Improvement Team Report
Pathways and Community Improvement Team
With term 3 drawing to an end its time to reflect on the progress and achievements of the Pathways and Community Improvement Team. The team’s focus this year has been centred around how we can best support students transitioning into, through and beyond Keysborough Secondary College to meet their needs and ultimately support them in achieving their aspirations when they leave school. This work of course begins before students arrive when families from local primary schools start to plan for and make decisions about their children’s school of choice.
To provide an insight into the many exciting and amazing programs Keysborough College has to offer, our year 7 Teacher Team Leaders, Melissa Hoskin and Rebekah Vass have been busy coordinating a number of outreach programs where students from Keysborough and Heatherhill Primary Schools were given the opportunity to patriciate in the STEM Outreach program, TECH Fest and Grade 5 taster days with further outreach programs on offer in Term 4 including STEM Girls to further showcase what we do.
Year 7-9 making Connections
Lauran Walters, our year 8 Teacher Team Leader has been working closely with the College’s Careers Coordinator to identity how we can continue to build student connections to school and awareness of, the importance of career planning from year 7 through to year 9. This has included how we as a school can build student resilience by delivering an emotionally engaging, evidence-based program through the resilience project, designed to provide the necessary skills and strategies to meet the demands of school and life.
Year 9 into 10 Transition Program
Term 3 also saw the first of the year 9 into 10 transition program across both Banksia and Acacia campuses. Students were given the opportunity to immerse themselves into experiencing life in the senior school which included sessions around what to expect, key personnel, familiarisation with the building and tasters of subjects students wish to explore as they began to prepare for their final years of schooling. The feedback was extremely positive with Andrea Thanos, Year 10 Teacher Team Leader, currently reviewing its successes and how we can improve on it for 2023.
Senior Secondary Certificate Reform
The working parties created to develop the new curriculum for both the VCE Vocational Major and Pathways certificates are now well under way, with lots of stimulating and exciting discussion about how the new curriculum will meet the diverse needs of our students.
With the additional support of Headstart, a School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs) program that supports secondary school students to succeed while they study and work towards a career, our students will also have the exciting opportunity to develop skills and experience that employers value and get the best start in their career whilst studying the new VCE Vocational Major.
For parents and students looking to understand more about the changes from VCAL to the new Senior Secondary Certificate there is an opportunity to participate in a live forum.
To help inform Year 9–11 students about their new pathway choices, please encourage them to attend the One VCE Ask Me Anything session on YouTube Live at 7.30pm on Tuesday 13 September.
Students can ask questions about the new VCE Vocational Major and Victorian Pathways Certificate anonymously through Slido before or during the session. Find out more in this edition of the Bulletin.
The face-to-face Applied Learning in Practice workshops about the new VCE Vocational Major (VM) and Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) have been rolling out across the state to a very warm and enthusiastic reception. There will also be limited opportunities in Term 4 to attend a repeat of the sessions. Look out for details in the next school letter or see the relevant year level coordinators for more information.
Travis McIntosh
Year 12 Teacher Team Leader, Banksia Campus
Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Improvement Team
The Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Improvement team has been working to finalise the textbook selections for 2023. With new subjects being introduced through the VCE-VM and 11 new study designs being implemented in the VCE there will be a number of new text book selections for next year. We encourage anyone thinking about purchasing a second-hand text book to confirm that the title and edition of the text is listed on the 2023 College text book list prior to purchasing.
As we finalise Term 3 we encourage all parents to make the most of the College Progress Reporting to keep up to date with how their child is performing in each of the subjects. Parent Teacher interviews are also another important opportunity to discuss your child’s strengths and areas for improvement. If you missed this opportunity on Tue 13th September, please contact the individual teacher for an update via Compass.
The semester 2 College exam timeline has now been finalised:
- Year 7-9 Exams will occur in Term 4 from 18th – 24th November
- Year 10 & 11 Exams will occur in Term 4 from 17th – 24th November
Families are encouraged to ensure their child is able to participate, by avoiding extended absences during this time. All students will be provided with individualised exam schedules in the lead up to exams.
Our team is also continuing its work on the College Assessment policy – this will now include developing guidelines for the provision of Special consideration in exams. Special provisions allow students with learning difficulties or special individual circumstances access to modifications when completing assessments. If your child has a health condition or learning difficulty and may benefit through exam special provisions, please speak to your child’s Teacher Team Leader so that the college can look into strategies to support your child’s individual requirements.
Melissa Williams
Assistant Principal, Junior School Banksia