Teaching & Learning

Students and Staff

Students have had some exceptional learning experiences over the last fortnight and have built some strong teaching and learning relationships with the staff at Greater Shepparton Secondary College. These strong relationships were further supported by the Welcome Barbeques that were held at each of the campuses over the last two weeks. Students and families had the opportunity to talk informally in a social setting and share their early experiences at Greater Shepparton Secondary College.

Staff have been extremely engaged with some valuable professional learning over the past two weeks. Learning areas have been working collaboratively to create the first Common Assessment Task (CAT) for Year 7 and Year 9 students. Each subject in Year 7 – 10 will publish three Common Assessments Tasks and Feedback on Compass per semester. Families/carers are encouraged to constantly check Compass to check the Common Assessment Tasks and Progressive feedback for each of their child’s subjects. Please contact the campus where your child attends if you require some assistance with logging onto Compass.

Some other valuable professional learning that all staff members at Greater Shepparton Secondary College have undertaken has been the delivery of the Learning Mentor Program (supporting the new and innovative curriculum which embeds social and emotional learning), Assessment and Reporting and SWPBS (School Wide Positive Behaviour in Schools). This professional learning has been undertaken either together as a whole-school, or the same presentation is delivered at each Campus. This process ensures consistency across each campus in terms of engagement and inclusion.

The Senior School at the McGuire and Wanganui Campuses have also implemented very successful AVID and Study Skills sessions. Every Wednesday, our Year 11 and 12 VCE students at both campuses receive tuition to support their studies. This tuition occurs in sessions 3 and 4, with students undertaking one ‘AVID’ session and one ‘Study Skills’ session. 

Throughout the AVID sessions, students will be taught specific skills surrounding writing, inquiry, collaboration, organisation and reading. The students will be explicitly taught these skills and then given time to practise, using their own classroom notes and materials. For example, Term 1 will see students learning the skill of focussed note taking. Focussed note taking helps students to connect with their learning; learning to summarise, reflect and apply their new understandings. This particular skill alone will be of great benefit to our students as they approach their VCE assessments and examinations.

In Term 1, the Study Skills sessions will focus on developing a positive and productive culture around private study to ensure students get the most out of not just this particular session, but also their study time at home. In addition to the focus on private study and the direct teaching of study skills, there will also be a focus on how to respond to different exam style questions from the various subject areas.

We look forward to another fortnight of engaging teaching and learning as we move forward as one united school which has a strong focus on teaching and learning excellence.

Megan Michalaidis

Associate Principal of Teaching & Learning