Leadership Report

What a welcoming community Magill School is! My first eight weeks here have been spent getting to know the wonderful students, staff, and programs that make our school special. It has also been great to meet many families, particularly at the crossings before and after school. 

For those of you I haven’t met yet, I am the new Assistant Principal who will be leading the numeracy focus at Magill this year. This includes supporting teachers in implementing the new South Australian Curriculum. What is special about our state curriculum is the inclusion of dispositions to develop lifelong learning skills. In mathematics, this means helping students become resilient, resourceful, and reflective. These dispositions are important for learning success, building confidence, motivation, and persistence in tackling mathematical challenges.

Magill School has many high-achieving students, and this year we are introducing the Maths Olympiad, a national competition for students in Years 3-6. This program develops students' problem-solving skills through four competition papers across the year. We are trialing this program in 2025 with 60 students.

On Monday, staff at Magill attended a professional learning day with Brendan Lee, followed by in-class modelling sessions on Tuesday. Brendan presented teachers with evidence-informed strategies that build their ability to guide students from learning something new to applying new concepts confidently. Teachers will now work collaboratively to develop this work. 

Over the last two weeks, students in Year 3 and 5 participated in NAPLAN. Our teachers did a great job ensuring our students had the skills to do their best, including how to use the online NAPLAN platform. Students put their best effort into their tests and overall maintained a positive attitude. Results from the tests, which show students skills in reading, writing and maths will be sent to the school next term. 

A reminder that Learning Conversations will take place in Week 10, from April 1st to 3rd. Bookings are now open and close on Thursday, March 27th. Please check your email for instructions on how to book a time with your child’s teacher—this is a great opportunity to discuss progress and learning goals. I look forward to a fantastic year of learning and growth with the Magill community!

Kind regards,

Sonia Magon

Assistant Principal