjects so students get used to it quickly,” Mead explains.  “The students know it’s cross-curricular, it’s not just an English-based programme or a humanities-based programme.  Starting with sentence structures and moving to specific subject areas, it’s the foundation of how they write—every single lesson.”

This dependable, consistent approach has given teachers and students a shorthand when discussing writing and a surety that supports them to flourish.  Head of English and the Arts Naomi Lindeberg recently joined San Damiano and was thrilled to discover an established writing culture.

Lindeberg says this makes her teaching role easier: “To walk into any classroom across the school and see how they are using the different sentence types or to see how they’re using a particular paragraph type, it’s a really powerful thing.  You can see them improving their work, producing higher-quality—not cookie-cutter—responses.”