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 so 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. As we head towards the end of the term, our students are busy completing final assessments, and our Year 8 to 11 students will soon complete exams.

Welcome back to Term 3! I hope everyone in our community had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday break. I hope the break provided an opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends, and to do activities that are not always possible to do during the busy term time.

It has been wonderful to see all of our students back at school, refreshed after the two-week holiday break. Term 3 has started with LMR netball in Bendigo, LMR Senior Boys and Girls Basketball in Echuca, the Tertiary Information Session in the Parish Function Centre for Year 11 and 12 students, and 10C work experience. Rehearsals for this year’s musical production of Mamma Mia continue. The cast have been busy rehearsing for quite some time now, and I am sure this year’s production will be amazing as it always is.

The start of a new term and semester provides an opportunity to reflect on our achievements throughout the first half of the year, and to set goals moving forward. One way to do this is for parents and caregivers to review your child’s report with them and have a constructive conversation. Celebrate your child’s achievements from semester 1, and then identify areas of improvement and set future learning goals. During TA interviews throughout the semester, students will have an opportunity to discuss the progress they are making towards achieving their goals.

On Wednesday 5 August we have interviews for Year 11 and 12 students. Information on these interviews has been included in this newsletter.

I wish our students all the best for their studies in semester 2.

Learner Profile Nominations

As part of our Teaching and Learning Framework, we have a Learner Profile. The Learner Profile outlines the dispositions we want our students to have as learners by the time they graduate.

Students who collaborate will…	be willing to participate by contributing. acknowledge each group member's opinions. work together effectively as a team. demonstrate active listening through giving and receiving feedback. finish a task.
Students who communicate will…	feel safe and confident to share their ideas. be able to communicate in a variety of ways (written, visual, verbal). be able to understand that it’s a two-way street - listening respectfully and actively and speaking respectfully, showing in both verbal and non-verbal behaviour. be willing to share their responses in class discussions. respect other people’s ideas and opinions.
Students who are critical thinkers will…	think creatively. be inquisitive, wonder and ask questions. take risks with their learning. have the courage to try and not always succeed or achieve the expected. come up with multiple solutions.
Students who are empathetic will…	be accepting of diversity. view issues from various perspectives. listen actively and reflect on what has been heard. not judge. work collaboratively.
Students who are problem solvers will…	work independently and collaboratively. consider wider perspectives. offer solutions. think analytically and creatively. be prepared to make mistakes and try again.
Students who are resilient will…	adopt a growth mindset. manage emotions and impulses. build relationships and connections. develop problem-solving strategies and implement them. develop effective communication skills - speaking and listening.

Congratulations to the following students who have been nominated by their teachers for exemplifying these dispositions throughout Semester 1. We thank you for the positive example you set within our community.

2026 NAPLAN

Shortly an Individual Student Report (ISR) for each student who participated in NAPLAN in 2026 and Year 9 NAPLAN certificates of achievement for eligible students will be sent to families.

To assist parents and carers in understanding NAPLAN reporting, an information brochure for parents and carers is available for download from the VCAA website. This brochure is available in multiple languages.

Home Study

It is timely at the start of a new semester to remind students of the expectations regarding home study. At St Mary MacKillop College we believe in developing and maintaining effective work habits from Year 7. Students from Years 7 to 12 will be given home study to complete.

We believe that home study provides the opportunity for students to be responsible for their own learning. Home study complements and reinforces classroom learning; it fosters life-long learning, self-discipline, concentration and effective study habits and routines. Home study should require a reasonable commitment, but it should not be too onerous. Students should plan their home study to take into account their family, sporting and work commitments. Students should remember thathome study does not only involve completing work from that day’s lesson, but also an opportunity for revision. In Years 7 -9, home study may include regular English and Mathematics homework tasks, revising for assessment tasks, reading of newspapers, watching the news, physical skills training or assignment and project completion. Home study also includes completion of formal reflection activities such as mind maps and a summary of the day’s learning. In Years 10 – 12 home study is determined more by the specific subject requirements. When students have not been assigned home study for a particular subject, they should still be revising and going over the content that has been presented to them during class. The time and frequency of home study is different for each year level. As a guide the following table outlines the suggested length of time for home study from Year 7 to 12.

Year 7	an average of 2 hours of home study educational learning per week
Year 8	an average of 2.5 hours of home study educational learning per week
Year 9	an average of 3 hours of home study educational learning per week
Year 10	Monday – Thursday night, students should be completing a minimum of 45 minutes of home study.
Unit 1 & 2 VCE, VET & VCAL	a minimum of two hours home study, per week, for each subject that they study.
Unit 3 & 4 VCE	a minimum of three hours home study, per week, for each subject that they study.

A reminder that parents are advised to regularly log in to the Parent Access Module (PAM) and read the feedback provided on your child’s progress. Please be aware that at the start of the new semester there will not be much information uploaded within the first few weeks as teachers are currently in the process of organising and uploading content. Our staff use a variety of digital technologies to support the delivery of the curriculum. Students may be asked to access work or upload assessments to Microsoft Teams, the Learning Areas on SIMON and so on. You may like to ask your child to show you the work they are doing in these learning platforms.

Nathan Lane

Deputy Principal Teaching & Learning

SEA GUESTHOUSE IN APOLLO BAY