2023 Promising Practice
We are delighted to share the news that the Ivanhoe Grammar School Army Cadet Unit, which embodies a community of character, has been selected as a 2023 Promising Practice by Character.org. The Cadet Unit has received this recognition from the Character.org association for exemplifying several of the 11 Principles of Character. This achievement will be officially recognised in Washington in November. We owe this success to the collective leadership and dedication to the program over the years.
This recognition was a result of the accreditation process that the School is going through with an international organisation – Character.org to become an accredited School of character. This continuation of our Founder’s vision from over 100 years ago, to develop young people of character, will see character education as embedded practice at Ivanhoe Grammar School.
The Ivanhoe Grammar Cadet Program serves as a valuable complement to the academic curriculum by integrating the Ivanhoe Learner Attributes. It shapes young individuals of character and equips them with invaluable skills for life beyond school. The Ivanhoe Grammar School Army Cadet Unit was established in the early 1960s and has been an integral part of our school ever since. Presently, the Unit comprises over 600 students from Years 9 to 12 across our three campuses. The School takes great pride in its longstanding commitment to the Australian Army Cadet Corps, and after more than five decades of distinguished operation, our school now boasts the largest Cadet Unit in Victoria.
The Ivanhoe Army Cadet Program plays an integral role in the character development of our students. While it embodies many of the 11 Principles, we particularly believe that the Ivanhoe Army Cadet Unit stands out in its exemplary adherence to Principle 6, which strongly relates to character building.
The cadet culture of character fosters the development of everyone’s ‘best self’. Ivanhoe’s core values, combined with the five Australian Army values of Service, Courage, Respect, Integrity and Excellence, demonstrate the profound connection to Principle 6.
Here are a few reflections from our students:
‘Cadets helped me develop my leadership skills and taught me that I am so much more capable than I realised.’ – 2018 School Captain.
‘My favourite memory of school is cadet camp; it allowed me to grow my leadership skills while also making so many new friends.’ – 2022 graduate.
The Ivanhoe Cadet Program fosters a sense of camaraderie within the community, strengthens the existing bonds, and develops skills, leadership, resilience, and friendships among students that may not have occurred otherwise.
