Leader of Learning and Teaching

As students settle into Term 1, I would like to remind parents of the Digital Platforms available to assist students in their learning at MCC.

Year 11 and 12 students have complimentary access to Edrolo for all available subjects. These students have already been given log-ins and many have already been using the platform. Teachers can set study and revision activities on the platform or students can use the resources themselves to further extend and consolidate their regular learning. If Senior students have not yet logged into the platform, I encourage them to do so this week to gain access to the world of resources and information at their disposal.

Years 7-10 students have access to Education Perfect for all available subject areas. Teachers again can set lessons, activities, quizzes and formative learning through this platform and are able to give students feedback and record data on their results and performance. Again, students can seek out additional resources on the platform if they would like to further their learning in a particular subject area.

In addition to this, all students have access to the Google Suite, with all classes using Google Classroom to upload resources, compliment explicit face to face learning and to provide connection between staff and students during absences.

On top of this, each KLA area has subject specific platforms that have been purchased by the particular KLA Leader to further provide support to students' learning.

Further to this, there are many quality face to face programs being facilitated within the College as well. Year 7 students have one hour a week dedicated to the Accelerated Reader Program. These lessons take place in the Library, but are more than just students browsing different books. Students are matched to books of interest and ability level and are explicitly taught strategies and skills to assist in their reading comprehension, not only for their future Accelerated Reader lessons, but also for life in general.

In Term 2, the Quicksmart program will commence for Year 8 students. The Numeracy program aims at improving student cognitive process, understanding and skills in numerical operations and functions. Students are selected from all ability levels and I encourage parents and students to support the program if they are chosen to participate, in order to optimise their learning and growth.

Finally, I would like to identify a change in our Assessment Notification Scaffold. Every assessment task notification now contains an area for our teachers to identify the ‘Purpose of the Task’. This enables both staff and students to have a mutual understanding of the proposed learning to take place and skills needed to successfully complete the task. This also provides an opportunity for our staff to reflect on their use of summative assessment and work towards improving these tasks to ensure a more authentic style of learning for our students. This change should also provide clarity for staff, students and parents in the way that assessment can be used to demonstrate learning outcomes and objectives rather than simply test memory of content.

Yours in learning,

Damien Herb