ESSTEAM™

Building ESSTEAM™ for girls

At St Hilda’s we have looked at the future of education and are preparing for what it could mean without an ATAR ranking system. While we continue to achieve outstanding ATAR results, we have an obligation to teach our girls more than simply to excel in tests. Content cpntinues to be important, however, Google and AI means that we no longer have to rely on our memories. Instead, we need critical thinking skills, problem-solving, data analysis, collaboration, teamwork and the power to influence. These are also key skills for an entrepreneur. We call it an entrepreneurial mindset.

Not withstanding the play on words, we build our girls’ self-esteem through our ESSTEAM program. Using an entrepreneurial mindset, we ask girls to solve problems through the lens of sustainability. It takes a cross curricular approach, applying Science, Technology, English, Arts and Maths to achieve a project-based outcome.

Students are less motivated by achieving a high mark and instead build an implicit desire to solve a problem. Sometimes, they are successful. At other times, they face challenges. We value both as important lessons that they can take with them in life.

With over 600 girls studying ESSTEAM at St Hilda’s, our commitment to entrepreneurship outranks our competitors both locally and on a global scale. Working with Curtin University, we are participating in a measurement tool that will assess how teaching an entrepreneurial mindset through high school will impact students’ approach to their studies and their longer-term outcomes.

Simply, the St Hilda’s ESSTEAM™ Program introduces and establishes entrepreneurship skills and opportunities for girls and young women to connect with real-life problems.

Why is entrepreneurialism important?

These are the skills that create value, solve problems, and understand the balance of risk for reward. Entrepreneurs are hard-wired to be future-focussed. Women entrepreneurs represent a large and untapped resource for generating jobs and high-growth businesses. Those women exposed to entrepreneurialism at an early age are more likely to employ these skills in their career. View recent articles on female entrepreneurship below.

Six global trends that show how to support female entrepreneurs Why Women Entrepreneurs Outperform Men Women’s Entrepreneurship Day

Our ESSTEAM™ Program

In the past, schools have created innovators and entrepreneurs by accident, rather than by design….until now. What we believe is missing is an entrepreneurial mindset through a sustainability lens. ESSTEAM™ will provide our girls with the opportunity to turn concepts into concrete solutions and ideas into actions. As educators, we know that experiences help fuel our girls drive to become lifelong learners and innovators. The deepest learning happens when their passions meet an opportunity for action. Today’s students want a purpose for learning and opportunities to create value for others.

St Hilda’s is leading the way in introducing a compulsory innovative program for Years 5 to 10, incorporating entrepreneurialism, as part of each girl’s educational curriculum journey.

Our ESSTEAM™ program will inspire inventive and adaptive thinkers with a curiosity for learning, and I look forward to its lasting impact on our girls.
Principal, Fiona Johnston

YEAR 5

The entrepreneurial journey begins in Year 5, as students delve into the essence of entrepreneurship. Students explore the meaning of being an entrepreneur, examine their own personality traits, master teamwork and compromise, and understand the systematic approach to problem solving. In the latter part of the year, these acquired skills take centre stage as students creatively repurpose used plastic waste into innovative products. The culmination of their hard work unfolds at the Year 5 Pitch Night, when students present their budding business ideas before a captivated audience.

YEAR 6

Building upon their entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, students delve into the narratives of remarkable female founders and their quests to address real world issues. Students are challenged to innovate and create solutions that would enhance the value of the Chidley Campus. Working in groups, they tackle diverse projects, culminating in the Year 6 Pitch Night, when each group presents their ideas to a voting audience. The winning team’s project will secure a $5000 grant, graciously donated by the P&F.

YEAR 7

Students have the unique opportunity to complete in a team-based Hackathon, facilitated by Nicole Dyson, a highly decorated educator, entrepreneur, and globally recognised expert in project-based learning and youth entrepreneurship. Guided by Dyson, the students explore the intricacies of the design thinking process, delving into ideation, validation, and pitching. Throughout the year students strengthen their computing basics, culminating in an exciting project in which they construct smart cities by harnessing the power of Minecraft coding, navigating various government levels in the process.

YEAR 8

Students delve into the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, gaining mastery in defining an entrepreneur, navigating the problem-solving process, undergoing personality testing, honing problem discovery skills, and perfecting effective communication. Armed with these foundational skills, their challenge is to address a real-world problem. The thought-provoking documentary, 'A Plastic Ocean,' serves as a catalyst, shedding light on the devastating impact of single-use plastics on the world's oceans, and motivating students to devise innovative solutions.

YEAR 9

Navigating the proverbial "When life gives you lemons," our Year 9 students are challenged to establish a unique identity in the beverage market. Crafting their own drink, students must uncover their Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and secure the majority of the market share. Critical decisions come into play, involving choices on selling days, positions, price points, branding, and marketing strategies. With an initial loan from the Bank of St Hilda’s, each business embarks on the path of selling drinks, repaying loans, and striving to build profits. At the end of the year, each team will present their pitch to a judging panel.

YEAR 10

In Year 10, students are challenged to improve their school life and enrich the Bay View Campus experience. Students will draw on their entrepreneurial skills and experience to create an initial concept, which will then be pitched to the School Executive, providing valuable feedback for further refinement and development. The winning concept will have their project brought to life, with a generous $5000 grant from the P&F. Students will also have the opportunity to pitch to external donors for additional funding and turn their little ideas into really big ones.

ESSTEAM Queens Podcast

Produced by St Hilda's Year 10 Media class, ESSTEAM Queens: Women Who Reign is a brand new podcast series from St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls that showcases our new ESSTEAM™ Studio, study program and future opportunities for our students in the area of ESSTEAM.

St Hilda’s ESSTEAM™ Program introduces and establishes entrepreneurship skills and opportunities for girls and young women to connect with real-life problems. It’s an Entrepreneurship program that aims to solve Sustainability problems through the lens of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.

Click here to listen to the ESSTEAM Queens Podcast