Learning
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL, Learning & Teaching
Dear Parents and Guardians
As we conclude Term 3, I wish to congratulate students for their effort and contribution to school life. Last week we enjoyed the end of term assembly and celebrated Mercy Day, both very significant days in the College calendar. It was wonderful for our College community to come together and celebrate our tradition, as well as the achievements of our current students.
While most students and teachers are looking forward to a two-week break, for our Unit 3 & 4 students, the next two weeks involves preparing for and completing their VCE trial exams in the second week of school holidays (Monday, 30 September – Friday, 4 October). A reminder that all students should be in school uniform for the trial and VCE exams.
Let us keep the Unit 3 & 4 students and their families in our prayers at this time.
Over the next two months, there will be a significant focus on revision and preparing for the VCE as well as Year 10 and Year 11 exams, but I also encourage families to help their students take care of themselves and maintain a healthy balance. There are some tips below about successful learning and revision strategies and we will support all students and families by providing tips, not just for surviving, but for thriving during this time.
Progress Reports
The Term 3 Progress Reports for all students have been released on Compass. These reports reflect a student's approach to learning. Separate to the Approaches to Learning, results of assessments can be found in the Learning Tasks section on Compass.
At the College, we acknowledge that students are of various academic abilities and will have different expectations and goals in terms of results. However, we expect all students to strive to embody the characteristics in Educate for Excellence – our model for Learning and Wellbeing. We encourage our students to become confident and curious learners, to challenge themselves and commit to their learning, to work collaboratively with other students and their teachers, to care about themselves and others, their learning and the world around them and to have the courage and commitment to make changes as required.
Tips for learning
Students often find it difficult to remember what they have learned in the lead up to assessment tasks and particularly for semester and end of year exams. This is not surprising given how much they are learning. Research shows that initially we forget approximately 50% of new information within an hour and 70% of new information within 24 hours of learning it.
However, the good news is that with regular and spaced review, we can improve this.
Teachers incorporate regular review with lessons and students can help by doing additional review at home. Students are encouraged to set aside time each day to review what they have learned in each subject that day, perhaps explaining it to a family member, highlight or make some notes, then review this again 2-3 days later, a week later and then 3-4 weeks later. We encourage active review, such as re-writing or summarising notes, creating flashcards, testing themselves and each other, teaching someone else rather than reading and re-reading.
The holidays also provide a further opportunity for students to revisit the learning intentions from this term and ensure they feel confident about what they have learned this term.
When revising, it is recommended to continue the regular review process rather than trying to cram. This is using ‘spaced practice’ as opposed to ‘mass practice’. Spaced practice involves reducing the revision and study time to small chunks of time for one subject such as 20-40 minutes, then having a break before moving on to another subject or topic. This is preferable to studying the same subject or topic for longer periods of time (greater than 1 hour). Little and often, is much more effective than trying to cram for long periods of time in a single session. The exception to this is when completing practice exams, essays or questions that require a block of time. More information can be found at https://www.oxfordlearning.com/what-is-spaced-practice/
I wish all students and families a safe and happy holiday and the best of luck to the students who have trial exams.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or feedback.
Ms Lucy Neil
Deputy Principal – Learning and Teaching