Teaching & Learning

With the school holiday break well and truly behind us, Lyndale Secondary College has returned to a busy and productive term, with students engaging in clubs, sport, excursions, performances and rehearsals across the school.

Alongside these opportunities, our core focus remains improving teaching and learning to ensure every student achieves their best. Our improvement work centres on two key areas: strengthening what we teach and refining how we teach.

Through Learning Teams, staff work collaboratively to develop curriculum, design assessments and ensure consistent, high-quality teaching aligned to the Victorian Curriculum and VCE Study Designs. At the same time, teachers continue to strengthen classroom practice through Professional Learning Communities, learning walks and classroom observations focused on student engagement, thinking and accountability for learning.

Once again, a number of our leaders and teaching staff participated in professional learning with Bronwyn Ryrie Jones and her Responsive Teaching approach to further enhance student outcomes.

We are proud to undertake this work in a calm and supportive learning environment, with families who value education and work closely with us to support student success.

Please see the instructional model we have previously published, which outlines the structure of all our lessons.

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

While Lyndale Secondary College will not be offering students the opportunity to complete the ICAS exams on-site due to historically low participation numbers, students who are keen to take part in ICAS can still do so independently.

What is ICAS? 

ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling, and Digital Technologies.

ICAS results are in-depth and meaningful, and ICAS evaluates student performance against other competition entrants across the state and nation. The data reveals student strengths and weaknesses and can help you recognise and support your child's academic journey.

Learn more about ICAS here: icasassessments.com/products-icas/

ICAS results and certificate

Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals.

Your child’s ICAS certificates will show their results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”. - Use these to enter the Results Portal (https://orti.icasassessments.com/ortiStudent)

How to participate in ICAS

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please go to the Parent Portal to register for your chosen subjects. The easiest way to do this is by using this link to log directly into the shop and start registering: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/parent-payment/RMA716

Registration for all subject areas closes on Monday 27 July at 11:59pm.

Please see the subjects below, as well as the sitting dates, cost, and relevant contact details for each subject:

Please note, we cannot facilitate refunds or make alterations as all money is paid directly to ICAS Assessments. We also do not offer ICAS exams on-site, so you will have to nominate a different location if you would like your child to participate.

You can read the competitions’ terms and conditions by clicking on the following link: https://www.icasassessments.com/icasa-terms-and-conditions/#icas-parents

English Novels Years 7-10

Students are reminded that they should have completed reading their English novels at least once for this term. If you are unsure, the following texts are being studied in each year level:

• Year 7: Crow Country – Kate Constable
• Year 7 EAL: Two Hands Together – Diana Kidd
• Year 8: The Giver – Lois Lowry
• Year 8 EAL: Parvana – Deborah Ellis
• Year 9: The Art of Taxidermy – Sharon Kernot
• Year 9 EAL: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
• Year 10: Night – Elie Wiesel

• Year 10 EAL: Animal Farm – George Orwell

   

Please note that VCE and VCE VM students also have set texts they should be reading and annotating regularly, as this is an important part of senior English study.

Jessica Quinn

Assistant Principal

Staff and Student Learning

Year 9 and 10 Debating

In Term 2, our Year 9 and 10 debating teams participated in Rounds 2 and 3 of the DAV (Debating Association of Victoria) online debating program. Their topics included:

• That petrol cars should be banned for business purposes
• We regret the rise of social media as a primary news source
• That schools should make uniform optional

Across both rounds, students demonstrated real commitment to preparation. We recognise their commitment to work together during the school holidays to prepare for Round 2, which was held in the first week of Term 2. Lunchtime debate meetings have been filled with lively argument‑testing and speech and rebuttal practice.

Congratulations to the Year 9 team who won their Round 3 debate on Wednesday 6 May:

Ekjot Bajaj

Olivia Fletcher

Zac Rowe

Sandali Mathew

Hala Refaieh

Ekjot was awarded best speaker. An outstanding effort!

We look forward to working together for rounds 4 and 5 and into the finals.

Ms Nguyen and Ms Quayle

Debating Coordinators