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.

Staff Professional Learning Day – Friday 7 March

On Friday 7 March, our teaching staff and LSOs gathered in the morning and listened to a presentation from Trisha Jha from the Centre for Independent Studies. Trisha presented to our staff on the Science of Learning.

In the afternoon we had an opportunity to join with our colleagues from St Mary’s Primary School and share our teaching practice. It was a great opportunity to have conversations with our primary colleagues and to learn from them.

NAPLAN

This week students in Year 7 and 9 completed the NAPLAN tests for writing, reading and conventions of language. On Monday they will complete the numeracy test. I commend our students for the positive way they have approached the tests so far.

10 minutes of reading a day

Our Year 7 and 8 students start their lesson 5 class each day reading for 10 minutes, unless they have a practical class. Recently Mrs Op’t Hoog shared with me an interesting article on the impact 10 minutes of reading each day has. The link to the article is below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Uk87bt5ua9txYzsK-TFpayBSc8BnCbto/view?usp=sharing 

VCE/VCE VM/VPC/VET Interviews

Parents and students are invited to attend the VCE/VCE VM/VPC/VET Parent/Teacher/Student Interview evening on Wednesday 26 March from 4:00pm to 8:00pm. These interviews include any Year 10 student studying a Year 11 VCE Unit 1 Subject. Please refer to the booking information included in this newsletter.

Year 7 to 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

Parents and students are invited to attend the Year 7 to 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interview evening on Wednesday 23 April from 4:00pm to 8:00pm. Please refer to the booking information included in this newsletter.

Homework Checklist for Parents

Homework is an important extension of the learning that occurs during class time. In the first edition of the newsletter for 2025 I included information on our home study guidelines. Please find here a list of useful strategies to support parents with their child’s homework.

Please also find here an article on the top 10 tips on how to study smarter, not longer.

2025 Student Information

Our Student Information document for 2025 has been updated and is now available for students to access on SIMON under Student Links. Parents are also able to access the document on PAM. A range of information is included in the document including our lesson times, homeroom teachers, student leaders, College Community Expectations and uniform expectations. Please let me know if you have any feedback on this document.

Nathan Lane

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning