McKinnonNEWS

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS' REPORT

REPORT

YEAR 12 PRACTICE EXAMS

The Year 12 practice exams will be held from Wednesday 30 September to Friday 2 October (week two of the Term 3 holidays). The timetable has been distributed to all students undertaking a Units 3 & 4 subject at the College; all students must be on time and in full uniform. These examinations will be held in the Assembly Hall and provide students with an opportunity to prepare for their VCAA examinations to be held in November. Best wishes to students during this challenging time.

ASIA WEEK

Asia Week is designed to heighten students’ awareness of - and to celebrate - the cultures of Asia.  Each year staff members (headed by Rekha Nayyar) coordinate many activities both inside classes and at lunchtime that broaden our knowledge and appreciation of Asian cultures. Activities this week have included Asian food stalls at lunchtime, Indian dancing for our Year 7 students and teachers dressing in traditional Asian clothes. Classes have also incorporated Asian content in their learning programs.  Congratulations to all who have been involved.  On behalf of all the staff members and students who have thoroughly enjoyed this week’s activities, thank-you Mrs Nayyar!

BLAZERS & SENIOR-SCHOOL JACKETS: TERM 4

In Term 4 the senior school jacket (Year 12 students only) and the College blazer are optional items; however, if students wish to wear an outer garment to/from school, it must be the blazer/senior jacket (not the College jumper on its own).  Between the start of Term 4 and Melbourne Cup Day, students may choose to wear either winter or summer uniform; from Wednesday 4 November all students are required to wear full summer uniform.

PROMOTING A GROWTH MINDSET - INTELLIGENCE IS CHANGEABLE

Parents have a critical role to play in supporting student learning; this includes providing a quiet place for homework to be done, checking your child’s diary and discussing with them the contents of their reports and the feedback provided via Learning Tasks on Compass.  

 

Over and above this, educational research tells us that if students are to succeed academically, they need to know that intelligence is changeable, and success at school is not fixed or predetermined. This about more than just promoting students’ self-belief - how students think about intelligence actually influences how they perform academically. Please support your child to act on the advice and feedback their teachers give them - to look beyond the grades given, and actually focus on their teachers’ guidance on how to improve, and what to do next. Finding a topic or subject difficult in the past does not mean it cannot be learnt in the future.

 

Comments from your children such as “I can’t do Maths” or “I’m not good at writing, I never have been” must be challenged, and persistence emphasised as a quality that enables students to succeed, even in subjects they have found difficult in the past. Please avoid comments such as “I could never do science either” - while empathetic, research indicates that such remarks promote a mindset that intelligence is fixed and/or predetermined.

 

Educational research tells us that praise such as ‘you’re really clever’ is well-meaning, but can actually be counter-productive, and as a school we aim to instead promote and celebrate hard-work, persistence and determination.  How do we promote a growth mindset in our students?

  • We need to help students embrace challenges, and recognise that making mistakes is critical to learning.
  • Praise effort, persistence and seeking advice - praise the processes that lead to learning.
  • Ask students “What did you learn today?” - make learning and intellectual growth the topic of conversation, rather than the tasks undertaken.  As teachers and parents we should also share what we learned today too, to demonstrate that intelligence is always changing and changeable.

To assist in this process, we encourage parents to read: http://www.mindsetonline.com/forum/parentsteach/index.html

HOLIDAYS

We wish all students and families a great holiday and we look forward to another wonderful term at McKinnon beginning Monday 5 October.