It is the end of Term Two and to use a sporting analogy; it is half time! What do coaches often do at half time? They assess the progress of their team. If the team is winning and is travelling okay they may continue with the same game plan or they may instigate new strategies in order to get a bigger advantage or better result. They would praise the members of the team and give them tips on how to improve. If their team is losing, they may look at where the deficiencies are within the team and make changes to help improve the situation. The changes may involve the whole team or it may mean that individual players have to make changes in order to improve the situation.

School is not that different and student reports are a bit like the half time score at a sporting match. They give you an indication of how you are going and whether you need to change your game plan. School is also a team sport involving students, teachers and parents and like all team sports we need to work together to improve the score. When you receive your report at the beginning of next term I ask you to assess where you will be able to make improvements. The good thing about half time is that you can put in place strategies to change the final score.

I encourage you to continue to monitor your child’s progress on CANVAS and to contact teachers if you have any questions or concerns about their learning. It is important that we remain in dialogue and work in partnership to support all our students at the College.

At the beginning of next term, we will commence the process of pathway and subject selection for our 2020 Year 11 students. That means our current Year 10 students will be involved in a number of seminars and presentations relating to the numerous options available to them. Parents also need to be involved in this process and ensure that they attend the 2020 VCE/VCAL Domain Expo and Parent Information Evening on Tuesday July 23.

As always it has been a very busy term. So much happening inside and outside the traditional classroom. You only need to follow our Instagram or Facebook account to get a sense of all of the wonderful work that is done here at MSJ! Thank you to all students and staff for a very productive and busy term. I hope everyone has a chance to rest over the next two weeks.

Kate Dishon - Principal