PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Hello Winter. We certainly know that we are alive when we step out into the winter air. Every season has its beauty and although I don’t necessarily enjoy being cold, I do enjoy rugging up and reading a good book, or working on a jigsaw puzzle, when it's raining outside. I hope that you are able to find things to be grateful for during the season of winter.

This week our teachers have had the opportunity to complete professional learning around the pedagogy of project based learning.  It was an enriching session online with Nicole Dyson, who is recognised globally as an expert in project based learning and student entrepreneurship.  While most of the teaching staff and learning support staff participated in this program, teachers who are currently working with Year 9 students visited Shepparton and Geelong to immerse themselves in schools that have a well embedded curriculum around project based and inquiry learning. This is an exciting time for our school as we implement a pedagogy that will improve our students Communication, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication, Collaboration and allows them more scope for Creativity and Innovation.

On 1st July 2022 Ministerial Order 870 will be replaced by Ministerial Order 1359 - Implementing Child Safe Standards. As St Mary MacKillop College is now under the governance of the Diocesan of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited (DOBCEL), new policies and procedures have been approved and ratified by Bishop Paul Bird for implementation in our school. The new Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy will come into effect as of 1st July and will be available to parents, guardians and carers on the school website (www.smmc.vic.edu.au ) or a copy can be collected from the Front Reception of the school.

There will also be other documents around complaints handling, empowerment and participation and bullying prevention. Once all documents have been finalised, these will also be made available to our parents and students.

Over time in schools we see staff come and go. It is always an exciting time to welcome new members to our community, sadly we also say goodbye as staff move onto new adventures.  This week we sadly farewell Ian Tang from our IT Office. Staff and students and perhaps parents have been grateful for the wonderful support of Ian over the past three years, particularly during the COVID lockdowns. Ian will certainly be missed at our school.

Yvonne Guthrie has been a member of our amazing learning support team since 2012.  Yvonne has been a vital link for our school and the indigenous community, as Yvonne has supported many of our indigenous students over her time in our community. Yvonne has also brought many wonderful indigenous performers and leaders to our school during many NAIDOC celebrations. We will miss the beautiful way that Yvonne enriched our school through her Welcome to Country, stories and presence, especially with her possum skin coat.

Lasty, we will farewell Geoff Hickmott at the end of this term as he begins a well earned retirement. Geoff began working at MacKillop College in 1997 in a role which he remembers dearly, a Japanese Teacher. Geoff then moved into subject areas that he was more familiar with, Physical Education and Commerce. There will be many ways in which our school community will celebrate Mr Hickmott over the next two weeks and I am sure that we will hear many of Mr Hickmotts jokes shared. The St Mary MacKillop College community has been the richer for having Geoff as a teacher, friend, colleague and mentor. I hope that you have the opportunity to wish him well over the next few weeks. I am certain though, that we will certainly see Mr Hickmott (Hicky) “around the traps”.