Learning and Teaching 

 

at MFG

Sweethearts Tour of Europe

I’ve just returned from 3 weeks on the road in Europe with Sweethearts. Wow – what an amazing experience it was! The 11 MFG students did the Sweethearts, themselves and their school proud – they performed in front of 1000s of people on the prestigious stages of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Jazz a Vienne Festival in France and the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy.

I could write a few pages about the experience but the one insight that I think it worth sharing relates to what makes Sweethearts such a high-functioning, high-performing team.

Below is a list of a few characteristics I noticed during the tour:

• The girls and the staff have a deep trust in each other and in the Sweethearts’ purpose — they feel free to express feelings and ideas
• Everybody is working toward the same goals – to always give a high quality; high energy performance and for everyone to be the best musician and performer that they can
• Everyone understands both the team’s and individuals’ performance goals and knows what is expected — there is a strong culture of high expectations
• The girls engage in extensive discussion and everyone gets a chance to contribute — even the introverts
• There is a strong culture of feedback (from both the girls and staff) that is focused on improvement and encouraging thinking and reflection
• Disagreement is viewed as a good thing and conflicts are managed. Criticism is constructive and is oriented toward problem solving and removing obstacles — the girls have ownership about how to move forward
• Each of the girls carries her own weight and respects the team processes and other members
• The leadership of the team shifts from time to time, as appropriate, to drive results. No individual members are more important than the team.

Attitudes to School Survey 2019

Our results are in from the annual Department of Education survey of Years 7-12. Our students were asked to have their say about their school experiences - from effective teaching through to bullying and safety. This year 88% of our students completed the survey.

We’ll provide a more detailed analysis of our students’ voice in a newsletter later this term. Our process during the last couple of years has involved:

• Analysis of the students’ voice by our Curriculum Committee and Positive Climate for Learning Team
• Analysis of the survey responses by all of our teachers at a staff meeting
• Student Focus Groups involving randomly selected students from Years 7 to 12
• The formation of a Student Voice Action Team to work on a number of goals relating to some of the issues arising from the survey responses.

For a number of years now our teachers have had a focus on feedback that moves learning forward. This is reflected in the students’ responses relating feedback.

• 81% of our students responded positively to the statement ‘My teachers give me feedback about my work’
• 70% of our Year 12 students responded positively to the statement ‘The feedback that my teachers give me helps me understand how to improve’.
• 72% of our students responded positively to the statement ‘My teachers motivate us to think in our learning’, with 82% of Year 7 students responding positively to this statement.

Term 3 Parent-Teacher-Student Learning Conferences

Our Term 3 Parent-Teacher-Student Learning Conferences will be held on Tuesday 20th August between 12pm and 7pm in the new Embling Building. There will be no classes in the morning. However, your child is expected to attend the Conference with you. Teachers will be having a short break between 2-2.20pm and a dinner break between 4.25-5.15pm and you will not be able to make a booking during these times. 

MAKING A BOOKING ON COMPASS

BOOKINGS OPEN: Tuesday 12th August at 9am

BOOKINGS CLOSE: Monday 19h August at midnight

You can make a booking using Compass – go to the Community icon (the two people) and select Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences. Students cannot book interviews using their accounts.

During the next few weeks you will be emailed a list of our teachers and the rooms they will be in on the day. There is also a handout which explains how to make a booking on Compass, a list of where teachers are located and a map of the Main Campus.

Please be mindful that each Learning Conference goes for 10 minutes only. If you would like to arrange a more in-depth discussion with a particular teacher, then please make another appointment with that teacher.

We look forward to seeing you at this event and discussing your child’s progress, learning and goals. Please contact me at the College on 4243 0500 or at toussaint.damien.a@edumail.vic.gov if you have any questions.

Mr Damien Toussaint

Assistant Principal (Learning and Teaching)

Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College