DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - TEACHING & LEARNING REPORT 

Vision for Teaching and Learning at St Mary MacKillop College - a statement that drives the development of a high performance learning culture at SMMC

At St Mary MacKillop College we have high expectations of our students as we equip them with the knowledge, skills and dispositions for lifelong learning. We pursue excellence through a teaching and learning environment that is inclusive, engaging and encourages growth. We value collaboration, innovation and building strong relationships.

Welcome back to Term 2. I hope all members of our College community had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday break. I hope our students are refreshed and re-energised for another exciting term of learning. We have much to look forward to this term and plenty of opportunities to celebrate our students’ achievements in many areas.

The term started on Monday with a Professional Learning Day for our staff. The day focused on supporting students with autism and was facilitated by Positive Partnerships. Throughout the day we were presented with a range of strategies to support students with autism, as well as opportunities to engage in conversations and reflections with our colleagues. For further information, please go to: https://www.positivepartnerships.com.au/ 

Thank you to our parents and guardians who attended Wednesday’s Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews for students in Year 7 to 10. These interviews are an important part of our assessment and reporting to our community. I encourage parents and guardians to check the Parent Access Module (PAM) regularly for the results and feedback for your child’s assessment tasks. During the evening we also had a display of student work in the Parish Function Centre. It was a great opportunity to showcase the amazing work from our students. 

Subject Expo

Our Subject Expo will be held on Wednesday 24th May. Over the coming weeks students will be starting to have conversations with their teachers about their subject selections for 2024. Year 9 students have had our VCE acceleration policy explained to them and the policy can be found here. We are blessed with an expert team of Pathways teachers who will support your child in making informed choices regarding the subjects they will choose for next year.

Information Sessions for 2024 in the Parish Function Centre

Year 7 2024 Parent Information: 5:45pm

Year 9 and Year 10 2024 Pathways Information: 6:30pm

Year 11 and 12 2024 Pathways Information: 7:30pm

VCE Information

Our VCE students have completed their first term of Unit 1 (Year 11) and Unit 3 (Year 12) subjects. At the start of the new term, I thought I would provide some further information on the VCE policies and procedures.

What is a Study Design?

• Each subject at VCE level has a Study Design. The study designs for each subject are produced by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). They detail the areas of study, key knowledge and skills students are required to demonstrate an understanding of in order to achieve a satisfactory result for each unit.
• Study designs are available from the VCAA website, and our VCE teachers refer to them a lot in their classes.
• The external examinations for Unit 3/4 (Year 12) subjects are constructed using the key knowledge and skills outlined in the Study Design.
• Students should make sure they understand the key knowledge and skills from the Study Design before the end of year examinations.

Examinations

• The end of year Unit 3/4 (Year 12) exams are externally set and assessed by the VCAA. Every student taking the same Unit 3/4 subject will complete the same exam at the same time. Languages, music, dance and drama also have a performance exam along with a written exam. 
• The external examinations are marked by assessors who are experts in their area of study. All VCE studies are marked to the same standard and there are multiple checks to make sure marking is fair and consistent.

Past Exams and Reports

• Past VCE and VCE VET examination reports are a great tool for students to use when they are preparing for their Unit 3/4 external examinations. By completing past examination papers, students are able to familiarise themselves with the format of the exam, the time required to complete each section, practise applying their knowledge and skills and understand their strengths and areas for improvement.
• All past examinations on the VCAA website are accompanied by an examination report. This report contains useful information and advice based on the previous performance of students in the study. The reports usually contain sample answers to questions from the written examination. It is highly recommended students read these reports as they prepare for their exams.
• Further information can be found on the VCAA website at: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/HomePage.aspx 

A guide to support parents of VCE/VCAL /VCE VM and VPC students is available on PAM.

We wish our VCE and VCAL /VCE VM and VPC students all the very best for their studies this year.

Learning Recognition Program

Congratulations to the following students for being nominated by their teachers for academic achievement and endeavour.

Year 9

Academic

Lisa Bail, Ava Crow, Audrey Domaille, Grace Gibson, Archie Gilchrist, Willem Holmes, Maggie Meney, Mikaela Mitchell, Kiah Prince

Endeavour

Mitchell Anderson, Lisa Bail, Trinity Corbitt, Isabella Corrie, Lachlan Jones, Heidi Paroissien, Isabella Papa, Aloka Ratnayake, Aleah Richards, Fallon Smits 

Year 10

Academic

Holly Ayars, Rio Barry, Brooklyn Benham, Montana Davies, Vanessa Hall, Jaya Jenkins-Jaiswal, Miley Keam, Madison McCann, Maeve Sheldrick, William Tilbrook, Lillie Wallace

Endeavour

Holly Ayars, Tylan Collins, Jasmine Harvey, Paddy Hufer, Bailey Johnson, Nataivia Jones, Madison McCann, Ava Seymour, Shakira Siggins, William Tilbrook, Zoe White

Year 11

Academic Recognition

Amalie Bell, Grace Doherty, William Gilchrist, Emily Hall, Abbey Houlihan, Lucy McCann, Jorja Plant, Valerio Ramaccia, Brooke Thomson, Anna Whiting

Endeavour Recognition

Remi Alderuccio, Gabby Atkinson, Evita Caruso, Grace Doherty, Krystal Donohue, Callan Jagger, Lucy McCann, Harry Scott, Kate Whorwood