Wantirna College Newsletter

Senior School

Year 11 & 12

Key Dates:

Term 4

Wed 13 - 20 Nov: Year 11 Exams 

Thu 21 - 28 Nov: Year 11-12 Step Up

Wed 27 Nov: Year 12 Valedictory

Fri 29 Nov: Year 11 into 12 A. Review Conf.

Fri 29 Nov: Last Day for Year 11 students

Thu 12 Dec: VCE/ATAR Results released

Sat 14 Dec: VTAC change of pref close

VCE VM Mock Interviews

The Year 11 VCE VM  Work Related Skills students recently participated in Mock Interviews as part of their assessment for Unit 2. Students selected a job advertisement in an industry of interest and worked to develop their written application. 

 

On the day, students were expected to be punctual and arrive 15 minutes early, dress formally in smart/casual clothing and come prepared with a cover letter and resume tailored to the job listing they chose. The interview panel of industry professionals and teachers were provided with the criteria to assess each students performance and asked questions that were relevant to the job. Here, students were asked to use the STAR technique to answer interview questions and expand on their experience. After the interview, the panel deliberated between themselves and provided feedback to each students on what they did well and what they needed to improve on. Overall, the students did well in their interviews and gained valuable feedback that they can take with them and use to help them in future interviews and endeavours.

 

Mitchell Buckingham 

Yr 11 VM

Revision Assessment & Feedback (RAF) Cycle

Year 9/10 RAF cycle will occur during normal scheduled classes from Wed 27 Nov - Thu 5 December. More information regarding the RAF period has been posted on MS Teams and Compass. See the relevant document for information on:

  • What is the RAF cycle?
  • Purpose of RAF
  • When the RAF cycle occurs
  • What RAF means for teachers and students
  • Useful tips on what to do and how to prepare for each stage of the revision, assessment and feedback cycle

Teachers will provide students with:

  • An outline of the task students will engage in and items students will need to revise for your assessments.
  • Structured revision in class.
  • An assessment task sat under assessment conditions that is common to all classes for that subject.
  • An opportunity to engage fully with the feedback from the task through teacher, peer, and self-reflection.
  • An opportunity for students to reflect and evaluate revision in the lead up to an assessment.

Students are taught how to:

  • Plan their revision in the lead up to the assessment.
  • Revise using evidenced-based revision strategies for retrieval practice and application.
  • Self-assess their work.
  • Engage with and use feedback from a range of sources.
  • Support their peers in the learning process through peer-assessment and feedback.

Year 11 into 12 Step Up 

Thu 21 to Thu 28 November

The purpose of Step up is to help maximize the learning opportunities and delivery of the Unit 3 VCE/VM Curriculum Program. Teachers will have the opportunity to start teaching Unit 3 and provide students with targeted holiday homework. This is to ensure students at the commencement of the following academic year have a solid foundation of required key knowledge and key skills to build upon for the rest of Unit 3. 

 

Starting teaching Unit 3 in the previous year, will mean more learning time can be spent on exam preparation and exam revision the following year, as well as increase time devoted to SACs and SAC preparation. 

 

The Step-Up program for Year 11 VCE / VM students (Year 12 students in 2025) is a 7-day program from Thu 21 Nov – Thu 28 Nov.

 

Early Start Students

Year 10 early start students are required to attend Step Up and must attend Year 10 classes adjacent to their Step-Up classes.

 

To allow Early Start students to attend their Year 12 Step up class they will not be able to attend one of their Year 10 classes during the Revision, Assessment and Feedback Cycle (RAF). As such, students should directly communicate to the teacher requesting for the following: 

  • what revision tasks they are required to complete, including when these tasks are due.
  • the date of the missed assessment task.
  • if required, the date / time of the rescheduled the assessment task.

More information regarding Step Up has been posted on Teams and Compass.

Year 11 Academic Review Conferences

Friday 29 November

All Year 11 VCE and VM students are required to attend a 15-minute student led conference with their Explore teacher on Friday 29 November. The purpose of this conference is for students to critically reflect and review their exam preparation and performance, as well as the overall academic school year. In addition, students will set learning growth goals for Term 1 2025 based on areas of improvement and discussions during the conference. Parents are encouraged to attend these conferences. 

 

These conferences are compulsory for all VCE & VM students, and any student who does not attend may be required to attend the review meeting in week 9.

 

Who: All year 11 VCE & VM students, parents / guardian are encouraged.

When: Friday 29 November (8:30am – 3:30pm).

Where: All interviews will take place in the Pathways Hub (see document for rooms)

Process:

  • Students to make booking via their Compass homepage (will be open Friday 15 November)
  • Conferences are student led but Explore mentors / VM teachers will be prompting students to reflect through a series of guided questions.
  • Students will be required to complete a reflection task prior to their conference and bring this to their conference. This task will be communicated to students in Explore/ VM classes in the lead up to the conferences. Students will have some time to complete these tasks during Explore.
  • There are no scheduled classes the day of conferences. Students only need to attend their 15mins conference and arrive at least 10mins before their conference time in full college uniform
  • Parents are encouraged to attend these conferences.
  • All VCE students will receive exams, with feedback during Explore on Wednesday 27 November. Attendance at Explore on this date is critical.
  • Any student who does not attend may be required to attend the review meeting.

More information regarding Step Up has been posted on Teams and Compass.

 

 

David Black

Assistant Principal