Learning & Teaching
I welcome all parents and students to the 2023 academic year. The learning and teaching program has started very smoothly, and we are so pleased with the learning behaviours and academic efforts of all students. Here are a few important things to note in the learning and teaching space.
Digital Learning Platforms in 2023
We use a range of Digital Learning Platforms (Edrolo, Education Perfect and Mathspace) at the College to support students to learn at school and home. The student accounts have been activated for classes and year levels, and teachers are already setting learning activities and assessments. These platforms are vital to our learning and teaching program.
Please read the following information about payments for student accounts.
Edrolo - For selected VCE classes
Thanks to over 70% of students who have paid for Edrolo. Fantastic!! Payments are now due through the student's Edrolo accounts and must be paid by 17 February or access will be cut off.
Edrolo combines teaching, VCE (VCAA) exam questions and practice papers delivered in an online format which provides real time feedback and data to assist students with their learning. The video lessons consolidate classroom learning. They contain interactive questions and provide instant feedback to students.
Mathspace - For all students in Year 7-10:
Information about payments to be communicated through the Maths Department and Maths teachers.
Education Perfect - For all language classes (Chinese and Spanish) from Year 7 to 10
EP contains lesson content, learning activities and assessments and the students are already using EP in class and at home. Parents are asked to pay for the annual $40 subscription directly through the EP online platform. All accounts need to be paid by Friday March 10 and after this time accounts will be locked until payment is made.
Any issues with making these payments, please contact MAR@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au
Elevate Year 9 and 10
Our elevate program is now in its second week and is going well. Elevate lessons take place for Year 9 and 10 classes on Wednesdays, during Period 4. The program has been specially designed to ELEVATE our student's critical, ethical and creative thinking skills and their problem solving and STEM skills. It also aims to better prepare students for pathways and future studies, and to develop respectful relationships.
Each term students will participate in a sequence of engaging, relevant and interactive lessons, as follows:
Year 9 - One term each of:
ELEVATE English - navigating social media safely and positively.
City Experience - Year 9 Students will plan and participate in the City Experience Program.
Everyday Ethics - Humanities
Respectful Relationships - Lessons focused on building skills in developing healthy relationships with yourself and others, build mental wellness, body positivity and sex education.
Year 10 - One term each of:
ELEVATE English- become critical creators and consumers of media and social media content.
KIOSK - Bees with Backpacks - 8 weeks hands-on sessions at the specialist STEM school KIOSK on design thinking and STEM program.
Everyday Ethics - Humanities
Respectful Relationships - Lessons focused on building skills in developing healthy relationships with yourself and others, build mental wellness, body positivity and sex education.
Maestro Updates
Maestro is our specially designed developmental assessment and learning platform which we launched last year for Year 7 and 8 classes, students, and parents. The platform allows parents and students to view learning progress within the unit of learning in all subjects, based on their progress on the developmental rubric.
Maestro is currently accessible to parents with existing Maestro accounts that were set up last year (parents of our current Year 8 and year 9 students)
The exciting news is that this term Maestro will also be made available to all parents of students in Year 7-10. Parent account information will be set out shortly with video tutorials to assist parents to log in and understand how to navigate the platform.
For any technical issues or support with Maestro access and use, please email maestro@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au
Maestro Developmental Rubric
In Maestro, each Unit of Learning will have a developmental rubric which shows skills and knowledge taught and assessed in a unit of learning for a subject. Here is a snapshot of some of the information that can be gleaned in each rubric.
The Maestro Data Dashboards
Even more exciting is that in coming weeks parents and students will also have access to several very informative data dashboards that give a wealth of information about each students learning performance, learning growth attendance and learning behaviours.
Natalie Manser
Assistant Principal
mar@wantirnacollege.vic.gov.au