Vision for Instruction - Parent Information Sessions

Thank you to all the parents who joined us for our Vision for Instruction sessions over the past fortnight. We are also grateful to our dedicated staff for preparing and presenting so thoughtfully. Together, we continue to build strong partnerships that help every child flourish in their learning.

St Mary's Primary School, as a proud part of the strategic vision of Melbourne Archdioceses Catholic Schools (MACS) to be a benchmark for excellent teaching and learning. That means combining academic excellence with our Catholic identity and making sure every child gets the best possible education.

A very brief recap of some of the background theory that informs the Vision for Instruction:

What science tells us about learners

John Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) underpins much of the Vision for Instruction. CLT is about how our brain learns new things. Our short-term memory can only handle a small amount of information at once. If we give it too much, learning becomes harder. Sweller explains three types of “load” on our brain: intrinsic (how hard the task is), extraneous (extra stuff that gets in the way), and germane (the thinking that helps us learn).

Good teaching keeps out the distractions, makes hard things easier to follow, and encourages the thinking that helps new ideas stick. The goal is to help learning happen without overwhelming the brain. MACS are working with Dr Simon Breakspear on this system-wide approach and using the work of Educational Psychologist, Barak Rosenshine along with education research leaders, have developed a set of Instructional Principles which we are adopting over the period of the next few years.

What science tells us about effective instruction

The key features of explicit teaching that directly help avoid overloading working memory:

Small steps – breaking new content into short, manageable chunks so students aren’t juggling too much at once
Modelled practice (Teacher) including modelling of skills and thinking processes about concept development or organisational routines

Guided practice – working alongside the teacher with support
Ability-based independent work while keeping demands realistic

Checking for understanding – frequent questioning and feedback ensure students are secure before adding more complexity

Cognitive science shows that getting new learning into long-term memory isn’t about a single lesson it’s about repeated, deliberate practice over time. Our brains strengthen connections between neurons each time we revisit and actively use what we’ve learned.

This means students need multiple, spaced opportunities to review a skill or recall information before it becomes automatic. The process works best when practice is varied, includes feedback and is spread out rather than crammed into one session.

As parents, this means encouraging small, regular bursts of practice whether it’s reading, number facts, or problem-solving to help learning stick for the long haul.

It was a pleasure discussing the Vision for Instruction with you at our parent evenings and watch out for more information about some more practical sessions we hope to be able to organise in Term 4.

Imaginarium Updates

Thank you to those who have purchased their tickets already. Please check the Imaginarium page of the newsletter for key information about the next few weeks and the performance day.

TICKETS

T-Ball Clinics

A huge thank you to the St Kilda Baseball Club for running T-ball clinics at St Mary's for the past three weeks. All the students have enjoyed and benefitted from your sessions. To Cindy and Greg and the team, a heart-felt thanks! Many students and families have told me how much they loved the sessions and have taken home your flyers for your local club program.

For families wanting more information please visit the link here

Futsal Clinics (Years 3-6)

From week 7 we are delighted to welcome Andy, Kogu and the Brighton Grammar Soccer Academy to run a series of small-sided football (futsal) clinics with our students.

Week 7 Session 1

Tuesday 2nd September

Year 3&4 (9am-10am)

Years 5&6 (10am-11am)

Week 8 Session 2

Tuesday 9th September

Year 3&4(9am-10am)

Years 5&6 (10am-11am)

Week 9 Session 3

Tuesday 16th September

Year 3&4 (9am-10am)

Years 5&6 (10am-11am)

Italian Day 2025

Please note that this year we are celebrating Italian Day on Monday 13th October 2025. I have attached a letter outlining further information about the day from Signora Vozzo.

Feast of the Assumption Mass

Last Friday our school community came together to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, one of the most important feast days in the Catholic calendar. This solemnity honours Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who our faith teaches was taken body and soul into heaven, reminding us of her deep faith and her special place in God’s plan of salvation. It was a privilege to be part of our community and to gather as a whole school at Mass, joining in prayer and song to honour Mary and give thanks for her role as a model of discipleship. It was a joyful celebration of faith, unity and devotion, and we are grateful to our parish for welcoming us so warmly.

The Preps and Year Ones were fortunate to participate in a special Feast of the Assumption Scripture Hunt with their buddies on a beautiful afternoon in Alma Park on Thursday 14 August. A huge shoutout to the Faith and Social Justice Leaders for creating and running this fantastic example of student led faith formation. Well done Olivia, Isaac, Zoey and Anna.

MACS - School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS)

UPDATE SURVEY WINDOW opens Monday 1st September.

We would ask every family to please take the time to complete the survey. Your feedback is critical to us and our plans moving forward.

MACSSIS survey results are reviewed by the School and the MACS office and are a key data set to future planning. It is a very effective way for families to give feedback about your experience at our school.

It is as important to know what we are doing well, as well as areas for improvement, so feedback is critical especially if you are happy with the school.

MACSSIS is a low impact, high return set of tools for creating, collecting, analysing, interpreting and using data to inform Catholic school improvement. MACSSIS produces perception data. This data tells us about what different people in a school community think and feel about their learning environment.

The surveys have been designed in alignment with the School Improvement Framework (SIF) Rubric capabilities, and gather data from:

students in Years 4–12
families
teachers and non-teaching staff.

Survey questions cover several domains, which vary across the student, family and staff datasets.

Families will be emailed an invitation to participate in the survey during the window and all students in years 4, 5 & 6 will complete the survey. Please see the letter of consent below and email the school if you do not wish for your child to participate.

Community Calendar

The 2025 community calendar can be found on the Calendar page but we encourage all families to connect to the School’s Google Community Calendar.

Please also see link to our Google Calendar.

If you wish to add this calendar to your personal device, you can use the following ical link:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/c_c8el163bek1cvane44i0pm23eo%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

TheirCare Program