Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

We are half-way through the term already!  In Senior School this means that there are assessments happening in all years.  The responses and attitudes to the first few assessments of the year have been interesting to observe. 

Generally speaking, students have been positively engaged with their classes and their preparation for assessments and early marks reflect this.  I have been impressed with the number of students striving to refine their processes. 

Some students have told me of the changes they have made at home; perhaps to their study space or to their study schedule. Other students are trying to study or learn in a new way.  I have heard of stacks of flash cards being created, of students working through past assessments and reading model answers.  Other students are accessing Academic Support and discovering the benefits of effective study groups. I love that our students are continually learning how to learn.  Perhaps a new teacher has inspired them to try mastering their subject in a different way. Perhaps a new friendship or a new classmate has shared a different technique.  All students at all levels of engagement find satisfaction from learning or mastering something new. 

I happened to be discussing this article with my colleague, Mr Ken Raven, and he shared one of his favourite websites with me, https://characterlab.org/ . This website is worth exploring and could perhaps be a useful conversation starter at home, particularly in the build up to assessments.  Those students keen to try something different to improve their performance might find something useful here too.  My favourite tips include:

1. incorporating desirable difficulties into your learning 
2. varying how you learn
3. move away from cramming and instead study a little, often
4. do something (eg. mind map, quiz questions) rather than just read notes.

These tips apply to practical assessments too, and many of the examples given on the website refer to practical applications. This week, the Ancient History class learned how to make rope and rather than just reading about it or watching an instructional clip, Mr Mumme had the class actually make some rope for themselves. I am sure that this will help them effectively remember the techniques!

I wish all of our students well as they work through their assessments and encourage them to continue to learn how to learn. 

Mrs Victoria Turnor | Head of Senior School

Year Twelve | Certificate IV Business 

On Tuesday, our Year Twelve Certificate IV Business students reached out to the community and visited Great Southern Uni’ Centre for our networking unit. GSUC is a centre for tertiary students of all ages, doing university online to come do their studies and connect with other people. They provide a support service for students who would like to study within the region instead of going to Perth, or students who may not be sure of what they’d like to do in the future. 

Talking with Mike has helped us branch out and develop our network within the community, and we are very grateful for the new advice and information we have received from him this week and an opportunity to link the classroom learning with the workplace. 

Lucy Barnett | Year Twelve