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 so 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.

We have come to the end of another term. As Term 2 concludes, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all students, staff and members of our community for their dedication and contribution to our wonderful school throughout the term. This has been the longest time we have been at school face-to-face since 2019 and for this reason we have much to celebrate. Throughout the term we have offered so many learning experiences, far too many to list here. Our students have enjoyed excursions and incursions, sporting competitions, House activities…the list goes on. All of these events and activities make our school a vibrant learning community. Many thanks to everyone involved in organising these experiences for our students. Holidays are a wonderful time to rest and recharge before the start of another term. I wish all members of our community a safe and enjoyable break.

Semester One Exams

Our Semester One exam season has concluded, with Year 8 and 10 students completing their exams last week. Thank you to our students for the mature approach they took to their exams. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, exams are more than the score a student achieves. They highlight what the student did well and what could be done differently in the future. It is important for students to take some time and review the feedback they received from their teachers. It is also a time to think about the revision strategies used leading up to the exams, the way time was managed during the exams and how students managed the different questions on each exam paper. Reflecting on these areas will assist students in their preparation for the exams in Semester Two. Students and parents may find the information here useful as they use the results from their exams to benefit their future learning.

Academic Achievement and Endeavour Recognition Program

This term our Academic Committee initiated the Academic Achievement and Endeavour Recognition Program. Teachers were asked to nominate students who have been achieving success academically and working hard. Please find below the list of recipients for Term 2. Congratulations to these students for the commitment they are showing towards their academic studies.

Academic:

Year 7

Science: Calyssa Baber, Ben Nelson, Emily Pekin, Isabella Schlitz, Luke Cummins

English: Carly Shepherd, Lily Scott

Humanities: Chloe Meehan, Emily Pekin, Isabella Schiltz, Reese Parsons

Maths: Julian Muir, Luke Cummins, Billy Kentish

Drama: Minke Van Coller

Year 8

Humanities: Andi Meney, Sienna Scalora

English: Ava Crow, Mikaela Mitchell, Willow Conlan

Maths: Ava Crow, Ava O’Brien, Maggie Meney, Ashlyn Mitchell, Willem Holmes

Science: Ava Crow, Isabella Papa, Maggie Meney, Mikaela Mitchell

Health: Grace Gibson, Mikaela Mitchell

Drama: Mitchell Anderson

Japanese: Ava Crow

Year 9

People and the World’s Environment: Ava Seymour, Taylor Dunlevey

Science: Ava Seymour, Lillie Wallace, Maeve Sheldrick, Vanessa Hall, Montana Davies

Money Markets and Citizenship: Charli Lovell

English: Milan Arentz

Food Tech - Around the World: Taylor Dunlevey

Maths: Montana Davies

English: Zoe White

Japanese: Lillie Wallace

Year 10

Peer Support: Madison Le Guier, Eloise Storer, Emily Hall, Josie Steel, Justine Larona, Molly McGowan, Wilhelm Hawkins

Maths: Abbey Houlihan, Tess Meney, William Gilchrist, Grace Doherty

General Maths (accelerated students): Ella Vrolijks, Parker Condely, William Gilchrist

Money Markets: Emily Hall

Psychology: Payton Cutrell

Science: Tess Meney, Grace Doherty, Eliza Everett, Remi Alderuccio

English: Tess Meney

Drama: Trinity Sutton

Religious Education: Tess Meney

Japanese: Otto Conlan, Emily Hall

Year 11

English: Charlotte Angus

Psychology: Charlotte Angus

Unit 3 Business Management: Charlotte Angus

Chemistry: Amy Simpson

Accounting: Danika Meehan

VCAL Numeracy: Tallara Leathbridge

VCAL Literacy: Tallara Leathbridge

Legal Studies: Thanh Pham

Unit 1 Business Management: Thanh Pham

Methods: Dustin Holmes

Year 12

VET Community Services: Bronwyn Hewitt

Religion: Charlotte Oliver

Health and Human Development: Georgia Craig-Neal

Psychology: Ian Baker

Chemistry: Isabella Gilchrist

Further Maths: Isabella Gilchrist

Legal Studies: Talahiva Nimo

VCAL Literacy: Kasey Dunstan

Biology: Georgia Craig-Neal

Maths Methods: Isabella Gilchrist

Endeavour

Year 7

Humanities: Amber Brown, Nate Keam, Olive Spitty, Sabrina Valenzuela, Tara Free, Vin Mobilio

Drama: Billy Kentish

Science: Catherine Morpeth, Ryley Fogarty

English: Dakota Zucco

Health: Minke Van Coller, Patrick Eade, Scarlet Benham, Tessa Fawcett, Tye Saunders

Maths: Oliver Alderuccio, Minke Van Coller

Year 8

Humanities: Audrey Domaille, Avneet Brar, Ben Foster, Bonnie White, Coco Cutri, Dashiel Whiting, Emme Keighran, Fallon Smits, Mitchell Anderson

English: Indi Grey

Maths: Indi Grey, Isabella Papa

Drama: Kiah Prince

Science: Zion Rodriguez

Japanese: Zion Rodriguez

Others: Audrey Domaille, Archie Gilchrist

Year 9

Money Markets: Alesha Mammone, Bella Henderson, Katrina Wilson

Religion: Brooke Pearson, Tarkyn Doyle

Drama: Jessica Burge

English: Sam Miller, Taylor Dunlevey

Japanese: Jasmine Harvey

Year 10

English: James Barry

Psychology: Otto Conlan

Maths: Remi Alderuccio, Emma Derbas, Emily Hall

Food Tech - Around the World: Sasha Nelson

Religious Education: Trinity Sutton

Year 11

VCAL Personal Development Skills & Work Related Skills: Adam Lauer, Ben Pastore, Cameron Tofful, Olivia Ayars, Paul Mason, Shamana Bacon, Tallara Leathbridge

General Maths: Colby Elford, Rose Crowe

English: Joshua Rogers

Psychology: Jude Seymour

Accounting: Martin Carbone

Unit 1 Business Management: Nikita Rogers

Legal Studies: Tyson Hartshorn

VCAL Literacy: Lani Wilkinson

Year 12

Legal Studies: Emma-Rose Hewitt

Unit 3 Business Management: Hope Fitzpatrick

VCAL Personal Development Skills & Work Related Skills: James Williamson, Kasey Dunstan, Lani Wilkinson, Samantha Mullan, Zhane Tivendale

Health: Meredith Kuchel

VCAL Literacy: James Williamson

Biology: Alivia Andrews

Maths Methods: Darby Meney

Semester One Reports

At St Mary MacKillop College we recognise the importance of ongoing feedback to students about their academic progress. In light of this we have the Parent Access Module (PAM) where grades for assessment tasks are published and feedback is provided to inform students of their achievements and areas for improvement. We encourage students and parents to access the portal on a regular basis and to have conversations at home around their child’s academic progress. End of Semester reports have now been completed and will soon be available online via PAM. I encourage parents and guardians to take the time to discuss these with your child.

To review detailed feedback on each assessment task, please refer to the individual subject Learning Area, accessible via PAM. Hardcopies of End of Semester reports will only be printed and posted home over the holidays, if specifically requested.

If any parent is unable to access their child’s report online, or does not receive their specifically requested hardcopy by the beginning of Term 3, please contact the Front Office.

All Victorian Government and Catholic schools now must use the Victorian Curriculum F-10 for determining achievement levels for students in Years 7 to 10. Schools are required to report on the achievement of all students including those with disabilities ‘without exception’. The Victorian Curriculum achievement graphs contain some significant changes, with an explanation of new terms and codes under each graph. If you have any questions or concerns with the reporting of Victorian Curriculum levels for your child, please contact me in Term 3.

Please note: Some students who have a Personal Learning Program (PLP) may have an expected achievement level set which differs from their year level in some subjects. This will be explained in more detail at the parent’s next PSG meeting with Sally Op’t Hoog (Learning Diversity Leader).

Below is an explanation of the grading scale for assessment tasks:

Year 7 to 12

End of Semester Reports: Grading for Assessment Tasks

Assessments at Year 7 – 12 use the following grading criteria:

VH (Very High): All criteria addressed to a very high standard or 90 – 100%

H (High): Most criteria addressed to a high standard or 75 – 89%

M (Medium): Criteria addressed to a medium standard or 55 – 74%

L (Low): Criteria addressed to a low standard or 40 – 54%

VL (Very Low): Criteria addressed to a low standard or 30 – 39%

NY (Not Yet): Student is not eligible for a result due to: Non-submission of work by the due date; lowest standard not met; copying or; plagiarism; or below 30%

LS (Late Submission): Late but Satisfactory

NA (Not Assessed): Task Not Assessed

AB (Absence): Absent for task

End of Semester Result for VCE units:

S – Satisfactory. Assessment tasks completed.

N – Not Satisfactory. Insufficient work completed, or work below standard.

Please note: the results for some assessment tasks for VCE subjects that have been completed at the end of this term will not appear on the end of semester report. The result will appear on the report for semester two. Parents will see 'in progress' for the Learning Outcomes and a conditional 'S' unit result. This result may change if the student doesn't meet the key skills and knowledge required for the task, and parents will be notified.

EAL Reports

An EAL report provides a summary of achievement level, indication of stage within the achievement level and a five-point expected growth scale. There are three pathways in the Victorian F–10 EAL Curriculum:

Pathway A Early Immersion (F–2)
Pathway B Mid Immersion (2–8)
Pathway C Late Immersion (7–10).

The pathway is determined by the year level of student. The achievement level indicates achievement against the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) EAL Curriculum.

Learning Habits Rubric

In 2022, learning habits will be reported using the rubric here. Learning habits will appear on all school reports in place of the work habits that appeared previously on reports. The aim of reporting on learning habits is to provide feedback on the progress and growth of students as learners. Our focus is to provide students with the necessary skills they need to be self-regulated learners, empowered to maximise their opportunities to grow and learn.

Learning Conversations at Home

As mentioned above, we encourage parents to engage their child in conversations about their End of Semester report and learning progress. The report should be read in conjunction with the feedback for assessment tasks that is available on PAM. Semester Two provides the perfect opportunity for students to ‘begin again’, to reflect on their learning from Semester One, to identify strengths and areas for improvement, and to set goals for the term.

What did you learn at school today? What are you enjoying most at school? What challenges are you facing with your learning? These open ended questions will hopefully generate some interesting insights into your child’s experiences at school.

2023 Subject Selection Process

All students from Years 8 to 11 have now completed their initial subject selections for 2023. We have used the online Web Preferences system for several years now and it seems to work very effectively, but if you have any feedback or concerns please contact the Pathways Team. Many thanks to our wonderful Pathways Team, Ms Looney and Ms Brady, for their work supporting our students in their subject selections and for all the administrative tasks involved in the process. It is important that students print and return the receipt of their subject selections to the Pathways Office.

During the holidays I will review the applications from students who would like to accelerate into a VCE subject in 2023. Students who have not met the acceleration criteria will be contacted by me at the start of Term 3 and be asked to select an alternative subject.

Once the final blocking of subjects to be offered in 2022 is completed late next term, all students in Year 11 and Year 12 will have subject counselling interviews in November. Parents or guardians are strongly encouraged to attend these interviews.

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