Stage 6

It was great to see so many of our Stage 6 parents come to our open evenings and enjoy our new spaces.  As Covid restrictions continue to relax we are hoping to provide other opportunities for families to come and inspect the school and our activities.

Supporting Year 12

Last week we welcomed back four students from our 2020 Class of Year 12 to share their final year experiences and successes with our current cohort (Alonso Geesink-Anton received the highest ATAR [98.6] at our school and in the region, and Bailey Pattison, Juliet Knuckey, Noah Standen-Roberts who all received Band 6s in a range of subjects). It was wonderful to hear these young adults talk openly about the need for goal setting, the power of positive self-talk and the importance of the HSC. Several will be returning on our Major Project Days to work side-by-side as mentors with our current Year 12 students. 

This Thursday Year 12 will have their first Major Project Day. It is an initiative we successfully developed last year to allow the students who are creating projects as part of their HSC course work to devote an uninterrupted period at school. Classroom teachers have identified  the expectation for each subject with a project  for this date. Those Year 12 students without a Major Project requirement will be given the opportunity to study from home. 

Our Year 12  are also  encouraged to sign up for the extra tutoring sessions which are running at lunchtimes in B-block. They are also welcome to join the extra Maths tutoring on a Wednesday afternoon in G-block.

Supporting Year 11

As Deputy Principal in charge of  Stage 6, I understand the transition from Year 10 into Year 11 can be a difficult one. Many students have already expressed that they are finding the demands of senior school challenging. Therefore, I wanted to update you on  some of the support we are offering in Year 11.  

All day every Friday we have an experienced coach/tutor - Mrs Weier - working in the Year 11 neighborhood  to help students with study programmes and assessment work. She will be assisting students to plan study sessions, design study timetables and develop the skills to navigate the demands of Stage 6. In the first few weeks she will be targeting time management skills and note making.  Year 11 students are asked to book a session via their Crew teachers.

We are also targeting some of the content areas which students have identified for needing extra help. For example, on Wednesday after lunch we will be running free extra Maths tutoring sessions with Mrs Upton in G-block. We encourage Year 11 students to use this study period to work with her by signing up via their Crew teachers.  

We have asked Year 11 students  about their study habits and find that many leave work to the last minute. Because of this we are asking that students plan to spend their study periods at school - either in the library or  G-block neighbourhood. 

We are also encouraging all our senior students to join our Homework Centre on Tuesday afternoons.

Students driving to school

Many of our senior students are driving  to school, and some are bringing siblings or friends as passengers. It is important that we have up-to-date information about who is driving/being driven to school so we can continue to keep our students safe. Student driver and student passenger permission forms are available from the ASC Website or by popping into my office. 

Phone use in class

Finally, I must remind everybody of one of our important BIG 5 policies: the use of mobiles phones in class! We firmly insist that phones are off and out of sight unless being used under the direction of the teacher. Unfortunately many students find it difficult to put their phone away during each class, which can inhibit learning and lead to poor interactions with teachers. 

It is always a pleasure to work with our senior students – please do not hesitate to contact me or Mr. Vaughan if you have any concerns or questions.

Ms Hoddinott

Deputy Principal - Stage 6