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.

Welcome back to Term 4! We hope our College community had an enjoyable holiday break and our students are looking forward to an exciting term of learning. 

It is not long now until our Year 12 students finish. During the second week of the September holidays, students undertaking Unit 3 and 4 subjects completed trial examinations. 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 2025. Some students have already been given a placement in a course for 2025 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 2024 VCE written exams will commence on Tuesday 29 October with the English paper for 3 hour 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?

• Visual Communication and Design as it is creative and gives the opportunity to consistently improve your work to make things to your best ability. My class also is small, making for a close and interactive group of friendly people to work with.
• My favourite subject would have to be English because I enjoy learning about the novels we read. Right now, we are studying Dear Evan Hansen. I also enjoy drama because I like acting and role playing.
• I enjoy food tech because we get to cook a variety of foods and learn about nutrition.
• Money Markets - I enjoy learning about economics and particularly enjoyed the small business on market day which was a big success.
• My favourite subject is Science because I find it fascinating to learn about matter and energy in living systems. I enjoy discovering new terms and concepts that I haven't encountered before. Overall, I appreciate how my teacher explains topics clearly and demonstrates a deep understanding of the material, which makes the learning experience more engaging.
• English is my favourite subject as I have a passion for writing and reading, and I enjoy studying the subject.

Explain the highlight from your learning in Term 3.

• Learning to play the keyboard in music.
• My highlight of Term 3 was watching the school performance of 'Legally Blonde'.
• My small business on Market Day in Money Markets and the carnival game I designed in Maths.
• A highlight that stuck out to me in Term 3 was being able to achieve a higher mark in a subject I am not very confident with, and seeing progress within that class.
• My highlight of Term 3 would be the Olympics Day we had because everyone got to participate and it was really fun.
• My highlight was performing our gymnastics routine in PE.

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

• I was really proud of my result I received in Business Management for the group project of running a small business. We all put in a lot of effort and time meaning we were able to collectively achieve a high grade.
• I was most proud of my English essay results and RE assessment results.
• I was proud of myself in the school production as I am not one to be on stage, but I performed and had so much fun, and can't wait to do it again.
• The confidence in communicating with people is the result I am most proud of after Term 3.
• Getting to regionals for athletics.
• Getting a high in Maths because I learnt a lot during the term.

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

• Do my exams to the best of my ability.
• My goals for this term are to keep on top of study for my SACs and work. I'm planning to start some art for myself and to make something that I'm proud of.
• My goal for Term 4 is to get good grades in all of my classes and finish this year strong.
• I have high expectations of myself, to achieve high marks within all my classes and to work hard to the best of my ability.
• I will try to write good essays in English and improve my pronunciation and vocabulary more.
• To stay on top of my studies, to strive for better grades and to socialise more.

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

Academic Recognition Program – from the Academic Captains

Over the past few weeks, teachers have nominated students from their Year 8 and 9 classes for academic excellence/class achievement and student endeavour.

Congratulations to the following Year 8 students for being nominated for academic excellence/class achievement and endeavour.

Academic excellence and/or class achievement:

Student endeavour:

Congratulations to the following Year 9 students for being nominated for academic excellence/class achievement and endeavour.

Academic excellence and/or class achievement:

Student endeavour:

Thank you to the Academic Committee for organising this initiative.

English Novels Early Orders

Students in Years 8-12 in 2025 are now able to purchase their English novels for next year, through the Campion Early Order link: https://order.campion.com.au?school-code=98E599E6. The Resource List code is 7V4W . 

It is highly recommended by your teachers that you purchase these texts for extended reading during the holiday period.

All orders are to be completed online by Wednesday 30th October 2024.  Please click on the link below to view the list of early resources for each year level. 

Nathan Lane

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning