McKinnonNEWS

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS' REPORT

Michael Kan
Michael Kan
Richard Long
Richard Long
Lachlan Noble
Lachlan Noble
Peter Quinn
Peter Quinn
Kellie Felmingham
Kellie Felmingham

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back to what we hope will be a most productive Term 2. We hope all staff and students feel well rested, having enjoyed precious time with loved ones. Much happened in Term 1 and we thank everyone for their dedication and commitment to excellence.

PARENT-TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES

Thank you to all the families who joined these online conversations. Almost 10,000 interviews took place over the two days - this is an impressive number and illustrates our community’s commitment to education and improving student learning. A reminder to parents that McKinnon Secondary College undertakes continuous reporting - as such, assessment feedback (i.e. results and comments) is always available on Compass Learning Tasks.

NAPLAN TESTING

NAPLAN testing will be undertaken by students in Years 7 and 9 at the College on Tuesday 10 May, Wednesday 11 May and Thursday 12 May. For the first time, NAPLAN is entirely online in 2022 making use of Chromebooks. These tests will be conducted during periods 1 and 2 for Year 7s and periods 3 and 4 for Year 9s on test days. All tests will take place in Form Rooms. As per the practice test in term 1, students are required to bring a charged Chromebook, wired headphones (please note that wireless headphones do not work) and a pen for planning. Physical calculators, rulers and protractors are not required for the Numeracy test as they are available in the online test format.

 

We encourage parents/carers and students to continue to explore the NAPLAN demonstration site to get used to the test format.

 

NAPLAN Demonstration Site Link

https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site

 

Students have also been provided with a series of ‘NAPLAN at McKinnon’ videos and presentations made available via Google Classroom, we encourage parents/carers to review this material with their child. 

CORRECTION DAY

Later this term, the College’s Correction Day will take place on Tuesday 14 June. Staff will be finalising assessments and semester reports. As such, classes will not be conducted on this day, so students should not attend school.  

EXAMS

This semester we will be returning to onsite mid-year examinations for students in Years 10 and 11. Thorough revision and effort in exams in these middle years lays a strong foundation for success in Year 12. Students should set high expectations for their own achievement and seek advice and support from their teachers. We wish all students the best of luck in their exams.  

 

At home, students can be supported by implementing the following recommendations:

  • Providing a quiet study space at home free from distractions;
  • Encouraging your child to eat well and get plenty of sleep;
  • Encouraging students to limit social engagements around this time, including their use of social media. Students should focus solely on their studies, without distraction from Instagram, sending SMS to friends, etc, then do so when having a break in their study.

DISCUSSING LEARNING WITH YOUR CHILD

When discussing with your child their academic achievement at school and the feedback provided on Learning Tasks (and through Progress Reports and Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences), it is critical that parents and students look beyond grades and scores. We encourage all students and their parents to instead reflect on each child’s academic progress and growth; our intelligence is changeable, and focusing on growth has a very positive impact on student learning. 

 

All students - regardless of year level and the grades they have achieved - should reflect on what new skills and knowledge they have acquired, what feedback and advice they have acted upon and what their next goal will be. 

 

Hard work and a willingness to persist when facing academic challenges are the keys to success for all students, and emphasising learning progress rather than grades/scores is a simple - but powerful - way to support student learning.

BIKE SAFETY AT EAST CAMPUS

We have had several reports of students riding dangerously down East Boundary Rd towards McKinnon Rd after school.  When on duty on Tuesday 3 May I was shocked to see a number of students crossing over from the left to the right hand lanes in front of traffic so they could turn right at McKinnon Rd. Cars had to slow down in order to not cause an accident.

 

I urge every student and their families to discuss safe riding to and from school, as what I saw today shocked me. We make regular announcements to students, as well as making sure there is always staff on duty to help keep our students safe. However, some students need to be much more careful of the dangers of this busy road for cyclists.

 

We ask that students riding west to access McKinnon Rd cross at the supervised lights, then walk their bike down to the intersection of McKinnon Rd and East Boundary Rd before getting on their bike again.

OLD MCKINNON FOOTBALL TEAMS

Both our girls and boys football teams have again started the season extremely well. We invite the whole McKinnon community to come and cheer our teams on, especially when they have a home game at Packer Park in Carnegie. We are proud of our girls and boys that have joined our growing club. Here's to another successful year in 2022!