Learning and Teaching 

NAPLAN Results

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9.  These results have arrived at the school and were recently posted home to parents and guardians of students in Years 7 & 9.

It is important to remember that NAPLAN is a snapshot of your child’s understanding and skills.  No matter what your child’s results are in NAPLAN, it is important that we are supportive and gentle with our young people and celebrate success and support them when they do not achieve the goals that they themselves have set. If you have concerns about your child’s literacy or numeracy skills, and what you can do at home to support your child, please speak with their English and Mathematics teachers.

Subject Selection

Huge thanks to all the families for their discussions around subject choices over the past few weeks. The Web Preference Portal has now closed, students who missed the deadline will need to contact Ms. Connell to organise choosing subjects for the following year.

Over the coming weeks, we will start working on the subject grids and start counselling students with subject allocations for the following year. Every effort is made to help students choose a pathway and subjects that will help them achieve their aims. The counselling process will begin with the current year 11 students and then we will work our way down to the Year 10 and Year 9 students. 

Year 12 Careers Interviews

Just a reminder to all Year 12 families that there are career interviews taking place on Monday 21st August (9.00am – 6.00pm). Bookings are currently open on PAM and will close Friday 18th August. Please note Monday 21st August is a student-free day. 

Assessment and Reporting

As we work through the second half of the year students are beginning to prepare for or complete assessment tasks. Many of our VCE students are currently undertaking School Assessed Coursework (SACs). Parents are encouraged to use the online portal, PAM, to regularly check for work tasks and access student results for assessment tasks including SACs. Teachers provide students with feedback on their assessments. This may be in the form of an attached rubric, written comments on the task or as teacher feedback through PAM. This feedback is about improvement and acting on feedback from teachers allows students to move forward and become more independent learners. 

Year 10, 11, and 12 Study Skills Seminars

Last week our Year 10, 11 and 12 students participated in presentations from Elevate Education on study skills and time management. Year 10 students had a presentation on Time Management including how to create a weekly planner, prioritise tasks, and how to deal with procrastination. The Year 11 session covered exam preparation and exam room strategies and techniques. While our Year 12 session covered exam-focused study, coping with stress, and how to use holiday and swotvac time. 

Interim Reports & Parent Teacher Interviews

Teachers are currently preparing interim reports for students. Interim reports will be available to parents on Monday 28th of August. Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in the Senior School Building on Wednesday 6th September from 4 until 7 pm and Thursday 7th September from 9 am until 1 pm. Please note Thursday 7th September is a student-free day for Years 7 – 11 and Year 12 VCAL students.

Year 12 Practice Examinations

Please note the Year 12 Practice Examinations will be run at the College from Friday 1st September until Friday 8th September. There will be no Year 12 classes on Friday 1st September, as there are two practice exams (English and General Maths) scheduled on that day.

On Monday 4th September, Tuesday 5th September and Friday 8th September exams will commence in Period 5 and will finish by 4.15pm at the latest. Period 1 to 4 Classes will still run over this period, the timetable has been emailed to all students. 

Due to the Parent Teacher Interviews, the practice exams scheduled for Wednesday 6th September will commence in Period 4 and be completed by 3.15pm.

Year 12 students will be required at the College on Thursday 7th September for their final English SAC in the morning, and Block 4 exams in the afternoon. Please note that while this is a student-free day for Parent – Teacher Interviews, some bus services will still be available. 

Elevate Education Parent Webinar Seminars

Elevate Education are continuing to provide parents of Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional Student College exclusive access to their Parent Webinar Series for Term 3, 2023. 

To reserve your spot, you can register for free below,

You can register by clicking here. 

Wednesday 30th August

How To Help Your Child Improve Their Note Taking

Here’s what we’ll be covering on the night:  

✅ The most effective way to structure notes 

✅ The 3 levels of acquiring knowledge and how to implement this with your child at home 

✅ The power of deliberate practice and the fastest way for your child to improve their marks. 

Wednesday 13th September  How You Can Support Your Child During Exams        

The webinars are run live online from 6.30pm – 7.30pm (AEST) where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and skills, and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask them questions directly. If you are unable to make the webinar, don't worry! If you sign up to attend, you'll receive the webinar recording on Thursday morning.

Should you have questions or would like to contact Elevate directly, their details are listed below.📞 1300 667 945

✉️ auscoaching@elevateeducation.com 

💻 https://au.elevateeducation.com

👍 https://www.facebook.com/ElevateEd/