Senior School News

Newsletter – Term 1 – Edition 2 - Senior School

We are at the end of the term, and it is pleasing to see how hard the senior students are working, and the effort they are putting into their learning. It has also been great to see a number of senior students meeting up with teachers to receive feedback and support with their learning at all times of the school day. The increased number of students attending homework club with our tutors has also been very pleasing. We encourage them to keep up the dedication to their studies and to reach out to their teachers if they need assistance.

Lyndale Secondary College - Parent Information Session – Session1 

On Tuesday 27th February Lyndale Secondary College held our first Parent Information Session in conjunction with Uniting organisation.

The first session covered the impacts of different forms of substances and the risks that they pose to both adults and youth, impacts of vaping and information regarding available supports.

We discussed functionalities of compass and how to ensure you can use platform to monitor your child’s attendance and learning habits. A morning tea was enjoyed whilst question were able to be answered and parents had an opportunity to network with each other.

Following the success of this program, our next Information session will run on Tuesday 21st May from 9am – 11am in the performing arts building. We ask that families sign in at the front office and you will be directed to the performing arts building.

The next session will cover emotional intelligence run by Uniting and Lyndale Secondary College we will be looking at learning tasks and how you can support your child in completing learning tasks at home. We will discuss text book requirements and resources moving into the senior years.

South East Community Links & Jesiut Social Services Present

The Healthy Relationships program for Year 10 VCE VM Boys

Year 10 VCE VM students take part in a program every Thursday for 2 hours in the morning.

The first session is a theory session where the following topics have been addressed:

Emotional Literacy, Emotional regulation, non-violent problem solving, resisting the pressure to support violence and standing up for yourself and others.

Along with these sessions, students have had a guest speaker – Mark Singh, Community wellbeing practitioner from South East Community Links who engaged with the students through his life story.  He was able to open up and share personal life experiences by referring to his childhood story beautifully from aspirations to struggles of bullying and discrimination, grief and loss to following your inner voice and dreams, pursuing careers in female dominated industries. He left the group with a sense of encouragement around seeking help and support with their life challenges and emotional well-being.

 It has made a difference to the group and a huge impact to have men sharing stories, being honest and describing their challenges and struggles with life. This will break the cycle and can foster real change. 

The second part of the session is run by Melbourne City Football Club where students have been involved in soccer activities for their physical education lesson. The sessions link in with the learning taking place in the classroom.

A celebration with the students families has highlighted the importance of connection and working as a team to support our young people in their success journeys.

Parent Information Sessions & Careers Expo

Tuesday 18th June from 3pm – the senior school team is currently planning the logistics of this session. The careers expo is confirmed with a number of providers committing to the evening.

The Lyndale Careers Expo event provides students with an opportunity to explore and find out background information about possible career choices, including different types of courses and required post-school further education and training. This will enable students to make informed choices regarding post-school study and employment decisions.  Exhibitors include the major Universities, Tertiary Institutions and Training Colleges, RTO’s, GAP year information plus more. This event will take place from 3-7pm in the Canteen foyer.

Information sessions:

Parents will be taken through the requirements of students undertaking the VCE and VCE VM course. We will talk about VET requirements and other pathway options for students.

Year 10 into 11 Exposure to Subjects Day – Friday 19th July 2024

In continuing to strengthen the course counselling process, students will have an opportunity to be exposed to the subjects they are looking at undertaking for 2025. Students will need to select their preference of subjects upon the conclusion of the parent information sessions.

This will support students’ final decision prior to course counselling and students making their final decisions for 2025.

Course Counselling – Year 11 2025 Students

On Thursday 1st August Year 10 students will not have scheduled classes and will be required to attend a course counselling session with their parents/carer to confirm their 2025 course selections.

Thursday 8th August- Year 10 & 11 2025 students (current year 9 & 11 students) must have completed their course confirmation.

Information regarding course counselling processes will be introduced to students from Term 2.

VCE VM Students 

Over the last few weeks of Term 1, the year 11 & 12 VCE VM students have undertaken courses to increase their VET hours and increase their employability and qualifications through short courses.

RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) & Food Handling Course

This course taught students how to serve alcohol responsibly in compliance with liquor laws and as required by workplace’s policies.The Food Handling component enabled students to understand how to safely work with, and handle, food in commercial settings.

Espresso Course

VCE VM students learnt the art of coffee making through the Barista and Coffee Training Course where coffee knowledge and skills were enhanced.The short course provided essential skills such as: identifying origins, flavours and roasting of different beans, blends, functioning and maintaining equipment, and all the technique essentials that were learnt through the hands on experience day.Students benefited from this coffee making course where they are employable in a range of jobs in the industry where they are looking for food and beverage staff. 

Year 11 Camp

The college has booked a 2 night camp to the The Golden Valleys. This camp is a great opportunity for the year level to bond, learn valuable life skills and gain great experiences as well as study skills in the final stretch of their schooling career. The camp will take place over three days, Wednesday the 20th of November until Friday the 22nd of November. 

This camp is an incredible experience, and more information can be found on their website: https://goldenvalleys.com.au/Students will arrive at school on the Wednesday at 10am, where the bus will be loaded and we will leave from Halton road. Students will need to supply their own lunch on the first day, as we are due to arrive at the camp at approx 1.30 pm and will not begin activities until that afternoon. We will be having a brief stop over at Mornington Park (End of main street) around 11:30am to stretch our legs and have a bite to eat.

Deposit must be finnalised on compass to confirm attendance. Please contact Ms Tayla Shannon for nay further queriers relating to camp. Tayla.Shannon@education.vic.gov.au

Accessing Student Learning Task Feedback

As we progress through the semester your student will begin to receive feedback on their assessment tasks. You can access a summary of all the Learning Task comments and grades your student has received so far for all their subjects. This can be accessed at any point in the semester prior to the formal end of semester report being released. The continuum is another platform where you can see on going progress of your year 11 & 12 student outcomes. 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Term Two Parent Teacher Conferences will occur on Monday 29th April. There are no scheduled classes on this day. Bookings will open to parents/carers a.t the beginning of Term 2. Please check Compass for information.

 Tips and strategies to support your child in VCE

During the past few weeks students completing VCE subjects have started to complete assessment tasks. The jump into VCE is always a big one and at times students and their families can feel overwhelmed and anxious.

Please ensure that your child talks to their teacher and the year level co-ordinators if they are having difficulties with the work.

Some of the top tips to assist in VCE success include;

1. Create a study timetable and stick to it (for Year 12 students this should be 3 to 4 hours a night)
2. Find a place to study and set it up
3. Don’t study with a mobile phone or devices – they are a distraction
4. Practice applying your knowledge – not just remembering it
5. Use mind maps, graphic organisers and tables to summarise the main points
6. Use the expertise of teachers – they are always happy to assist you
7. Keep a good work/life balance – make sure you get enough sleep, exercise and social time. If you have a part time job, be mindful of spending too much time working at the expense of study time.
8. Study time includes revision of work covered, not just homework.
9. Make sure that you regularly complete homework and revise. Build up the time and do so every night until it becomes a habit.

Diana KennedyAssistant Principal – Senior School