NAPLAN Assessments

Students in years 7 & 9 will be sitting the NAPLAN assessments this term.

LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS Period 1 Tuesday, 15 May

WRITING Period 2 Tuesday, 15 May

READING Period 1 Wednesday, 16 May

NUMERACY Period 1 Thursday, 17 May

ALL students will be required to have

HB pencil
Pens
Erasers
Calculators

Please note that we will running a session of makeup tests on Friday, 18 May Periods 1 & 2 for any student absent during the week.

This will appear on individual students’ Compass timetable. For more information, please view the below document for parents and carers.

Luisa Allen

Middle School Leader

The Alpine School for Leadership 2018

Introducing in alphabetical order, the 2018 Alpine School for Leadership Doncaster team;

Dominic (9E), Cameron (9D), and Hamish (9D).

On Sunday, 22nd April, the three aforementioned ambassadors for Doncaster Secondary, commenced their 10 week sojourn away from the comforts of home, family and friends at the Alpine School campus. The Alpine School Campus is situated at 1600 metres above sea level near Dinner Plain Village in the Victorian Alps, focussing on personal development and team learning projects. What a wonderful character building experience this will be for these privileged students! I’m certain their stay will be a fruitful one, allowing the school community to benefit and reap the rewards of their learning and newly found skills through the stimulating and challenging activities offered at the School for Leadership.

If you would like to follow their growth, please go to

www.alpineschool.vic.edu.au/

Franc Brogno

Alpine School Liaison Teacher

Study Skills Handbook

What do you do when you get a disappointing assignment mark?

We all have times when we think we have done brilliantly then get an assignment back and are really disappointed instead. You could just feel really bad, or you could try these steps:

1. REVIEW AND UNDERSTAND

The first step is to work through the feedback and work out what went wrong.

Did you not meet the criteria?
What feedback were you given from the teacher?
Do you understand the feedback?
Can you work out why you got the mark you did?

If you don’t understand why you got the mark you did, it is ESSENTIAL you ask your teacher for further clarification. Otherwise you will keep making the same mistakes.

2. CHALLENGE OR ACCEPT

Once you understand what the issue was, you can either accept it, or challenge it.

ACCEPT: If you feel now that the mark was actually fair enough, then it is time to move on. There is no point beating yourself up anymore about your disappointing mark.

Instead you need to treat this as a learning process, the people who are most successful in life don’t let their mistakes get them down, they see them as a learning opportunity where they can improve and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

However, if you really think your mark was unfair and you had met all of the criteria, you can talk to your teacher and politely explain your point of view and ask if they would reconsider your mark.

3. LEARN AND CHANGE

The only way to improve, is to work out what you did wrong, then try and fix it.

It is actually a really good idea to re-do part of the work and re-submit. Not everyone has the commitment to do this, but if you do - then wow - you will really see the benefit in your results. It might just be a case of re-doing a section of the assignment and asking your teacher to review it.

But if you don’t have another go, you won’t know whether or not you have really taken the feedback on board. Some students let a bad mark get them down and start to think they are not capable of succeeding, so they don’t try to address the issue, make similar mistakes again and just feel worse. Don’t be that sort of person! Learn from what you have done and have another try.

Another good thing you can do is to ask to see other students’ work who received top grades for their assignments - to evaluate what was missing in yours or how you could improve yours next time.

It would also be a great idea for your next assignment to show your teacher a plan, or a draft early on, explaining how you think you’ve met the criteria, and seek feedback well BEFORE handing it in. You might also like to visit the Assignment Skills unit for some more ideas on approaching assignments: www.studyskillshandbook.com.au

Our school’s subscription details are -

School username: doncastersc

School password: 168results

Lisa Chiuchiarelli

Discovery Program Coordinator

2018 Great Victorian Bike Ride Information

It is proposed that Doncaster Secondary College will offer students the opportunity to participate in the Great Victorian Bike Ride, or as it’s more affectionately known, the Great Vic. This year’s ride, a five day cycling and camping adventure, travels from Bright, through Beechworth and Tallangatta to Rutherglen. The Great Vic is the largest fully supported bicycle event in the world and offers students the opportunity to mix with people from all ages and walks of life. Students gain a sense of achievement, improved self-esteem and social skills, an awareness of the benefits of physical activity and improved on-road cycling skills from participating in the ride.

When: Saturday, 24 November – Wednesday, 28 November

Where: Bright to Rutherglen

Who: Any student in Years 7-10

How far: 333km (maximum distance of 101km per day)

How much will it cost?

The ride will cost around $700 per student. This includes all meals and camp fees, luggage transport each day, first aid support, massage, entertainment. Further costs will include any spending money you may require.

Requirements:

Participants must have a roadworthy bicycle and helmet. As we will be camping, students must bring a tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag. In order to have the best possible experience, it is essential that students train for the trip. More information about preparing will be provided closer to the date. All students and their parents/guardians who are attending the camp will be required to attend a compulsory information night on Thursday, 17 May at 7pm in the Senior Centre.

How to be a part of it:

An expression of interest form should be completed and returned to Eliza Cole in 'A' Block Staffroom by Friday, 25 May. This can be downloaded from the attachment below or a hard copy can be picked up from 'A' Block Staffroom.

A $200 non-refundable deposit is due by Monday, 23 July

The total payment (around $700, the exact amount is yet to be finalised) is due by Monday, 13 August

An event on Compass will be set up in late May once expression of interest forms have been obtained. If you require any further information please contact Eliza Cole at cole.eliza.e@edumail.vic.gov.au

Eliza Cole

Maths Group Leader

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