Our school has a special focus on inquiry learning using an adaptation of Kath Murdoch’s inquiry model. We plan our learning experiences around exploring and deepening our understanding of big ideas related to the curriculum.

OLHC is very proud of the work that its students have done, particularly in the "Taking Action" stage of its framework.  This stage encourages students to be thinking, exploring individuals who could generate hypotheses and test them out.  It encouraged autonomy, initiative and leadership by asking questions such as; "How could my learning impact on the world around me?"  This stage of the framework prompted student pursuit of connections among ideas and concepts.

Examples of action taken by students include:

a flower garden in the school grounds in response to the question: Can We Live Without Energy?

a science fair in response to the question: What Do You Know About Space and How it Affects Earth And Its Surroundings?

a donation to a men's refuge in response to the question: Is It My Job to Bring about The Reign of God?

Some examples of experiences provided to assist the students in finding out about key concepts and deep understandings have included a performance by Questacon, guest speakers from a men's refuge, Autism Australia, St Vincent De Paul and the area's local state parliamentarian.  A visit was undertaken to the science department at JTCHS.  Excursions were organised to the Australian Museum, the Science Centre in Wollongong, a walking trip in Sydney, a power station and wind farm at Lithgow, as well as a day trip to Canberra.