As you may be aware, at the beginning of each year, the College publishes a number of strategic priorities that we intend on addressing that calendar year. While much of the work that has been achieved this year could not have been foreseen due to the sudden nature of the pandemic, one priority that has still received a great deal of attention has been in the area of feedback. 

From a basic perspective, it is easy to assume that feedback in a school sense is generally limited to the feedback that teachers can provide their students with in order to achieve their desired academic outcomes. While the development of this type of feedback has certainly remained at the forefront of much of our work, indeed the Term 1 Staff Development Day was focused on this area, we have also deliberately expanded the scope of what feedback means to us as a College. 

Over the past few months we have taken the opportunity to explore the types of feedback that we as teachers and support staff receive on a daily basis as a means of reflecting on the effectiveness of our work. Student attendance data, Compass data, information from our team of counsellors, parent surveys and the discussions that take place with our P & F committee are all forms of feedback that help inform our current practices and shape their development moving forward. 

Over the last week, we have participated in a very detailed feedback program known as Pivot Professional Learning. Over the course of the week students have been invited to complete a research based questionnaire known as the Pivot Survey. This survey focuses on the students perception of a range of teacher qualities that are linked to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. This important feedback is intended to allow teachers to gain an understanding of their perceived strengths as noted by their students, as well as identify particular areas that they can develop moving forward. 

I thank the teachers at Mount Carmel for their ongoing commitment to their professional development as has been evident through their involvement in this program. Significantly, however, I thank the students who have engaged so thoughtfully and maturely in providing this feedback that will go a long way towards allowing us to further cater for their learning needs.