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.
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.
In Term One, teachers will provide a minimum of one item of detailed feedback on MEL in response to a Common Assessment Task. 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 by clicking on your child’s subject which will take you to each class page. As progress is provided via MEL Feedback throughout the year, subject teachers do not write comments on reports.
REPORT ACCESS
All reports are issued and accessed through the MEL Parent Portal via the button “Academic Reports”.
TERM ONE PROGRESS REPORT – All Year Levels
At the end of Term One, a progress report will be issued. A comment from your child’s Pastoral Care Group Leader will be provided on your child’s participation in Pastoral Care and general progress, including uniform and behaviour. Subject teachers will provide an update on your child’s application and attitude attributes demonstrated in their subject.
SUMMATIVE A-E REPORTS
Years 7 – 10
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. 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.
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, and vice versa.
In the Semester One and End of Year Reports, 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.
Senior College
Senior College Semester One Reports are sent out in early Term Three after mid-year exams. The teachers of Senior College students will report against the relevant criteria for each course. For reporting, this will include mid-year exam results. Teachers of Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses will report against relevant competencies.
In the Semester One Reports, 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.
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 weeks 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.
If a teacher requires attendance at the Term Two meetings, it will be indicated in the Term One Progress Report. 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. The Term Two meetings will be held on Wednesday, 4 May from 3:30pm – 7:00pm and Thursday, 12 May 3:30pm – 7:00pm. Having two dates this year will hopefully allow families greater flexibility in being able to attend.
You can request meetings at other times during the year 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 2022.
Mrs Emily Sass
Deputy Principal Learning & Teaching