Leading Teachers Report
Leading Teacher: Junior School Report
Term 2 started with a bang in the junior school and it has been great to see so many of our students immersing themselves in College activities. Our year 8 students have just returned from their camp in Creswick with both teachers and students reporting that they had an amazing 3 days getting to know their cohort outside of the classroom and engaging in a myriad of activities that promote teamwork and resilience.
Our Year 7 students have been busy completing their NAPLAN tests this week, showcasing their considerable skills in English and Maths. We look forward to receiving the results later on in the year. It has been very pleasing to see so many of our Junior School students partake in the House Cross Country earlier this term and congratulations to Waratah for winning that House competition.
Our school also recently held our first Parent-Student-Teacher conferences for this year. The conferences provide a vital opportunity for every student to articulate to their parents and teachers how they are progressing in the various subject areas. It is part of the important school-home partnership that needs to be strong to assist our students in reaching their learning goals. Discussions would have mentioned the fact that mid-year exams for Years 7 to 11 begin on Monday 6th June. I would encourage all students to begin their revision program early to ensure they achieve success.
George Tzimourtas
Leading Teacher: Junior School
Leading Teacher: Middle School Report
To all of our Middle School students and families, I wish you a warm welcome back to Term 2.
The students have settled back into school life extremely well, hitting the ground running, and picking up right where they left off from last Term. We’ve been busy! Our middle school students were well represented in our House Cross Country, and our year 9’s have just completed their NAPLAN. We’ve also had Parent-Student-Teacher conferences, which provided an opportunity to discuss the progress of students and enable them to identify learning goals across all subject areas.
Looking ahead, we begin our mid-year exams in week 7 (beginning the 6th of June). I strongly encourage students to not leave their revision to the last minute. Preparation is key to managing workloads and achieving high expectations.
To assist our students with effective revision and study habits, our year 9 and 10 students recently participated in study sessions run by Elevate Education. Student feedback on these sessions was overwhelmingly positive, with many learning new study skills for effective note taking and revision. I urge students to apply these new skills for their upcoming exams.
Later in the term, a number of our year 10 students are heading away for an exciting Northern Territory Camp. I’m sure it will be a highlight, where many new memories and friendships will be formed. It will be an exciting way to celebrate a long and productive Term.
Travis Knox
Leading Teacher: Middle School
Leading Teacher: Senior School Report
Our VCE students have had a successful start to Term 2. Subject teachers are looking to finish unit 1 and 3 and move onto the next units.
We have had a busy start to the Term, with the long awaited and highly anticipated year 12 jackets arriving.
We, after a two year break, have been able to return to the traditional jacket distribution. Our year 7s, some siblings of the current year 12s and others prep buddies from Primary school were on hand to present the yr 12s with their jacket. We look forward to eventually seeing these year 7s in their own jackets.
You can watch the presentation here: https://youtu.be/XCH2TDgWDk0
In other year 12 news, select subjects will be running Unit 3 practice exams during the term 2 holidays. This is designed to allow students to reflect on their progress in unit 3, and help then shape their revision for the end of year exam. Year 11s completing Unit 3 subjects are also expected to attend these sessions.
This is a time for reflection on academic progress and also a time to look forward to your future. You may find that your current subject selection does not match your post university ambitions or that you may now need another subject to compliment your enrolment. We will shortly begin these conversations to discuss subject selection for Unit 2 near the end of the term.
Term 2 and 3 are the long stretch of study before the final exams. This is when students may start to lose momentum. Though they have been pushing hard it can be difficult to see the end when you are in the middle of the race. This is when students must rely on the resilience they have built.
Best realistically optimistic with your progress – focus on what you have achieved and what you can achieve. Then build upon these plans. VCE is not completed in the final exams, it builds on continuous progress
Accept that you can not control everything – sometimes teachers and students get sick, SACs are moved or trains are late. We can not control everything by accepting this fact we can plan to be prepared when problems arise.
Plan for success – everything important in all aspects of life require planning. From planning your route to work to your weekend activities to your study schedule, everything needs planning.
However, you must be realistic with your planning. Understand how you prefer to study and the best method for yourself. Some people require silence to study and others prefer background noise. Some students find working in groups to revise effective
This is our English Students working together to revise for a SAC:
Apply your knowledge – VCE requires you to demonstrate your knowledge in different ways. From giving a live drama monologue to answering mathematic questions without a calculator. You must practice applying your knowledge in the subject context. Completing practice exam style questions continuously is part of any good study routine.
You are able to access previous exams via the VCAA website
https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/vce-assessment/past-examinations/Pages/Index.aspx
VCE advice from those who have done it:
Name: Kerryn Hoernel
Subject taught: VCE Literature and English
What did you study in VCE:
I did VCE in the first year it was called VCE. I did English, literature, Geography, Legal Studies and Drama
How did you study when in VCE?
Nose to the grindstone and just did my work all the time. I also focused on my passions in English and Drama.
What advice do you have for our students?
procrastination and denial do not make it go away! Little and often was my mantra... don't allow tasks to snowball and become overwhelming. Work on the hard stuff first - it's easier to summons more energy for the things you enjoy and are good at. Communicate with teachers, ask questions and let them know if you are struggling, a good relationship with a teacher makes the subject easier to face. In Year 12, make use of any external free study sessions that come up, sometimes hearing a different teacher explain something in a different way can make all the difference.
Name: Jeff Wong
Subject taught: Methods and Physics
What did you study in VCE:
I did it in WA. I did English, Methods, Specialist, Chemistry, Physics and Economics
How did you study when in VCE?
I did a lot of past questions, I got all the checkpoints an did all the questions. I even worked out that my specialist math teacher was using questions from checkpoints which was cheeky of them.
What advice do you have for our students?
Have a system, have any system which allows you to revisit a topic multiple times over different spacings of time. Also reading your notes is NOT studying. You do not read multiple books to learn how to drive a car, you must practice the actual skill of driving a car. So to study you need to be doing past exam questions and sometimes under timed conditions.
Grace Terdich
Leading Teacher: Senior School