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.

Even though Term 1 has been relatively short, we have still packed a lot into the term. The busyness is what makes working in a school so dynamic. We know that no two days are ever the same at our wonderful school.

At the end of the term, we acknowledge and celebrate our amazing students and the commitment they have to their learning. Throughout the term, I have visited many classes and seen our students engaged and focussed on their learning. I take as many photos as I can and include these in our fortnightly newsletter to showcase all the learning that is taking place across the school.

Easter is when we celebrate as a community the rising of Jesus after his death on the cross. As Term 1 concludes and we move into Easter and the school holidays, may the peace and joy of the Risen Christ be with us all. I hope we can consider the significance of Easter in our own families at this time.

We know our staff and students are looking forward to a well-deserved rest. I wish everyone in our community a safe and relaxing holiday break. I look forward to an exciting term of teaching and learning in Term 2.

Year 7 Reflections on Term 1

Our Year 7s have been with us for a term now, and we hope they feel settled into secondary school. Recently I asked Year 7 students to complete a short survey on their learning. Our Year 7s shared some very interesting insights into their learning from Term 1. Here are some of the responses received.

Explain your highlight from Term 1.

My highlight of this term is making new friends at this school which has been a lot of fun.
Science and learning some very eye-opening things in Humanities.
Getting to learn different subjects and classes, and Summer Sports.
Italian because it is a different class.
I liked doing Summer Sports and swimming in P.E.
The swimming carnival was really fun and I enjoyed that.
I loved doing Food Tech because I could make really yummy food and then remake it at home. I also loved doing Design Technology because it was really cool we got to make our own front cover for a book.
Other than meeting my teachers, getting to know other students and making new friends, I think my biggest highlight from Term 1 at high school would be the swimming carnival. The amount of fun I had that day and spending it with my friends and other students was awesome. Also having the opportunity to race against others was very different from primary school and was a lot more enjoyable than what I had imagined it to be.

Outline the differences you have seen from primary school to secondary school.

Walking to different classrooms, having a MacBook and your own locker.
Some differences I have noticed so far is that we have lockers to keep all our books in and that we have to take our own books to every class.
Moving around classes more, different subjects.
You have to be a lot more organised and shorter breaks.
At my old primary school there was a small number of students. There are a lot more students at high school, and sometimes I find that challenging.
The classes are longer.

Identify any challenges you've faced so far in Year 7. How did you overcome these challenges?

Forgetting people's names. I overcame this by listening to the roll and seeing who replied, also looking at SIMON to check the names of teachers and see what class I was in.
Being organised for every class. To help with this I have put up a coloured timetable in my locker and laminated one at home.
Getting used to having to run around, but I got used to it and got organised.
I faced challenges such as learning how to open my locker, but I still managed to get to class on time.
A challenge I have had so far is my homework. I need to get it done before the due date.

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