Senior Programs Learning Community

Presentations Assembly 

On Wednesday 16th December we will have our presentations assembly in the Theatre at 1.45pm. All families of current Year 12s are invited to join our Year 6-9 students as we celebrate the end of 2015 and present our Year 12 awards. 

VCAL 2016

In 2016 Collingwood College is pleased to be offering the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) as an addition to our current senior program offering of VCE.

Information nights were well attended and we have twenty one students taking part in VCAL.

A VCAL course focuses on key skills required for entering employment at the end of school. 

This does not mean that further education is not an option. There are options for further education through TAFE and some Universities.

Students will still choose subjects from the VCE area. English and Maths components can be completed at the foundation level or at a general level. There are even options for English as an Additional Language students.

Students will need to complete a Victorian Education and Training (VET) subject either in school or through an outside provider. They will cover personal development, work-related and industry specific skills with a strong link to VET subjects and their future employment aspirations. 

All of the teachers involved are very excited about the next twelve months with this talented group of students.

VCE 2016 and Early Commencement Program

Another year is nearly over.  Another year of study and endeavour is all but completed and another year of final VCE results are to be released to students. 

We look forward to receiving really successful VCE results on December 13th with the hope that your sons and daughters will have access to the courses which they wish to study or that worthwhile employment opportunities are available to them. 

Meanwhile, the Early Commencement Program (ECP) for Year 12 in 2016 is now completed. This year it was extended for two weeks. The students attended at least three sessions with their new teachers to begin studies for their final year of school.

As well, the Year 10s transitioning to Year 11 have just finished their ECP. This ran for one week and included an Amazing Race between Collingwood College and Fitzroy High so that the students got to meet each other and learn about each other’s schools.

All VCE and VCAL students are expected to do preparation on the holidays readying themselves for what is ahead, completing reading and undertaking homework.

On a practical note there are many VCE rules and procedures that can be overwhelming: from the expectation that a medical certificate will be produced for any assessments missed, to 90% attendance requirements. 

What matters ultimately (apart of course from supportive and loving families) is that students have selected subjects that they look forward to studying, and that they are able to build a relationship with their teachers, communicating with them regularly and facing problems as they arise. In addition, each student will be allocated an advisory teacher to whom they can turn for advice and support.

All the best for the long Summer holiday and we look forward to seeing you for another year.

Dr. Michael Polack

De-Scribing Success.

Congratulations to one of our Year 11 students Madeleine (Meg) Gome, who has been recognised for her fiction writing by winning the Thunderbolt Prize Youth Award for Crime Writing, awarded by the New England Writers’ Centre. This prestigious award was for Meg’s story Scrap Metal.

Not satisfied with one prize, Meg has had another essay ‘Heroic Effort’ published by The Big Issue (13th -26th November edition).

The original essays were developed as part of Meg’s Year 10 English Writing Folio Learning Task, and she continued to draft and develop for submission to the competition and magazine.