College Leadership

The wonder of learning

By Andrew Balkwill Email this article

When I spend time walking around our grounds and visiting classrooms, I see the wonder of learning. It’s visible every day at Mercedes College, as children’s eyes light up as a concept or skill is understood, later mastered, and connections made between otherwise unrelated topics.

It’s always a beautiful thing to see, and this Term, students of all ages have been learning in and out of conventional classrooms, culminating with Mercy Week and the many activities on offer for students to engage with and enjoy.

Also taking shape on campus, is our new Arts and Sports Precinct, with roofing, glazing and cladding forming our new training and playing areas, as well as community areas for people to come together for generations to come.

This build, and investment more widely in our classrooms, science laboratories, design spaces and so on, is made possible through your support, and the strategic oversight and guidance of our College Council, then delivered by us.

In addition to the tens of thousands of dollars raised for Mercy Works and charities so far this year, a huge thank you to everyone for baking and donating to our annual giving appeal this year – I’d especially like to thank Credit Union SA for their $50,000 contribution – and I am delighted to share with you that our annual giving appeal tally for 2023 stands at more than $150,000. Thank you.

Learning outcomes are tracked through a range of ongoing assessments, with our teachers always looking to adapt to make the most of instruction time and class experiences. One measure that shows our progress is NAPLAN. Nearly all our Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9 students participated in NAPLAN.

This nationwide assessment was conducted during March, enabling us to better use the results evaluating students' skills in literacy and numeracy, providing valuable information about strengths and areas for improvement this academic year. Overall results are pleasing, with proficiency levels indicating the majority of students are demonstrating or exceeding expectations at the time of testing.

Wishing everyone an enjoyable break – including our Year 12 students who have assessment work to push on with, and exams to prepare for – and a reminder to wind your clocks forward this weekend. See you all on Monday 16 October for the start of Term 4!

Andrew Balkwill
Principal