Newsletter

Assistant Principal's report

In the blink of an eye, we’re 4 weeks in to the final term of 2019. We said farewell to this year’s Year 12 cohort and wished them well for the upcoming exams. Next week we welcome the 2020 cohort of Year 7 students for their transition day. How quickly the year has progressed.

Other recent events that have highlighted the many strengths of Maffra Secondary College include:

  • VCAL students doing a brilliant job transforming the Maffra Skate Park and being interviewed on the Channel 9 news.
  • Year 10 students attended mock interviews with some employers being so impressed they offered part-time employment.
  • Year 8-11 students being challenged during the Beacon careers program.
  • Year 10 students completing the nation-wide NAP assessment for Civics and Citizenship.
  • The MSC Art Exhibition showcasing the amazing talents of our students to the broader community.
  • Students, parents and staff successfully completing the 97km Kokoda trek in PNG.
  • Josh and Bridie representing MSC in triple jump at the State Athletics Finals in Melbourne.
  • VCAL students learning new skills and qualifications. I particularly enjoyed the café quality coffees.
  • 2020 School Captain nomination speeches from 5 passionate future leaders. I know these students are highly capable and will ensure they empower student voice at our college. I would like to congratulate the 2019 School Captains: Claire Coster and Vicles Higgins, along with Vice Captains: Emily Saddington and Riley Gieschen.

As we approach the end of the 2019 school year, I want to emphasise the importance of maintaining focus on learning throughout the busy month ahead. Students should use the upcoming Progress Reports (published on Thursday 7th November) and Continuous Feedback to identify strengths in their learning and also areas that can be improved through targeted effort in the coming weeks.

The upcoming Year 9, 10 and 11 exams provide valuable practice for learning how to study and demonstrate understanding in a timed environment. I wish our students good luck with achieving their learning goals during this important time of the year. Regardless of your level of success, you should reflect on your efforts, then choose your goals for the remainder of 2019 and also for next year.

Review of Reporting and Assessment

This semester the Curriculum Committee have been reviewing how reporting and assessment is done at Maffra Secondary College. This has included a working party (sub-committee) reviewing current assessment schedules and reporting structures while domains have been busy documenting a guaranteed and viable curriculum. The working party have investigated the department guidelines and current best practice in their review. Feedback has been sought from students and staff, with parents the next source of valuable feedback. If parents could provide feedback about the following questions by emailing: wallace.nathan.n@edumail.vic.gov.au

  1. What do you like about our current reporting structure?
  2. What would you like to see improved about our reporting structure?

This review will continue into 2020 with changes to our progress reports matrix and assessment timelines likely. All this is to allow all students the opportunity to achieve success in their learning.  

 

Mr Nathan Wallace

Assistant Principal