Professional Culture and Growth

Professional Learning and Development 

Coaching vs Mentoring 

In our new Position of Leadership structure, we have appointed two Pedagogical Coaches to work with our teachers to support and build on their pedagogical practices. 

You may ask, “what is pedagogy”? It is the method and practice of how we teach a concept. The pedagogy can change based on what concept is being taught and the year level to ensure the most effective way for students to learn and understand the concept. 

So what is coaching? How does it differ from mentoring? 

Coaching is about supporting and guiding someone to achieve their specific goals by providing them with guidance and the right skills. It differs from mentoring, which can often be a sharing of knowledge or skill from a more experienced teacher to a graduate or early career teacher.

Research has found that a coaching focus is more successful when you want to empower staff and help them feel confident in their work. We will be working with Growth Coaching International to support our Pedagogical Coaches in developing their coaching skills to support our teachers and learning support officers. 

We continue to work with our staff to be lifelong learners, just our College Vision outlines for our students, we echo this in our work as educators and facilitators of learning so that your child can achieve their best.

Curriculum Development Day – 14 August

On Wednesday 14 August, teaching staff came together to work on developing Year 7 to 10 Curriculum in preparation for the rollout of the Victorian Curriculum 2.0. The day allowed Learning Area teams to focus on their planning and documentation, as well as their assessments, learning activities and resources that will support the implementation of the curriculum and engage students with the content and learning. Whilst one day is helpful, planning had already commenced at the start of Term 3 and each Learning Area is given time throughout Term 3 and 4 to continue this important work in readiness for 2025. 

If you have had any changes to your contact details or had family circumstances change it is important to contact the college to update your details. This also includes any changes to other family members or friends you have listed as a contact for your child. Ensuring your details are up to date means that we can make contact when needed. Please call or email college reception to update your details. 

Staffing and Recruitment

On Wednesday 31 July, our Acting Director of Staff Development Nikki Davies and myself attended the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Education Career’s Expo. We spent the day talking to Bachelor of Education and Master of Education Students about their employment prospects and encouraging them think about working in beautiful Warragul. It was a successful day of actively promoting our wonderful community and we hope to entice more graduate teachers to work with us at Marist-Sion College.

Preparation has now commenced for 2025 staffing. Whilst we are still experiencing a teacher shortage, we are still fortunate to be receiving applications from both graduate and experienced teachers who would like to join our community in 2025. 

Georgie Erpisimidis

Deputy Principal – Professional Culture and Growth