Principal's Message
Dear Parents & Families
It has been another busy fortnight at our college, in which our students continue to showcase their many talents.
Our aerobics teams performed in Berwick on Saturday 28 April. Four of the eight teams have made it through to the State Finals. What is particularly noteworthy is the performance of the Year 12 team, who managed to get up early and gain a place - the night after the VCE Ball! We must extend our thanks to Tess Molina who has been training the aerobics teams for many years. She is at school at 7am on most days and travels with the teams when they compete. We couldn’t offer this program without her.
On Sunday 6 May our choirs performed at Montsalvat as part of their annual festival. House Music rehearsals are well underway led by our House Music captains. In addition on Sunday 6 May the All Star Choir and Madrigal group performed in Eltham as part of the Montsalvat Festival. Thanks to Blanka West, Wendy Harvey and Tim Veevers for accompanying the students.
Two of our Year 11 students participated in the Model United Nations Assembly last weekend. Our Science students are applying for a range co-curricular programs including the NASA Space Camp, the Robogals STEM program and the National Youth Science Forum. Thanks to Dahli Briedis, Science Coordinator who is overseeing applications and writing referrals.
At our recent professional development day the staff worked in domain teams to further refine their rubrics, which form an essential component of each learning task. The aim of the rubric is to:
- give students a clear understanding of the assessment criteria and levels of achievement prior to the assessment
- provide students with clear feedback on their progress and achievement on assessment tasks
- provide a clear assessment guideline for teachers
“Rubrics, properly used, have been shown to be of great benefit to both teacher and student in the learning process. They allow for assessment to be transparent and accessible.”
(Hipwell & Klenowski, 2011)
In the afternoon session staff analysed data from the recent ACER PAT tests undertaken in English, Maths and Science in order to differentiate for the students in their classes. I extend my thanks to three of our Leading Teachers, Jennifer Connolly (Director of Pedagogy and Professional Learning), Sam Haines (Director of Curriculum and Enhancement) and Rochelle Dickson (Director of Assessment and Analytics) for the work they put into planning and preparing this day.
You may also have noticed that there have been a number of teacher candidates in the school over recent weeks. Mentone Girls’ Secondary College has always provided opportunities for student teachers to undertake their teaching rounds at our school. Last year we entered into an agreement with the University of Melbourne whereby Carol Duggan (Assistant Principal) plays a leading role in supervising and observing these teacher candidates, not just in our school, but in neighbouring schools as well. This exemplifies the commitment that our teachers in ensuring that up and coming teachers are well prepared for their chosen career.
In the last newsletter I noted that Donna Harrison and Diane Weston who have been working in our Second-hand Uniform Shop for many years, will both be finishing up at the end of the year. In order to continue to offer this service to our school community we are looking for some volunteers who can run the shop for an hour each week, during, or adjacent to the school day. Their current sessions are a Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, but these can be changed. If you are able to assist please contact Donna Harrison on 0421 782 123.
Finally, it is with great pleasure that I welcome back Linda Brown from her period of leave.
Regards
Ms Bronwyn Moline
Assistant Principal