Gr8 Teaching and Learning @ MCC Initiative

EVERY DAY COUNTS!

5 EXCELLENT LESSONS FOR EVERYDAY STUDENT EVERY DAY

I again suggest to all students the importance of every minute of every lesson. We are striving as a staff to provide 5 excellent lessons for every student every day. We are striving at Marian Catholic College to ensure some predictability for each of those lessons. Students should know what is expected of them and what they need to do to move their learning forward.

As a result, on Wednesday May 9, the Literacy Team launched their new initiative titled, Gr8 Teaching and Learning @ MCC. The initiative is a model of effective teaching and learning practices based on research, however the elements of effective practice for a lesson and the language used are shaped to Marian’s teaching and learning context.

This initiative will be implemented across all Year Groups in the school, in all Key Learning Areas and the practices and elements for an effective lesson will be evident in all lesson deliveries. Our students will be exposed to the language and the characteristics for each element of the lesson on a daily basis during their lessons. I urge parents to continue to converse with their sons and daughters about their learning experiences at MCC.

Persuasive Writing Workshops for Year 7 and Year 9

An argument is not simply a contradiction. The art of persuasion is a 21st-century life skill.

As part of Marian Catholic College’s “Gr8 Teaching and Learning Practices @ MCC Initiative,” Ms Belinda McKellar and Mr Will Lyon, with the support of the HSIE Department and Literacy Team, focused on providing students with a better understanding of persuasive writing techniques with targeted Writing Workshops during HSIE lessons for Years 7 and 9. Persuasive Writing is one of two text types that can be featured in NAPLAN.

Planning for the Workshops commenced in Term One and continued during the past school holidays. Using the topics of ancient remains for Year Seven and the relevance of ANZAC Day in our contemporary society for Year Nine, Belinda and Will sought to engage students with persuasive writing within the guise of their history lessons. The Workshops were held over two HSIE lessons per class, across Weeks One and Two of Term Two, using the collaborative learning space of the Marra Marra. Through these divisive debates, students honed their persuasive techniques such as modality and how best to embed these into their writing to persuade an audience. Students were confident in their responses to the Workshops, with many subsequently stating that they felt more at ease when writing a persuasive text.

I wish to thank the Year Seven and Nine HSIE teachers, the Literacy Team and Ms Aimee Robertson, the Leader of Learning – HSIE for their support of this writing initiative. I wish to particularly thank Ms Belinda McKellar and Mr William Lyon for their leadership of this initiative and for the implementation of the intense Persuasive Writing Workshops for all HSIE classes in Year 7 and 9. By combining the Persuasive Writing Workshops with the intensive Narrative Writing Days held in Term One, the teaching staff at Marian continue to provide students with opportunities to refine and extend their writing skills not just in readiness for tests such as NAPLAN but also for a high competency in the literacy skills required for their active involvement in society.

NAPLAN 2018 for Year 7 and Year 9

The Year 7 and Year 9 students at Marian Catholic College sat the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Tests this Week. The students completed four tests in the strands, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation), Writing, Reading and Numeracy.

The various tests assess literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. The tests will provide the teaching staff with a better understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. The data from the tests will enable us to make informed decisions on whole school initiatives that may best target the identified skills in literacy and numeracy that require improvement. NAPLAN tests also provide schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

Minimum Standards Testing – Year 10

The Minimum Standard Literacy and Numeracy Students in Year 10 who did not meet the minimum standards in NAPLAN in 2017 will have a number of opportunities to attempt the online tests in 2018. Apart from our whole school approach to literacy and numeracy across all subject areas via the Gr8 Thinking Comprehension Project, the College is also monitoring each student in preparation for these online tests with various new initiatives led by the Literacy Team and the Numeracy and Literacy Action Team.

Dates for students to sit the first round of tests have been scheduled at the school during period one lessons on the following dates:

Monday June 4 – Numeracy

Tuesday June 5 – Reading

Wednesday June 6 – Writing

Thursday June 7 – Catch ups

To fully prepare our students for these tests, the plan forward includes:

• Identifying those students who have not met the minimum requirements in any of the three key areas, Reading, Writing and Numeracy.

• Determining growth of students since taking the NAPLAN test in May 2017 by looking at each student’s data.

• Providing opportunities for practising the test online will allow students to feel more prepared and confident.

We are very mindful that this process overwhelms some students and therefore, we will work with individual students to determine the best time for them to sit the test.

Year 11 Preliminary Support Evening – Term 2

As part of the overall program of support offered to Year 11 students during their Preliminary Course year, the College offers a Preliminary Support Evening each term for the Year 11 students and their parents and carers.

The evening was held on Thursday the 17th of May and it involved presentations from Special Guests, Mrs Lora Segrave, Mr Damien Herb, Mr Will Lyon and Mr James Moore. The Guest Speakers spoke on topics and areas such as: maximising preparation for meeting Preliminary requirements, study techniques, examination preparation and coping with stress. I would like to thank the Year 12 students and their parents and carers for attending the evening and I would also like to thank the Guest Presenters and Mr James Moore, Acting Year 11 Pastoral Leader for their time and assistance in the organisation of this event.

Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences for Year 12

On Thursday April 12, the College will hold Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences for all students from Year 7-11. These Conferences will be held in the Hall. Parents will receive Semester One Reports early next week. Please come along to discuss any questions and/or concerns with your child’s teachers, with our Key Learning Area Leaders or myself. We look forward to seeing you all at this important and informative opportunity.

Wishing you all the best for a safe and happy weekend.

Mrs Tonetta Iannelli

Assistant Principal – Learning and Teaching

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