Wantirna College Newsletter

Senior School 

Year 12 Results

This week our Year 12 students of 2022 received their final VCE results. The Senior School Team would like to congratulate all students on their results. Our Year 12 students have shown incredible determination and resilience over the course of the year. We wish all students the best of luck in their future endeavours.

Preparing for VCE in 2023

Missed VCE SACs 

(School-assessed Coursework)

Attendance at SACs in VCE is compulsory. Unless the absence is school approved, a student who is unable to attend a SAC must produce medical evidence that shows they were unfit for school. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all medical evidence is submitted to the general office or emailed to generaloffice@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au upon their return to school.

 

All rescheduled / missed SACs in 2023, will be supervised every Tuesday afterschool in the Senior Centre. As a result, students must ensure other commitments are not organised during this time.

 

Failure to provide medical evidence (i.e., medical certificate) for missed SACs:

 

- VCE Units 1 & 2 students who are unable to produce the medical evidence will sit the SAC as a redemption task.

 

- VCE Units 3 & 4 students who are unable to produce the medical evidence will sit the SAC as a redemption task and cannot receive a score higher than zero for the task.

 

- Failure to provide sufficient evidence of satisfactory completion in a redemption task can result in an N (Not Satisfactory) for the outcome, therefore an N for the unit.

 

- If a student does not complete a redemption task at the set time and does not supply a medical certificate, they forfeit the right to the redemption process and an N (Not Satisfactory) can be awarded.

 

Holiday Homework

All Year 11 & 12 VCE, VM and VPC subject teachers have provided holiday homework to students during the recent Step Up and Transition days. Students can reasonably be expected to have up to 3-5 hours of schoolwork to do over the holiday break for each subject. 

 

Holiday homework must be completed and submitted on the first class for each subject upon students return to school in 2023. Failure to complete holiday homework will result in attending a learning recovery session after school.

 

Importance of Home Study 

As per the VCAA requirements, it is expected students undertake up to 50 hours of self-directed learning for each unit. To achieve 50hrs of self-directed learning at home for each unit, students across VCE should be undertaking at least 15hrs of study per week (2-3 hrs a day). This is a minimum requirement. This is why it is absolutely critical for students to effectively use their study periods during each week, including period 1 and 4.

 

Senior School students are expected to undertake home study to complete class tasks, prepare for upcoming lesson, review previous lessons and learning, and revise for assessments and exams. The expectation at Years 11 and 12 are:

  • Year 11 students – 2 hours per night 
  • Year 12 students – 3 hours per night 

In addition to self-directed learning at home, students are strongly encouraged to attend VCE Boost. This provides an opportunity for students to develop good study habits, catch up with work, work in study groups and get additional help and feedback from teachers. Sessions are as follows:

VCE Boost: Thu 3.20pm-4.30pm Senior Centre

Maths Boost: Tue 3.20pm–4.30pm Rees House.

 

Research has confirmed that secondary school students who regularly complete homework and self-directed learning at home have higher achievement than those who do not. 

 

Parents/guardians have a crucial role in helping their child manage learning and homework. This does not necessarily mean helping their child do the homework, instead support students to set routines, utilise study planners and provide encouragement for homework completion. Parents can also support their children by encouraging them to set goals, plan, and manage their time, effort and emotions. This type of support can help children to regulate their own learning and will often be more valuable than direct help with homework tasks.

 

In summary, it is expected students in VCE:

  • undertake a minimum of 3-4 hours study per subject, per week (more time around assessments/exams) 
  • undertake 2- 3 hours of study per day
  • study in the Senior Centre & Byrne House during their study periods 
  •  attend VCE Boost (Thu) and Maths Boost (Tue) when possible
  • undertake effective study during all study periods (period 1, 2, 3 or 4) throughout each week. The expectation is students are studying during study periods, particularly during period 1 and 4.

Year 11 into 12 Step Up program

All students undertaking a Unit 3 and 4 (Year 12) subject/s in 2023 were involved in an extensive Year 11 into 12 Step Up program. 

 

The purpose of Step up was to help maximise the learning opportunities and delivery of the Unit 3 VCE/ VM Curriculum Programs. Starting Unit 3 during the Step-Up Program will enable teachers and students to spend more learning time on exam preparation and exam revision the following year, as well as increase time devoted to SAC sand SAC preparation.

 

Year 11 Academic Review Conferences

It was great to see almost every Year 11 VCE student attend their Academic Review Conference.  These student-led conferences  were a great opportunity for students, their family and their Explore teacher to critically reflect on their learning and achievements for 2022. Students also reviewed their exam preparation and performance, as well as their overall academic school year. In addition, students set learning growth goals for Term 1 2023 based on areas of improvement and discussions during the conference. 

 

This opportunity to reflect, review and set goals for 2023 will enable students to improvement in the learning and performance throughout 2023.

 

Transition Days (Year 8, 9 & 10)

Over the last few of weeks of Term 4, students in Year 8, 9 and 10 have engaged in a transition day to help prepare them for the following academic year. 

 

The purpose of these days was for students across all three-year levels to reflect and celebrate the year and to acknowledge the significance of transitioning through Senior School. Students were introduced to the Senior School team and were provided with a clear understanding of what the expectations around learning, behaviour and attendance will be in 2023. 

 

Students worked through a range of workshops with a focus on reflection, celebration, team building activities and sessions to improve learning, assessment and attendance requirements. 

 

The feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive and we hope these days will set the tone and expectations for the 2023 academic year for all students across Senior School.

Year 9 Mock Interviews

Over 180 Year 9 students had the valuable experience of attending a recent Mock Interview with external guests with business and career experience. 

 

All students at some point in their life will have to sit an interview, so it’s these important opportunities where students can learn and gain invaluable interview experiences in a safe and constructive environment. Students were able to reflect on their nonverbal and verbal communication skills, as well as learn and develop important interviewing skills they will need for the future. I would like to thank all students for the way they engaged and participated, in particular the parents who supported the program. It is these moments in a young person’s life where being vulnerable and having the courage to show up and give things a go without knowing the outcome it what enables learning and meaningful experiences to occur.

 

The Senior School Team wish all students and their families an enjoyable, safe and restful holiday break.

 

David Black

Leader of Senior School