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.

This week students in Year 7 and 9 completed the NAPLAN tests. I commend our students for the positive way they approached this year’s tests. In previous years the tests have been held in May, however, this year they moved to March.

I have a great interest in strategies to support improvement in literacy and numeracy. Over the long weekend I read an article on the Harvard Graduate School of Education website titled ‘Raising Strong Readers: Strategies for parents and educators to encourage children to read’. This article includes some strategies to support your child’s success in reading. These include:

• Talk to your child about what you are reading. It is key to show your child that you enjoy reading and think that learning is important.
• Visit the library and borrow books for yourself as well as for your child. Talk to your child about what you are reading. It is key to show your child that you enjoy reading and think that learning is important.
• Scatter books, magazines, newspapers, and comics in everyday places — the car, their bedroom, or the breakfast table.
• View websites together with your child, share e-books, even listen to audiobooks. This all counts as reading — every little bit helps!
• Listen and talk to your child. They are never too young or old to learn from conversation. Talk about things that interest them and encourage them to ask questions.
• Have conversations with teens about current events and happenings in your community.
• Stay involved throughout your child’s years in school. Attend parent-teacher conferences. Or arrange another time when you can meet with teachers or talk by phone. Show your child that their education is important to you.
• Remember, reading is social. Talking about what kids and adults are reading is part of academic success!

Source: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/03/raising-strong-readers 

I also came across the infographic below on ‘Why read 20 minutes at home?’

Our students in Year 7 and 8 read for 15 minutes at the start of Lesson 4 each day. This provides an opportunity for students to develop their literacy skills through reading a book of their interest.

VCE/VCE VM/VPC/VET/VCAL Interviews

Parents and students are invited to attend the VCE/VCE VM/VPC/VET/VCAL Parent/Teacher/Student Interview evening on Thursday 23rd March from 4.00pm to 8.00pm. These interviews include any Year 10 student studying a Year 11 VCE Unit 1 Subject. Please refer to the booking information included in this newsletter.

Year 7 to 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

Parents and students are invited to attend the Year 7 to 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interview evening on Wednesday 26th April from 4.00pm to 8.00pm. Please refer to the booking information included in this newsletter.

Homework Checklist for Parents

Homework is an important extension of the learning that occurs during class time. In the first edition of the newsletter for 2023 I included information on our home study guidelines. Please find here a list of useful strategies to support parents with their child’s homework.