Teaching and Learning

Junior School Parent Teacher Conferences

This week the Junior School homeroom teachers hosted their second parent teacher conference for the year. These conferences were held onsite and provided parents/carers with the opportunity to discuss their daughter’s ongoing learning journey. These conferences are a wonderful opportunity for a continued shared dialogue. They allow staff to share a student’s areas of strength, as well as those areas that may require continued growth. Parents are also given the opportunity to share information with their daughter’s homeroom teacher.  

If required, we encourage you to reach out to your daughter’s teacher at any point in the school year. The best way to contact teachers is via their Shelford email address, however please be mindful that our teachers are very busy during the course of a school day and may take a few days to get back to you. 

Semester 1 Examinations

As the Year 10 and 11 internal examination period draws closer, it can at times feel that the exams are the be all and end all. This perception can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed. It is important to remind our students that the exams are only one part of their learning journey.  Over the course of the semester, they have been completing a wide range of assessment tasks that have enabled them to showcase their understanding and skill development; their development within a subject is therefore never measured by an exam result alone. We encourage our students to focus on the way they prepare for the exams and the feedback they will receive. The internal exams offer our students the opportunity to reflect on their current revision practices, investigate new ways of revising and to practice their skills of recall and analysis in test conditions.  

Some ways that you can encourage your daughter through the exam process are: 

• Remind them this is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. 
• Encourage them to take regular breaks when they are revising. 
• Ask them to share their revision timetable with you – this way the whole family can see when they are revising. 
• Contextualise the experience – this is only a small part of their learning process, as during the semester they have already been able to demonstrate their understanding of key content. 
• Remind them they have many supports around them. Their teachers and YLCs are there to help and support them during this process. Encourage them to reach out for help or assistance at any time. 

2024 Subject Selection Process

As we look ahead to Semester 2, students will be asked to begin thinking about their subject selection for 2024. Each year level has their own tailored process of support. This week the Year 9 and 10 students will have the process clearly explained to them and in the coming weeks parents will have the opportunity to learn about the subject selection process via webinar.  

The subject selection process is complemented by the work of Cath Freney, our Careers and Future Pathways Coordinator. She is currently meeting with all Year 10 students to review their Morrisby Career Profile testing results and provide feedback. The Year 11 students will also be given the opportunity to attend a Careers Interview at the beginning of Term 3 to seek feedback on changes to VCE subjects for Year 12. Over the course of the year Cath also hosts Career Future Insight Events. Last week Cath hosted her second event of the year and is looking forward to the next session in August. Our Year 10 to 12 students and their parents are invited to attend these sessions, so please keep an eye out on Shelly for the upcoming event in Term 3. 

Karen Whelan

Deputy Principal - Staff, Teaching and Learning/Psychology