Sacred Heart College provides a learning program for all students that is engaging, challenging and enjoyable.

What is myLearning Journey?

“Ultimately, the best learners will have the most choice in life.” (Anderson, 2019, p20)

myLearning Journey includes subject selection and provides your child with the agency to design a learning program for their next year and beyond, building on their passions, capabilities and strengths.

How are students and families supported?

The College has designed a process and developed resources that will guide students through the necessary steps to choose their subjects.

This myLearning Journey portal including subject opportunities has been designed to empower students and their families to make well-researched and informed decisions when designing their learning program.

Sacred Heart College works with our students to honour each student’s potential and to develop highly capable learners who can self motivate, self manage, self modify and self monitor. Choosing a school program is a very important part of each student's journey at Sacred Heart, as they take steps towards the life they will live. Families can also help by discussing the options together and exploring how different choices may help to shape their future.

A student’s journey through The McAuley Years (Years 7 to 9) follows in the tradition of Catherine McAuley. Just as she imagined, laboured and persevered to establish the foundations of Mercy; so do our students work to secure the foundational skills and knowledge they need to become effective learners.

They do this by progressing through Levels MYP1 to MYP3 of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP), culminating in the Community Project (at MYP3) as a capstone learning experience. During the McAuley Years, students explore the full range of disciplines and develop the skills to make connections across their subjects.

Students then journey through The Maguire Years (Years 10 to 12). Following in the tradition of Mother Xavier Maguire who courageously traversed unpredictable seas to a faraway and unknown place; our students take their foundational skills and knowledge and set off on the next stage of their learning journey.

Students are equipped to challenge themselves and pursue a learning program which honours their individual potential. A combination of subjects across curriculum frameworks provides increased opportunities for specialisation.

These include the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (MYP), the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), the VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM), Vocational Education and Training (VET) and School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBAT).

*In order to maximise choice, SHC and SJC work in partnership to offer the full range of VCE subjects. Those subjects offered exclusively at SJC are indicated at the top of the subject description.

Years 8-12 Subjects

Assessment and Reporting

CANVAS

Canvas is an online Learning Management System that forms an integral part of student learning at Sacred Heart College. Canvas is used for all subjects and it allows easy access to course materials, provides information about assessment requirements, allows uploading of completed time-stamped work and provides up-to-date feedback for students and parents on learning progress and results.

Click here to learn more about CANVAS.

Student Progress Communication

An SPC communication will be sent once per term and is designed to provide families with a snapshot of their child's development during this period. The purpose of the Student Progress Communication is to assist families to determine whether or not to make contact with your child's teachers.

Ongoing feedback regarding your child's progress can be obtained via the 'See what is happening in class (CANVAS)' link on the College Parent Portal where you will also find teachers email addresses and the College calendar. To view an example please click here.

Statement of Attainment

The Statement of Attainment (SOA) is the report you will receive at the end of each semester. As the students in Years 7 - 10 participate in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program the assessment of their work is based on the IB MYP objectives.

The Statement of Attainment grades the students level of achievement based on a set criteria - further detailed information on how these levels are determined can be found by clicking here.

Parent Communication Afternoons

Parent Communication Afternoons are scheduled three times per term in place of traditional Parent Teacher Interviews. The dates and times for the Parent Communication Afternoons are made available via the Principal's weekly update email.

Families can contact the teacher(s) you would like to meet with and arrange a time during the allocated window. You can arrange a face-to-face meeting or a telephone discussion.

Inclusion and Diversity

The Inclusion and Diversity team aims to support, empower and enable students to learn within inclusive learning environments. The team caters to the diversity of students' learning and abilities through a range of supports to promote learning independence.

The Inclusion and Diversity team works collaboratively with the internal Student Support Services team alongside external professionals and services, whilst fostering partnerships with families to establish supportive networks. Collectively with health professionals necessary adjustments are considered to support and engage students in their learning.

The Inclusion and Diversity team meets regularly with families through Program Support Group meetings. Learning plans and strategies to build capacity and cater to the individual needs of the students are shared. Adjustments to the program are considered to enable each student to access their learning and to work independently towards targeted learning goals.

The Inclusion and Diversity team supports teachers to differentiate and personalise learning to allow all students to engage in the curriculum. Initiatives are strategically developed for the implementation of targeted learning programs. The team oversees the delivery of learning programs for students with English as an Additional Language/Dialect, New Arrivals and Refugees, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) and Out of Home Care students.

What is the IBMYP?

International Baccalaureate - Middle Years Program

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

So where does our content come from? The VC (Victorian Curriculum) like other Victorian schools.

IB MYP students become capable learners and critical thinkers:

• By studying English language so they can communicate ideas
• By studying a second language so they can appreciate and communicate with other cultures
• By studying Maths, Science and Humanities so they learn about how the world works
• By studying Arts, Design and Technology so they learn how to be a creative and adaptive thinker to solve the future’s problems!
• By studying Health and PE so they know how to live a healthy life and understand themselves; and
• By learning skills and concepts they can use to learn anything!
  

The IB MYP is skills and concept and inquiry focused – it is not a rigid prescription of a list of content. It is a holistic framework that provides us with pedagogy (teacher speak – the method and practise of teaching) and tools for assessment of achievement scales.

Other things you might notice:

• Subjects with a focus on developing international mindedness are important (for example languages).
  
• The IB focuses on skills for capable learners
  
• Interdisciplinary and real world learning is explicitly delivered - you may hear your daughter use the acronym 'IDU'.
  
• The IB focuses on assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning so you may hear your daughter refer to formative and summative assessment
  
• The IB is inquiry based - every unit of MYP study is framed by a Statement of Inquiry and inquiry questions linked to a global context.
  

For further information about the IB MYP click here.

Possibilities and Pathways

How can the Pathways and Possibilities team assist?

• Apprenticeships Information
  
• Résumé Writing Skills
  
• Cadetships and Traineeships
  
• SATs
  
• Career Expos and Open Days
  
• Scholarship Opportunities
  
• Careers Testing - Morrisby Profile
  
• Subject Selection Counselling
  
• GAP Year Opportunities
  
• TAFE Courses and Programs
  
• Individual Interviews and Interview Skills
  
• Tertiary Application Process - Interstate
  
• Overseas Exchange Programs and International Study
  
• University Courses and Programs
  
• University Extension Studies
  
• VCAA Information
  
• VET in Schools
  
• VTAC Process
  
• Part-time and Casual Job Opportunities
  

Click here to find out more

How to know what is right?

The Learner Readiness Checklist is a tool designed to assist students in recognising their learning styles and strengths. This checklist has been designed as a self-reflection tool, asking a student to review the way they learn and their study skills/habits before they go further into the subject selection process.

At SHC, students are able to select subjects based on their readiness, not necessarily their year level, so it is important for them to understand if this is the correct path for them prior to reviewing the many different subjects offered.

Students can complete the Learner Readiness Checklist as part of their preparation for the subject selection process. Students can access the Checklist via the Hub - click your photo in the right corner and your profile details will come up, the Learner Readiness Checklist will be a menu option across the top.

These coloured symbols indicate the MYP level.

The symbols appear on the Journey Planner as well as on every subject description in the MLJ portal - they are a quick visual reminder for students. We find that students can use these to quickly identify the subject level.

If they are going into Year 9 and would like to select a subject that is an MYP4 (primarily Year 10) level it reminds them to think about their learner readiness and consider if they are prepared for the additional challenge they may be presented with when completing MYP4 requirements.

MYP Level 1 - Year 7

Breadth and Connect; our students experience a full range of subjects from all disciples - new experiences, new friends, connecting to the SHC community.

It’s the beginning of the journey as an IB learner, allowing the opportunity to develop their thinking across the full spectrum at the start of their journey to becoming a global citizen in the Mercy tradition.

At MYP level 1 - common foundation knowledge and skills are established as our students arrive from a variety of feeder schools.

MYP Level 2 - Year 8

Breadth and stretch; students continue to learn and develop their thinking across a full range of learning areas. In addition we introduce them to the latest brain science to help them understand and take agency for their own learning. Stretch is included at Year 8 in our Wednesday afternoon program where students select areas of interest to complete project based units that may be transdisciplinary.

MYP Level 2 culminates with a term-long interdisciplinary unit which stretches students to transfer their learning from multiple disciplines (including Humanities, Science, DCT, the Arts and Mathematics) to understand and problem solve for a contemporary issue eg Big Australia – population growth and the resultant questions around maintaining standard of living, resourcing and environmental protection.

MYP Level 3 - Year 9

Breadth and Prospect; some students may be ready to start prospecting - looking further afield in specialised areas of study. They have the option to access MYP Level 4 studies, or to continue to study at Level 3, and to choose their entry level for Mathematics and English. Students celebrate the connections they have made through Year 9 camp.

The end of the breadth years is capped with the Community Project in semester 2 of this stage. The IB Community Project is a showcase of the ATL (learning) skills gained from MYP Levels 1-3 and asks the students to look outwards as young Mercy women - to take action or speak out for those in our community or other communities for whom our students can make a difference.

MYP Level 4 - Year 10

For students in Year 10, the first year of the Maguire Years, there are two learning pathways. These pathways provide students with the opportunity to capitalise on and embed their foundational knowledge and skills and explore unique opportunities for deeper learning. These experiences will further develop students who value learning and pursue challenges.

For our students, the knowledge and skills they acquire through this intentionally-designed stage of their learning journey, will prepare them for the next stage and the rigours of VCE, VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM), VET and SBAT studies; and on into further lifelong learning beyond Sacred Heart.

How can families help?

Read our guides on 'How to choose the best MYP Level':

• Year 7 going into Year 8 Guide (PDF)
  
• Year 8 going into Year 9 Guide (PDF)
  
• Year 9 going into Year 10 Guide (PDF)
  

• Review course requirements and information on this portal.
  

• Read the relevant Journey Planner together to identify which units are compulsory and how many elective choices are available
  

• Consider whether there are subjects that need to be chosen because they are compulsory or lead to a future pathway.
  
• VTAC University prerequisites for 2024
  
• VTAC university prerequisites for 2025
  

• Encourage your daughter to seek advice from her teachers.
  

Additional Guidance

Pathway Information

• Mathematics Pathways
  
• Science Pathways
  
• Arts Pathways
• English Pathways
• Presentation from myLearning Journey Family Evening (8/6/23)