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 as 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.

Welcome back to Term 3! I hope everyone in our community had a relaxing holiday break. We tend to hit the ground running at the beginning of a new term, and the start of this term has been no exception. Our students have enjoyed a variety of activities both inside and outside of the classroom, including rehearsals for the musical We Will Rock You, Year 10 CHARTSEC camps, a Mary MacKillop performance for Year 7s, a Solidarity Lunch and the Ration Challenge, regional sports, Tertiary Information Service session, an author talk by Katrina Nannestad and the Connect Global Youth Forum.

Over the holidays I spent some time reviewing the Semester 1 reports. I congratulate our students for the results they achieved in Semester 1 and I wish them all the very best for their studies in Semester 2.

Semester 2 is an exciting time with the opportunity for students to consolidate their learning from the first half of the year, and the opportunity to engage with new concepts, skills and knowledge. With access to their results from Semester 1, I encourage students to reflect on what they have achieved and to set new goals for their learning in Semester 2. During TA interviews throughout the semester, students will have an opportunity to discuss the progress they are making towards achieving their goals.

One question for students to think about is how they will overcome any challenges they experienced in their learning from last semester. We know throughout our learning journey, we are going to come across some challenges. The following questions might be useful for students to reflect on when they do come across challenges in their learning.

What are you struggling with?
Why is this one difficult?
What have you already tried?
Have you done anything like this before?
What did you do last time?
Is there anything you’ve not tried?
Is there anyone else who could help?

Our amazing teachers will support your child throughout their learning journey. We encourage students to speak to their teachers when they need support with their learning.

Home Study

It is timely at the start of a new semester to remind students of the expectations regarding home study. At St Mary MacKillop College we believe in developing and maintaining effective work habits from Year 7. Students from Years 7 to 12 will be given home study to complete.

We believe that home study provides the opportunity for students to be responsible for their own learning. Home study complements and reinforces classroom learning; it fosters life-long learning, self-discipline, concentration and effective study habits and routines. Home study should require a reasonable commitment, but it should not be too onerous. Students should plan their home study to take into account their family, sporting and work commitments. Students should remember that home study does not only involve completing work from that day’s lesson but also an opportunity for revision. In Years 7 -9, home study may include regular English and Mathematics homework tasks, revising for assessment tasks, reading of newspapers, watching the news, physical skills training or assignment and project completion. Home study also includes the completion of formal reflection activities such as mind maps and a summary of the day’s learning. In Years 10 – 12 home study is determined more by the specific subject requirements. When students have not been assigned home study for a particular subject, they should still be revising and going over the content that has been presented to them during class. The time and frequency of home study is different for each year level. As a guide, the following table outlines the suggested length of time for home study from Year 7 to 12.

Year 7	an average of 2 hours of home study educational learning per week
Year 8	an average of 2.5 hours of home study educational learning per week
Year 9	an average of 3 hours of home study educational learning per week
Year 10	Monday – Thursday night, students should be completing a minimum of 45 minutes of home study.
Unit 1 & 2 VCE, VET & VCAL	a minimum of two hours of home study, per week, for each subject that they study.
Unit 3 & 4 VCE	a minimum of three hours of home study, per week, for each subject that they study.

A reminder that parents are advised to regularly log in to the Parent Access Module (PAM) and read the feedback provided on your child’s progress. Please be aware that at the start of the new semester, there will not be much information uploaded within the first few weeks as teachers are currently in the process of organising and uploading content. Our staff use a variety of digital technologies to support the delivery of the curriculum. Students may be asked to access work or upload assessments to Google Classroom, the Learning Areas on Simon and so on. You may like to ask your son or daughter to show you the work they are doing on these learning platforms.

Academic Recognition Program

This week teachers nominated students from their Year 8 classes for academic and endeavour recognition. The following students were nominated:

Academic Recognition

Science: Reesha Khosa

Italian: Lily Scott, Jordan Cimino

Japanese: Charlie Graham, Reesha Khosa

Maths: Calyssa Baber

Endeavour Recognition

Science: Marion Doherty

Italian: Scarlett Benham, Rebekah McCann

Japanese: Marty Crooymans, Eliza Kelley

Maths: Nicholas Oliver

This week teachers nominated students from their Year 9 classes for academic and endeavour recognition.

Academic Recognition

Science: Mitchell Anderson, Ava Crow, Ava O'Brien

Maths: Tess Thomson, Mikaela Mitchell

English: Ava Crow

Japanese: Kiah Prince

Italian: Dustyn Jardine

Food For Entertaining: Ava Crow

Graphics Mix: Tess Thomson

Endeavour Recognition

Science: Mikaela Mitchell, Lachlan Jones, Rory Bell

Maths: Heidi Paroissien, Iliya Hussain

English: Philipa Gaston

Japanese: Aleah Richards

Italian: Lisa Bail

Food For Entertaining: Sascha Watt

Graphics Mix: Dashiel Whiting

Thank you to the Academic Committee for organising this initiative.

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