DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - TEACHING & LEARNING REPORT 

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.

As we approach the end of the term, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all the staff and students in our community. It has been another busy term with lots of learning and activities outside of the classroom. It is important for our students to remain focused on their studies for the next two weeks before the holiday break starts. We encourage our students to strive to do their very best always. Sometimes this requires a shift in mindset and in education we promote a growth mindset. Rather than have a fixed mindset, where students think they’re either good at something or not and when they’re frustrated in their learning they give up, we encourage a growth mindset, where students believe they can learn anything they want to. Rather than say, “I cannot do this”, when approached with challenges in their learning, a student with a growth mindset would say “I cannot do this yet” and persevere in their learning.

We have been truly blessed to have two terms of onsite learning. Having said that, we are aware of the reality that it has been far from a return to normality and uninterrupted learning, as some students and their families have had to juggle isolation and illness over the past two terms and students have returned to school to catch up on the work they have missed. We strongly believe a student’s wellbeing is paramount and we will make some adjustments to our end-of-semester reports, particularly for students in Years 7 to 10 who have had time away from school due to illness. In some instances, an ‘absent’ grade for an assessment task may be recorded.

By the time our community reads this newsletter, our Semester One exam season will be underway for our Year 11 students. This is a critical period in our academic calendar, where students demonstrate their learning throughout Semester One. We appreciate that exams can be a stressful situation, but this is a natural feeling. Examinations are an important part of the learning process and help to identify what students know, as well as identify the areas they need to focus on for improvement in the future. The data from exams also helps to inform the direction of teaching and learning. Teachers can identify what students have mastered and the areas of the course that may need to be revisited. The article here contains some tips for success in exams. Our teachers spend an enormous amount of time writing exams and correcting themand I thank them very much for their dedication and commitment to your child’s learning.

Staff Professional Learning Day – Wednesday 8 June

On Wednesday 8th June, Nicole Dyson, an expert in Project Based Learning (PBL), presented online to staff. Nicole started the session by explaining the importance of PBL and how it develops the key skills students need for success in the future. These skills include communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. Nicole then demystified some of the misconceptions around PBL. During the second half of the session, Nicole took us through the eight elements for a gold standard PBL unit. Staff worked in small Learning Area teams and brainstormed ideas to transfer an existing unit into a PBL unit. We appreciate Nicole sharing her wealth of knowledge with us. She certainly assisted us in our understanding of PBL as we continue our learning journey together as a staff. Recently some of our Year 9 teachers were fortunate to visit some schools that are running PBL programs. Now that restrictions have lifted, it is great to be able to learn from our colleagues in other schools. 

Changes to the VCE in 2023

Victoria’s senior secondary education is changing. The restructure will not impact the delivery of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE); however, changes will be made to the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). From 2023, the new VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) will replace Intermediate and Senior VCAL. The new Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) will replace Foundation VCAL. These are exciting changes and will ensure our students continue to be well prepared for their journey beyond secondary school through the vocationally geared opportunities they will experience in the new certificates. As we continue our subject selection process, further information will be communicated to parents regarding these changes. An overview of the certificates is available here.