Mitchell and Murrindindi Network chair Neil O’Sullivan and Seymour College principal Debbie Oliver agreed that when schools work together, they can achieve what wouldn’t be possible on their own. Photos: Billie Davern.
Nineteen diverse schools from Yea to Beveridge recently came together in a show of how the possibilities are endless when you work as a collective.
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The Common Curriculum Day, held on Friday, August 22 at Wallan Secondary College, saw schools across the Murrindindi and Mitchell Shires connect with and learn from each other.
Featuring a list of renowned workshop facilitators, including headliner and keynote speaker Kylie Captain, attendees gained practical knowledge and skills to bring back to their school communities.
Mitchell and Murrindindi Network senior education improvement leader Rhonda Cole said it was a great opportunity for the schools involved.
“I think we’re all trying to work towards the same outcome, and that’s to achieve great outcomes for students,” she said.
“We’ve got some really solid practice across our network, and it’s a real opportunity for us to all learn together, but also share our implementation and our best practice.
“We’re learning from experts, but we’re also learning from each other.”
Now in its third year, Ms Cole said the event had become “bigger and better every year.”
Connecting the unique schools within the network has allowed vital opportunities for educators from across the region to see how different practices are taking shape, and implement those practices themselves.
Wallan Secondary College was filled with educators from schools across Mitchell and Murrindindi Shire on Friday, August 22.
While the Common Curriculum Day is the main event of the year, the network also involves regular catch-ups between the schools’ principals, with two full days of professional learning occurring each term.
Principal of Seymour College Debbie Oliver, who also runs marketing for the network, said the learning obtained on the day, and through being part of the network, had been helpful for the school.
“The professional development that’s offered today, we wouldn’t be able to do that as a single school. We couldn’t get that breadth, and we wouldn’t be able to afford it,” Ms Oliver said.
“As a network, when we pull our resources together, we can create things that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.
“As Seymour College by itself, there’s no way we would have been able to provide the range of development that’s available today.”
Principal of Wallan East Primary School and network chair of the Mitchell and Murrindindi Network Neil O’Sullivan agreed with Ms Oliver that the connection between the schools boosted educators across the region.
“When we work together, we can do things that we can’t do on our own,” he said.
“We have many smaller schools in the network that just couldn’t access the professional learning if they didn’t combine with the network.
“Geographically, we’re spread across a very big area, from Yea to Beveridge, so getting people together gives them a great sense of connection.”
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