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.

We are now well and truly back into school life for Term 2. We have already offered a range of activities both within and outside of the classroom that help to enrich the educational experience our students receive. Thank you to all the staff who have organised and supervised these activities.

Planning for the 2025 school year has already commenced. On Wednesday and Thursday, we welcomed groups of Year 6 students for our Transition Days. It was wonderful to see these students join our community on these days. Our Subject Expo is coming up in a few weeks and I have included further information about this year’s event below.

Subject Expo

Our annual Subject Expo is a wonderful celebration of learning and will be held on Wednesday 22nd May from 5:00pm to 8:00pm in the Jubilee Centre (JC). We encourage students and their parents to attend this event.

Each Learning Area will have a stall, and students and parents will be able to visit the stalls, ask questions and get information about our subject offerings in 2025.

Over the coming week's students will be visited in their classes by members of the Pathways Team and the subject selection process will be explained to them. They will be given a planning sheet to help with their selections. I encourage our students to have conversations at home and with their teachers about the subjects they would like to study in 2025.

Year 9 students have had our VCE acceleration policy explained to them, and the policy can be found here. We are blessed with an expert team of Pathways teachers who will support your child in making informed choices regarding the subjects they will choose for next year.

Information Sessions for 2025 in the Parish Function Centre for students and parents:

Year 7 2025 Parent Information: 5:45pm

Year 9 and Year 10 2025 Pathways Information: 6:30pm

Year 11 and 12 2025 Pathways Information: 7:15pm

Each year we produce a comprehensive Curriculum Handbook which outlines the subjects we offer from Years 7 to 12. This document is currently being updated and will be available on the College website and PAM. Thank you to Vanessa Hall for designing the cover for this year’s handbook.

Word Education Support Personnel (ESP) Day – Thursday 16 May

On Thursday 16th May, the enormous contribution of Education Support Staff is recognised internationally. The support staff in our school: the administration team, canteen staff, LSOs, LRC staff, IT team, maintenance, counsellors and cleaners are all vital to the educational journey of our students and we thank you very much for the contributions you make to our wonderful school.

Parent Access Module (PAM) Video

PAM is a great place to find out information about your child and their learning. Recently I created a short video tutorial explaining assessment and reporting in PAM. Please find here the link to the video. I hope this video is a useful resource for understanding assessment and reporting at our school. I welcome any feedback to improve the video.

I conclude this week’s newsletter article with an acknowledgement of the mothers in our community. I wish them a very Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. Mary MacKillop reminded us that ‘gratitude is the memory of the heart.’ Mother’s Day is a wonderful way to show gratitude and to recognise all that mothers do for their families every day, the love and care they show and the sacrifices they make. I hope the mothers in our community are spoilt on Sunday!

At our Teaching and Learning Staff Meeting on Tuesday, I shared the following Mother’s Day Blessing Prayer.

On this Mother’s Day, we pray for blessings on all women who have loved and nurtured us throughout our lives. We give thanks for the mothers who have guided and protected us, who have taught and encouraged us.

We give thanks for mothers who have passed away, birth mothers, adoptive mothers, foster mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, and for all women who take on a motherly role.

We ask your blessing, dear Lord, upon mothers who have lost children, that they may have your continuing strength and courage. We ask your blessing too, upon those who would like to be mothers. Pour your blessings upon all women here today. Give them the strength to live the faithful and loving lives you call them to live. Protect and guide them. Keep them in your care. Amen.

Source: https://stannes.com.au/mothers-day-prayer/

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