From the Head of Curriculum

Ms Victoria Kelleher

Interim Reports and Year 7-12 Parent Teacher Meetings Interim reports for your child’s Term 1 progress will be available to our St George’s families through SEQTA on Monday 29 March. These reports provide a snapshot of your daughter/son’s application throughout Term 1 and indicate areas for improvement. They are great starting point for discussion with your daughter/son’s teachers at the Parent Teacher Meetings, which will be held on

Wednesday 31 March between 1.30 pm and 6.30 pm.

Where possible, we encourage all our parents and carers to attend this evening. Attending such events sends such a significant message to your daughters/sons: their education is very important to us all. If you are unable to attend, please contact your daughter/son’s teachers directly to organise an alternative meeting time or a phone call.

Year 12 Important Dates Thursday 1 April is the last date for changes in enrolments in ATAR, General or VET courses for Year 12 students. After this date, no further changes (except withdrawal from a subjects) will be accepted.

Mindset, Support and Strategy Throughout this term, I have been meeting with Year 10, 11 and 12 students to discuss success and what that looks like for each of us. Angela Duckworth, a leader in positive psychology refers to three pillars of mindset, support and strategy to show how students can succeed academically. She contends that character is as important as IQ and that every student can achieve success with the right mindset, support and strategy.

One of the strategies that we can encourage our students to implement is the ABCD Planning Process. For this process, students outline their current reality, their SMART Goal, the process to get them there, and how they plan to measure their success. A. Reality - What is my Current Reality (Grade, Strengths, Weaknesses)? B. Goal - What is my Vision and SMART Goal? C. Process - What events need to happen to reach B? D. Checklist - How am I measuring my success?

Use Mathematics as an example, I showed the students the following model: A. Current Reality – “C” Grade Overall for Math Semester 2, 2020 B. SMART Goal – “A” Grade Overall for Math Semester 1, 2021 C. Process – What needs to happen to reach B? i) Keep up to date with all classwork and homework ii) Practise more questions iii) Ask questions in class/Ensure you understand everything covered in class iv) Read additional Math textbooks/resources D. Checklist – How am I measuring the events? i) Comprehensive notes ii) 50 correctly answered questions per week iii) Read additional pages per week of the Math textbook iv) A Grade in Semester 1 Report

It is important that our students realise the following in order to achieve their personal best in school, not only for maths but in every subject: • Understand that success is Engineered and

Created

• Understand that success is found upon

Strategy, Mindset and Support • Maximise Class Engagement • Create a Study Notebook for every Subject • Practise as many questions as possible!

Meet the Team Using Maths as an example for the ABCD process, it seems like an opportune moment for me to introduce the last of our new staff, Mr Anthony Bochrinis and Mr Paul Smith.

Mr Anthony Bochrinis – Head of Mathematics What do you teach? I am honoured to join St. George’s as Head of Maths and will be teaching a range of maths classes between years 9 and 12 this year. I also minor in Economics and business and would relish the chance to broaden my classes in years to come! How long have you been teaching? This is my fourth year of teaching and St. George’s is my second school. What made you become a teacher? After initially studying to become an actuary and having a short term in working as an investment banker, I realised that my calling isn’t in pure maths - it’s in teaching it to others. So, I made the decision to change career paths after six months working in the city and haven’t looked back since. It’s the best decision that I’ve ever made and I’m so happy that I get to live my dream job every single day. What’s the best thing about teaching? I absolutely love seeing the “a-ha” moments in students’ eyes when they fully understand a topic. It is by far the most satisfying feeling that teachers can feel. What are you excited about for 2021? I am so excited to join a family-oriented community and to be able to see how we can explore maths using the city’s resources.

Mr Paul Smith – Mathematics Teacher What do you teach? I teach 8-11 mathematics (Methods and Specialist to Year 11s) How long have you been teaching? I’ve been teaching since 2010. What made you become a teacher? I’ve always had a hankering to explain to others what I had learnt. Love it when I see the “penny drop” in a student’s understanding. What’s the best thing about teaching? I consider it a privilege to be able to positively input into a young life in more than just an academic way. What are you excited about for 2021? Excited to see the school grow in academic rigour and to become part of the school community. Hoping to make a difference to students’ grasp of mathematical concepts they may have previously struggled with. Would love to see all students fluent in their times table so they are not disadvantaged in their learning of this important subject.

Hoping to get some good games of chess in with students and develop friendships with staff.