As part of our vision for ensuring your child achieves the best possible learning outcomes, we are committed to keeping you informed of your child’s progress and development. At Marist Regional College, we have several processes and procedures in place to inform you and your child and to keep communication open and productive.
In 2020, in continuing to build on our use of electronic feedback and your access of the MEL Parent Portal, some of the ways we report to you and your child are changing. These changes will endeavor to provide you with timely, comprehensive information and insights into your child’s progress.
The following are the ways through which we will keep you informed, regarding your child’s progress towards educational outcomes:
MEL FEEDBACK
MEL Feedback is a form of continuous reporting, in real time, on your child’s progress. The capacity for students and parents to access annotated student work, assessment rubrics and feedback comments is vastly more informative than the restrictive summary comments typically offered in a semester report.
‘Application and Attitude Comment’
A change to reporting in 2020 is that there will no longer be a ‘Term One Progress Report’ issued, in the same way as they have been previously. These reports have provided very little information to you about your child’s progress in the early stages of the new academic year. Teachers have had to begin the reporting process in Week Five of Term One for the reports to be finalised and printed by the end of the term. At this early stage, teachers are just beginning to know your child and how he/she learns.
Teachers will now provide an ‘Application and Attitude Comment’ via MEL Feedback towards the end of Term One. This comment will provide information regarding your child’s application to their work, what he/she is doing well and where improvements may be required to enhance learning outcomes. All parents are most welcome and encouraged to attend Parent-Teacher Meetings in Term Two, however, if you and your child are required to attend to discuss specific concerns, the teacher will indicate this at the bottom of the comment – ‘PLEASE ATTEND A PARENT-TEACHER MEETING IN TERM TWO TO DISCUSS YOUR CHILD’S PROGRESS’.
MEL Feedback
In Term One, teachers will provide a minimum of one item of detailed feedback. This item will be the ‘Application and Attitude Comment’ as detailed above. You can access MEL Feedback via the MEL Parent Portal.
In Terms Two and Three, teachers will provide a minimum of two items of detailed feedback in response to Common Assessment Tasks.
In Term Four, teachers of students in Years 7-10 will provide a minimum of two items of detailed feedback in response to Common Assessment Tasks.
Teachers of students in Senior College, and of Year 10 students studying TASC courses, will provide one item of detailed feedback, typically indicating the internal awards for relevant course criteria.
You can access this feedback via the MEL Parent Portal.
SUMMATIVE A-E REPORTS
Semester One Summative A-E Report
It is a Commonwealth Government requirement to issue two summative reports each year. The first of these, the Semester One Report is issued at the end of Term Two. The Semester One Report reflects the level to which a student is ‘on-track’ to meeting the achievement standard at the end of the year.
Years 7-10
Teachers for each of your child’s learning areas will report on your child’s achievement against the relevant strands, indicated as Extending, Consolidating or Developing, and award an overall grade against the Australian Curriculum standard using a 5 point grading system (A-E).
For non-ACARA subjects (ie. courses that deliver a curriculum outside of the Australian Curriculum eg. Small Engines), teachers will mark against relevant criteria.
If a subject is only taught in Semester One (eg Years 9 and 10 semesterised elective), a grade will be reported in the Semester One Report and will not appear in the Semester Two Report.
Senior College
The teachers of Senior College students will report against the relevant criteria for each course.
Teachers of Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses will report against relevant competencies.
In the Semester One Report, teachers of each subject will provide an assessment of your child’s application and attitude attributes. Pastoral Care Group Leaders will comment on your child’s participation in Pastoral Care and general progress, including attendance, uniform and behaviour. Subject teachers do not write comments on these reports, as detailed progress is provided via MEL Feedback.
End-of Year Summative A-E Report
The End-of-Year Report reflects the level to which your child has met the achievement standard for each subject. The award is based on assessment throughout the year, with emphasis on progress in Semester Two.
The End-of-Year Report will now be issued to you online, via the MEL Parent Portal.
Years 7-10
Teachers for each of your child’s learning areas will report on your child’s achievement against the relevant strands, indicated as Extending, Consolidating or Developing, and award an overall grade against the Australian Curriculum standard using a 5 point grading system (A-E).
For non-ACARA subjects (ie. courses that deliver a curriculum outside of the Australian Curriculum eg. Small Engines), teachers will mark against relevant criteria.
If a subject is only taught in Semester Two (eg. Years 9 and 10 semesterised elective), a grade will be reported in the Semester Two Report only.
Teachers of each subject in Years 7-10 will provide an assessment of your child’s application and attitude attributes. Subject teachers do not write comments on these reports, as detailed progress is provided via MEL Feedback.
Senior College
The College does not issue a summative report for Senior College students at the end of the year. Senior College students will receive a report from TASC in December detailing overall awards for courses studied and accumulated points towards the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE).
PARENT-TEACHER MEETINGS
Parent-Teacher Meetings will take place in the first week of Terms Two and Three. You are encouraged to attend Parent-Teacher Meetings with your child, even if there are no apparent concerns. The meetings give you and the teachers the opportunity to meet and to enhance the home-school collaboration that is so important in optimising your child’s educational outcomes.
As stated previously, if a teacher requires attendance at the Term Two meetings, it will be indicated in the ‘Application and Attitude Comment’ on MEL Feedback. If attendance is required at a Term Three meeting, this will be indicated in the Semester One Report.
Instructions on booking Parent-Teacher Meetings will be sent to families at the end of Term One and Term Two.
You can request meetings at other times during the year by contacting the Main Office to make a mutually convenient time to meet with your child’s teacher. Teachers may also request meetings during the year.
Ongoing communication with your child’s teachers is encouraged and welcomed. Individual teachers utilise various means to communicate with parents. This may be through diaries, emails, newsletters, MEL Class Pages and phone calls.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing opportunities for ongoing communication between families and staff regarding student care, progress and performance. We look forward to working with you in partnership, towards the best outcomes for your child in 2020.