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.

The birds are singing and the days are getting longer! That can only mean that Spring has sprung and the school holidays are around the corner! It is certainly nice to see the sunshine and enjoy some warmer days.

2023 Book Week

Book Week was held from Saturday 19th August to Friday 25th August and was a wonderful celebration of books, authors and illustrators, and the joy that reading books can bring to us all. Book Week is an initiative of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, and the 2023 theme was ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’. Please click here for further information on Book Week.

Many thanks to Ms Alderuccio, our leader of the Learning Resource Centre (LRC), and the amazing team in the LRC for organising various activities to celebrate Book Week. The LRC houses a wide range of books to ignite imaginations and to help our students learn and grow.

Coming up on Friday 8th September is International Literacy Day. UNESCO began this day in 1967 to recognise literacy as a human right. This year’s theme is ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies. Pease click here for further information on International Literacy Day.

MADD Week

In the last edition of the newsletter, I wrote about our school musical for 2023, ‘We Will Rock You’. Now the musical is over, we have moved into MADD Week, a celebration of music, art, dance and drama. We are truly blessed to have many talented music, art, dance and drama students at St Mary MacKillop College. Our wonderful team of passionate teachers in the Arts Learning Area nurture the creative talents of our students. Many thanks to Mr Wood, our Curriculum Leader Arts, and the team in the Arts Learning Area for organising the different activities we got to enjoy during this week including Just Dance, an impromptu jam session, chalk art, and performances by our talented students in our yearly MacKillop’s Got Talent.

Year 11 and 12 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews – Wednesday 23 August

On Wednesday 23th August, we held progress interviews for Year 11 and 12 students. Many thanks to our Year 11 and 12 teachers for their support of these interviews. These interviews provide an opportunity for teachers to meet with families, and discuss learning and strategies to maximise progress. We know that parent engagement in student learning has a positive impact on student achievement. If you were unable to attend these interviews, we encourage you to contact your child’s teachers to discuss the progress they are making in their learning. If you have any feedback on the interviews, please let me know. We wish our VCE and VCE VM/VPC students all the best with their studies.

Academic Recognition Program

This week teachers nominated students from their Year 11 classes for academic and endeavour recognition. The following students were nominated:

Academic Recognition

General Maths: Rebecca Mullan

Visual Communication: Emily Hall

Physics: Jack Helgeland

Methods: William Gilchrist

Psychology: Jorja Plant

Business Management: Sofie Mazzotta

RE: Emily Hall

Endeavour Recognition

General Maths: Jack Helgeland

Visual Communication: Sean Adams

Physics: Evita Caruso

Methods: Emily Hall

Psychology: Sean Adams

Business Management: Christian Anderson

RE: Remi Alderuccio

Teachers also nominated students from their Year 12 classes for academic and endeavour recognition. The following students were nominated:

Academic Recognition

RE: Angelica Watson, Dakota Wilckens

Business Management: Danika Meehan

Visual Communication and Design: Angelica Watson

Agriculture: Danika Meehan

EAL: Thanh Pham

Biology: Rose Crowe

Legal Studies: Charlotte Angus

Psychology: Charlotte Angus

Endeavour Recognition

RE: Thanh Pham, Brock Baker

Business Management: Nikita Rogers

Visual Communication and Design: Emily Free

Agriculture: Jye Hogan

Biology: Tanisha Frazzica

Legal Studies: Abbey Buckingham

Psychology: Rose Crowe

Thank you to the Academic Committee for organising this initiaitive.