"You must be cheerful and happy, animating all around you." Catherine McAuley

DIRECTOR OF LEARNING & TEACHING

Welcome back to the 2025 school year. It has been great to see that students and staff have begun the year well in classes and that we are already starting to see a lot of academic progress being made. This month's newsletter article will focus on some of the key Learning and Teaching activities that have already taken place and that are coming up soon.

YEAR 7 INDUCTION PROGRAM

The Year 7 Induction Program ran over the first two days of school for our new Year 7 students. This induction allows our newest students the opportunity to understand what it means to be a St Joseph’s College student and become accustomed to some of the differences that secondary school has to offer. 

 

Feedback from the Year 7 students about the day has included:

  •  'I liked how it got me ready for high school and let me get used to the campus.'
  • 'I was able to get a feel of what St Joseph’s College was like, and I got to meet my teachers and classmates.'
  • 'After the two first days I felt much more ready than before.'

The culmination of this induction program will take place at the Year 7 Parent/Student/ Homeroom Teacher meetings on Thursday 27 February. At these meetings, students will go through a three-minute presentation with their parents and Homeroom teachers about what it means to be a St Joseph’s College student. We all look forward to seeing what they have learnt.

NAPLAN

The annual NAPLAN period is fast approaching for our Year 7 and Year 9 students, with sessions to be run at the college between 12 and 14 March. Attached is information for parents and caregivers about the intention of NAPLAN and the processes involved. If you have any further queries about what is expected of students, please contact me by email for further information.

naplan-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

HOME STUDY

As we start to move further into the school year, the amount of home study that students are completing will start to increase. The college's general guidelines for home study are:

  • Years 7 and 8 – 30 to 45 minutes per night (Note – Year 7 students will not receive any home study for the first 6 weeks of the year.)
  • Years 9 and 10 – 45 to 90 minutes per night
  • VCE and VCE VM – 1 to 3 hours per night

Home study can take many different forms including personal reading, the completion of work set by a teacher, the revision of content covered in class, or the completion of practice tasks. By introducing students to the concept of home study in the early years, they will become accustomed to the higher expectations on them in the later years of secondary education. Organising home study around other commitments outside of school is also important, and these guidelines aim to allow students to develop this level of personal organisation throughout their secondary education.

 

Mr Marcus Parker

Director of Learning & Teaching