Learning  

Dear Parents /Guardians,

Welcome back to 2024, I trust that all students are their families have enjoyed a warm welcome back from their teachers and classmates and are excited about what lies ahead.  

It was wonderful to welcome back seventeen of our twenty high achievers from 2023 and hear the encouraging words of our 2023 Dux, Krissy Francis. Krissy recognised that while we were celebrating our high achievers she wanted to also congratulate all the students who performed to the best of their ability and who successfully achieved their goals either academically, on the sporting field, musically, artistically, raising awareness for those less fortunate or by living out the Mercy Values of Courage, Compassion, Hospitality, Justice, Respect and Service.  At the Academy, we celebrate and are proud of all our students those students who along with the support of their families and their teachers who pursue and achieve their goals. Krissy encouraged all students to try their best in everything they do, and I echo this sentiment. I encourage all students to consider what their own personal goals are for 2024 and identify the people who will be their supporter in order for us all to grow stronger together. 

VCE Information Evening 

Thank you to the parents and students who joined us for the VCE Information Session on Thursday 8th February. The partnership between school, parents and students is vital to a student achieving their individual success and we appreciate your attendance and support. If you were unable to tune in students can access a recording to the information session on their Year Level Wellbeing page on Compass. 

Please note that you need to login in with an Academy account to view the recording so please ask your child to login with you. If you have any further questions please contact the relevant staff member at the college. 

Homework Guidelines 

The following guidelines set out the approximate amount of time a student should be spending each night on their homework.  There will be certain times in the school year where a little more or a little less homework is appropriate. 

If a student has no homework, they are encouraged to read for at least 30 minutes and/or complete revision work. 

Year 7                  45min to 1 ¼ hours 

Year 8                  1 hour to 1 ½ hours  

Year 9                  1 ½  hours to 2 hours  

Year 10               2 hours to 2.5 hours  

Year 11               2.5 to 3 hours   

Year 12               3 hours to 3.5 hours  

Of course, these guidelines are ‘approximates’ and students are encouraged to organise their time to best suit them, allowing for extra-curricular and family commitments.  Furthermore, if you are finding that your daughter is doing significantly more or less than these guidelines, we encourage you to make contact with her Mentor Group teacher, to discuss further. 

Compass  

Hopefully all parents are now able to log in to Compass. In 2024, we are extending our use of Compass this year particularly for student learning.  Students will see their lesson plans on their class pages and parents can also check and offer support. In addition, students and parents will be able to monitor progress throughout the semester by seeing feedback on assessments and learning tasks in real time rather than waiting for the reports. You will also be able to see student attendance at extra curricular groups or enrichment classes. All of this will help create a conversation with your child about their days at the Academy and allow us to grow stronger together. 

You should now be able to view your child’s schedule, lesson plans, check their attendance, add attendance notes, email teachers, see previous year reports, see feedback about performance on assessment tasks, receive news feed items. If using the App, you can turn on notifications to see current newsfeed items or items that require your attention.  

If you do have any subject related questions, please contact your child’s subject teacher.  

Wishing all our students, families and the whole community a wonderful 2024. 

Ms Lucy Neil

Deputy Principal, Learning & Teaching