Learning and Teaching

At this time of year especially, we take time to reflect on all the achievements to date and the growth from the experiences in and out of the classroom. The college report will be available to upload shortly and contained with this is also a list of the co-curricular achievements and special commendations for students. Below you will find details on how to access reports.

End of year reports 

“The most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback.” 

John Hattie 

Mary MacKillop College launched the Parental Access Module (PAM) via the College intranet, SIMON, at the start of 2016. Parents and students are now able to see live assessment tasks, due dates, criteria for marking and the achieved results. The feedback on PAM is ongoing and in ‘real time’. It forms the cornerstone of our progressive reporting to parents at Mary MacKillop College. 

Our Progressive Online Reporting also helps our students improve in all areas of learning by providing: 

• Greater accountability of students’ work habits
• Students and parents the ability to see results and feedback online
• An opportunity to contribute to the review and reflection of the tasks
• Timely feedback – the feedback is issued when the task is completed and assessed
• The ability of the teacher and the parent to identify, intervene and improve

Parents are able to access results and feedback throughout the semester rather than waiting for the ‘End of Semester Report’ for indications on how their child is progressing.

Progressive Reporting will allow the parent and the student to see: 

• What they have achieved
• What they need to improve and
• Suggested paths for improvement

so action can be taken to allow this to happen in preparation for the upcoming task. 

Semester 2 reports will be uploaded to SIMON (and accessed through PAM) this week and be available to download by Thursday 19th December.

This will provide judgments across a range of work habits, values for Victorian Curriculum levels (For Year 7-10 classes), VCE Outcomes and Unit Results (for VCE classes) as well as summarising the grades for major assessment tasks completed during the semester. 

These reports will not include class teacher comments as such information has already been provided with each assessment task. A step by step guide on accessing these reports is included below. 

Accessing Reports 

Step 1 – Log in to PAM 

Step 2 – Click on any student 

What’s important in a Report?

Your kids will appreciate the right focus at report time. 

Could try harder… always does her best... lacks concentration…easily distracted...a pleasure to teach… 

School reports can mean anxious times for children too. ‘Will my parents be disappointed or proud?’ is the main concern of most children. Kids of all ages take their cues from their parents, so your reaction to their school report can affect the way they see themselves as learners and as people.

 Focus your attention on these aspects to make sense of children’s reports:

 Expectations 

Expectations are tricky. If they are too high, then kids can be turned off learning. Too low and there is nothing to strive for. Pitch your expectations in line with child’s ability. A quick check of your child’s last report cards may give you a good yardstick.

Different rates of learning

Remember there are slow bloomers, late developers and steady-as-you-go kids in every classroom, so avoid comparing your child to siblings, your friends’ children and even yourself when you were young. Instead, look for individual progress.

Safeguard confidence

Self-confidence is a pre-requisite for learning, so be prepared to be as positive and encouraging as possible.

Please take the time to read your child’s report and discuss the report with your child talking about strengths first before looking at areas that need improvement.  Ask your child how they performed and discuss their concerns. Be mindful that no matter how good, bad or indifferent your child’s report may be, he or she can wipe the slate clean and make a brand new start next year. And it’s amazing the difference a summer holiday can make. 

I wish everyone a Happy Safe and Holy Christmas, and look forward to working with everyone in the New Year. 

Jodie Connell

Deputy Principal – Learning and Teaching