DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - TEACHING & LEARNING REPORT 

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 have been blessed with some lovely weather this week. Spring is certainly around the corner!

2024 National Science Week

This week we have celebrated National Science Week, Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. The 2024 school theme for National Science Week is 'Species Survival – More Than Just Sustainability'. I read with interest the Australian Science Teachers Association teacher resource book for this year’s National Science week, and The Hon Ed Husic MP, Minister for Industry and Science, says that this theme ‘explores some of the critical challenges impacting Earth’s human, animal and plant habitation, especially here in Australia’.

I thank our amazing team of Science teachers, led by Mrs Jaclyn Clark, Science Curriculum Leader, for organising different activities to engage our students throughout this week. Science is all around us. From the medicines we take when we are sick, to the planes we fly in when we travel. Science is an important Learning Area in our curriculum. It enables students to ask questions about the world around them, to hypothesise and to find answers through experiments. When I wander around our school, I always enjoy seeing the exciting learning taking place in our Science classrooms. Please click here for further information on National Science Week.

Parent Access Module (PAM)

We find ourselves at the halfway mark for Term 3. I would like to encourage all parents and guardians to take the time to log on to the Parent Access Module (PAM) and review their child’s progress and workload as communicated in their Teacher Advisor reports, class tasks, assessment task grades and teacher feedback. 

We encourage conversations at home around learning and the following questions may assist in these conversations:

• What progress have you made?
• What learning do you still need to do in order to improve your performance?
• What learning goals have you set for yourself?

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact the relevant teacher directly.

Year 11 and 12 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews – Wednesday 14 August

On Wednesday 14 August, we held progress interviews for Year 11 and 12 students. Many thanks to our Year 11 and 12 teachers for their support of these interviews. These interviews provide an opportunity for teachers to meet with families, and discuss learning and strategies to maximise progress. We know that parent engagement in student learning has a positive impact on student achievement. If you were unable to attend these interviews, we encourage you to contact your child’s teachers to discuss the progress they are making in their learning. Please let me know if you have any feedback on the interviews. We wish our VCE and VCE VM/VPC students all the best with their studies.

Academic Recognition Program

Over the past few weeks teachers have nominated students from their Year 7, 8 and 9 classes for academic excellence/class achievement and student endeavour.

Congratulations to the following Year 7 students for being nominated for academic excellence/class achievement and endeavour.

Academic excellence/class achievement:

Ava Bissett, Chelsea Tucker, Ekamroop Kaur, Ella Davis, Emey Alexander, Evie Kelly, Georgia Martin, Hattie Merrett, Jed Ingram-Cutts, Logan Sutterby, Shiman He and Sophie Kentish

Student endeavour:

Blake O'Halloran, Francesca Bray, Kaitlyn Smith, Leila Krahnert, Marli Doyle, Milla Parkinson, Parker Bray, Tommy Nguyen and Willow Smits

Congratulations to the following Year 8 students for being nominated for academic excellence/class achievement and endeavour.

Academic excellence/class achievement:

Archie Alderuccio, Ella Whateley, Harrison McCreesh, Isla Graham, Keegan Hillerman, Lana Brooks, Mason Mirabito, Ramal Alvear, Rory Davies, Zara Pollard, Zoe Brooks, Zyma Aslam

Student endeavour:

Alexis Lee, Archie Alderuccio, Callum Muir, Charli Calleja, Elliott Watson, Paige Russell, Zoe Brooks

Congratulations to the following Year 9 students for being nominated for academic excellence/class achievement and endeavour.

Academic excellence/class achievement:

Calyssa Baber, Ella Renfrey, Emily Pekin, Minke Van Coller, Oliver Alderuccio, Patrick Eade, Sabrina Valenzuela, Sarah Vrolijks, Scarlett Benham, Tara Free

Student endeavour:

Blake Mazzarella, Charlotte Parkinson, Hugh Adams, Isabella Schlitz, Isaiah Blair, Julian Muir, Laura Dinh, Lily Scott

Thank you to the Academic Committee for organising this initiative.

Nathan Lane

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning