Deputy Principal's Report

Semester One Reports and Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews

Parent-Student-Teacher interviews to discuss Semester One Reports will be held on Wednesday 28 June from 8.30am – 10.00am and Thursday 29 June from 4.00pm – 8.30pm. The interviews will be conducted in the College Multipurpose Hall. Friday June 30 is a student free day.

These interviews aim to provide you with the opportunity to meet your son/daughter’s subject teachers in order to receive feedback on their current progress and to discuss goals for the remainder of the year. Whilst the report provides an overview of achievement, a detailed conversation with teachers will allow you to have a better understanding of how you can best support your child as they progress through their senior secondary education. We strongly encourage all students to attend the interview with their parent or guardian.

Catholic Regional College Sydenham has an electronic booking system for teacher appointments. The system can be accessed via a link to the Parent Access Module (PAM) on the College website (www.crcsydenham.net) and requires a username and password. Once you have accessed PAM you will be able to make the appropriate appointment times with your son/daughter’s teachers.

The online appointments system will be activated from 4.00pm on Friday 23 June and. Semester 1 Reports will be available for parents to view on PAM from Monday 26 June at 4.00pm.

June Mid Year Examinations and the GAT

Between June 8 and 16 Year 11 VCE students will have midyear exams in the College Hall. The Year 11 examinations are important for students to gauge their level of performance in their individual subjects, and to experience the formality of VCE examinations. The College considers all examinations at Year 11 and 12 to be essential in preparing students for success in the VCE.

All Year 11 and 12 students undertaking a VCE Unit 3 & 4 sequence in 2017 will be undertaking the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday June 14.

All Year 12 students will participate in a trial English / English Language Exam on Thursday June 15 and / or a Literature Exam on Friday June 16.

Study and preparation for the exams requires good time management. The tips below are a guide to help students make the most of the learning opportunities that are available to them in class.

Prepare yourself before you go to a class. Review what was done at previous classes and what will be covered in the coming class. This way you are up with learning and can ask questions on anything you do not yet understand.
For memory purposes it is also good to review in the evening what was done in class that day.
Attend all classes and try to sit near the front of the class.
Observe your teacher’s teaching style. Make a mental note of the voice variation or body language that emphasises that what is being said is important and needs to be taken down.
As you listen to what is being said, try to associate it with what you already know. Formulate questions and offer answers to yourself about it. If you do not have an answer, do not be afraid to ask the teacher. The chances are that a number of people in the room will also want the same information.
Learn to filter out the main points of what is important and what is not. Do this in your listening, study reading and note taking.
When you get the opportunity to engage in group work or independent practice in class, use this time effectively to consolidate your understanding of the topic being studied and to develop your skills in generating responses.
Finally, immediately after class, if possible, review your notes. If you missed some points or need to add to your understanding, try to fill in the gaps by asking others. The more you review now, the better you will remember later.

Jeff Mulcahy

Deputy Principal