Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning

Graduation

 As our Year 12 students embark on the final leg of their schooling journey, we extend our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for the future. This is a momentous time, filled with both reflection and anticipation. While the end of school marks the beginning of new adventures, there is still ample time to prepare for the upcoming examinations. We encourage our students to take full advantage of the holiday workshops and the wealth of resources available on VO and ATOMI. Their dedication and hard work are to be celebrated, and we are confident that they will continue to excel.

HSC and IB Showcase in Week 8

What an evening! The showcase of our talented students’ work in Design and Technology, Visual Arts, Music, History Extension, Science Extension, English Extension, and IB Extended Essays was fantastic. Our students were able to really deepen their understanding in areas they are passionate about. Thank you to the teachers of these students  for their unwavering support and dedication; the  countless hours of work for students and teachers truly shone through. 

Year 10 Commerce Market Day

Last week at lunchtime, our students on the Santa Sabina campus participated in the Market Day, an engaging event where Year 10 students explored the world of small business. In groups of three or four, they planned, organised, and ran their own Market Day Stalls. This hands-on experience included creating comprehensive Business Plans and maintaining logbooks. Additionally, each student reflected on their journey through an Individual Reflection. This project aimed to equip students with practical skills and problem-solving strategies, making learning both fun and impactful.

Action Research Showcases 

Kate Corcoran, our Action Research Coordinator, reports as follows:

Our teachers gathered into their Action Research groups last Thursday to deliver the first round of showcases for their 2024 projects. As teams shared their experience of using research and innovation to tackle a problem of practice, we were reminded about the dedication, creativity and professionalism of our teachers in their determination to improve the learning outcomes of their students. In sharing both the challenges and successes of their research, the audience was provided with a snapshot of what can be achieved when teachers work together to look at professional practice through a critical eye and seek better ways of engaging and responding to the needs of our students. The broad and varied range of research topics included: building teachers’ and students’ skills in the use of AI, enhancing the growth mindset in P-4 students, strategies to improve reading fluency in Stage 1, using exemplars and modelling to improve student writing and strategies to reduce cognitive load and improve knowledge retrieval. A special thanks to all of the groups who presented and to the curious and supportive audience members whose questions and insights during the discussions will be valuable in building on their impact by transferring this knowledge to other areas of learning across the College. 

Jacqueline Pugh
Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning