Assistant Principal News
Welcome back to Term 2!
We are only two weeks into the Term and already MCC is a hive of energy, learning and activity.
Year 9 have been lucky enough to participate in a range of Persuasive Writing Workshops to start the term. The workshops have taken place in the students’ HSIE classes and have centred around the importance of ANZAC Day as part of Australia’s national culture.
The sessions aim to build the students’ ability to plan, create and clearly compose an argument based on the PEEL paragraph structure. These are vital skills for students as they not only act as preparation for this year’s NAPLAN examination, but also for the Year 10 Minimum Standards Tests and the HSC.
I wish to thank Mr Lyon and HSIE team for their work in creating and facilitating these sessions.
Speaking of NAPLAN, next week both Year 7 and Year 9 students will sit their NAPLAN tests online. The first test will take place on Tuesday (14 May) with Writing, followed by Reading and then Language in Week 3, and Numeracy in Week 4.
NAPLAN provides teachers, students and parents with a great guide to student strengths and targeted areas of improvement. Hence, I would like to stress the importance of students attending School on the day of each test.
Students and parents are reminded that student laptops must be fully charged and ready for use each day during the NAPLAN period. Students are also encouraged to bring their own headphones for the test period.
Below is a copy of the MCC NAPLAN Test Schedule:
Other important dates for the Term 2 diary include Year 12 Reports and Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews. Year 12 Mid Course Reports should be emailed to Parents by Monday 20th May, while Year 12 P/T/S Conferences will take place on Thursday May 23rd (Week 4) from 3:45pm - 6pm in the College Library.
I encourage all parents to initially have a conversation with their child to reflect upon their report and areas of improvement. In addition, I wish to remind parents of the vital importance that the student also attends the Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences.
Parents may make bookings through the following link: https://sobs.com.au/
Finally, I would like to share the wonderful learning that our staff undertook on the MCC Staff Professional Learning Day - first day back of this term (Monday April 29th).
The staff engaged in professional dialogue and discussion around building a culture of learning and working together to make a plan for School improvement. These discussions then led into engagement with the educational research of Lyn Sharratt and her 14 Parameters of School Improvement. The staff engaged in small group workshops to understand each area and develop a plan forward.
After lunch, staff engaged with student data and experimented with the creation of data walls. These visual demonstrations of data enable staff to see trends and patterns amongst student learning, students that require intervention as well as general target areas of improvement.
Overall it was a highly successful and positive day. Staff will continue to engage with this targeted professional learning during Wednesday Staff Meetings and future Professional Learning Days in 2019.
Yours in learning,
Lora Segrave and Damien Herb
Co Assistant Principals
NAPLAN Information
