DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - TEACHING & LEARNING 

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 4! It has been great to welcome back students for the start of Term 4. We hope our College community had an enjoyable holiday break and our students are looking forward to an exciting term of learning. As we enter the final stretch of the 2025 school year, our school will be a hive of activity this term as semester 2 classes continue, our students prepare for their end-of-year examinations, subject selections for 2026 are finalised, and transition programs commence. We are excited for the many opportunities ahead for our students. 

We wish our Year 12 students all the very best as they finish their formal classes next week. We look forward to celebrating the end of their 6-year secondary school journey next week. During the second week of the September holidays, students undertaking Unit 3 and 4 subjects completed trial exams. The trial exams provide important preparation for the official VCAA exams our students will complete in a few weeks. The results for the trial exams help to identify what students know, and what they need to focus on revising between now and the official VCAA exam period to ensure they can achieve their personal best. 

There is a lot of information available online about the importance of revision in academic success. The following is a quote from LaTrobe University about effective revision. 

Effective revision enables you to get material from your short term memory into your long term memory. Long term memory is like a library – information that is placed in it in a systematic way is more likely to be retrievable. Revision is more effective when you are actually doing something rather than passively trying to absorb information. 

Many thanks to Mrs Haley for organising the trial exam timetable, and to our Year 12 teachers for organising the trial exams for their subjects and for providing feedback on the papers to their students. The support our amazing teachers give to our students is very much appreciated. I hope students took the time to review the feedback they received and noted the things they are doing well, as well as the areas to focus on for improvement. There is still time before the official exams begin for students to show vast improvement. 

Some of our students already know their plan for life after Year 12, and others will be relying on the ATAR score they receive in December to know the courses they can enter in 2026. Some students have already been given a placement in a course for 2026 through early entry programs, or they have arranged employment or apprenticeships for next year. Our students will have their own individual pathway for the future, and I know the education they have received at our wonderful school has provided them with the perfect foundation to launch into adulthood successfully and to make their mark on the world. 

The 2025 VCE written exams will commence on Tuesday 28 October with the English paper for 3 hours and 15 minutes. We wish our students every blessing as they prepare for their upcoming exams. When exam results are released in December, we always hear a lot about ATAR scores in the media. Even though an ATAR score may be important for entry into tertiary courses, it certainly does not define a person. There are many attributes that make our St Mary MacKillop College graduates valuable members of society. 

Term 3 Learning Reflection 

I recently sent a survey to our students asking them to reflect on their learning from Term 3. Here is a selection of the responses I received. 

What is your favourite subject and why? 

• Money Markets, because we learnt how to run a small business. 
• Japanese because I love new languages. 
• Business Management and Physical Education are my favourite subjects this year because they involve learning concepts that are relevant to real life. I found both subjects enjoyable and engaging, and the teachers passion for what they taught made the classes even more motivating to do well in them. 
• My favourite subject this term is Psychology because we got to learn about things that interested me. 
• Chemistry, great teacher, lots of fun, very interactive. 

Explain the highlight from your learning in Term 3. 

• New friends and the teachers are nice. 
• Completing all of my SACs was a highlight of Term 3 because it felt rewarding to finish them all and see my hard work pay off throughout Year 12. 
• Going to Logan Lodge on Fridays. 
• My highlight from my learning in Term 3 was going to Hope and the Shop Active for Community Services. 
• Being involved in the Renewable Energy Futures Program in Science. 

Explain the result you were most proud of achieving in Term 3. 

• When I got 97% for the maths test. 
• Getting 100% in Humanities. 
• Age champ for athletes. 
• Being in Grease. 
• Making it to state athletics. 

Outline the goals you have set for your learning in Term 4. 

• Get better grades than I did before. 
• To achieve better marks on my assessments. 
• Prepare and perform well in my year 12 exams by applying a thorough study routine. 
• To study more at home. 
• Do well in my exams. 

We wish our students all the best with their studies in Term 4. 

Nathan Lane

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning