Senior School Update
“Striving for Excellence”
We are incredibly proud of our Senior School students for persevering through the various challenges that the beginning of Term 3 has presented. Our Senior School motto, “Striving for Excellence” encourages students to achieve their best and reach their potential at school and this has been evident through their achievements so far this year.
In the first few weeks of Term 3, we acknowledged many students through our Recognition Assemblies at each year level. Certificates were awarded to students who have:
- Achieved 100% in one or more School Assessed Coursework
- Maintained an overall SAC average result of 80% or more
- Achieved an attendance rate of 100%
- Consistently demonstrated outstanding perseverance and commitment to their studies throughout Semester 1
We would once again like to congratulate all students who were recipients of one or more awards and encourage them to continue to “Strive for Excellence” throughout the rest of the year.
Supporting Students in Preparing for VCAA End of Year Examinations
As our Year 11 and Year 12 students prepare to sit the end of year VCAA examinations, we are committed to equipping them with the skills required to achieve their best. While our Year 12 classroom teachers are continually implementing exam revision strategies in the classroom, students also have access to a variety of opportunities from external agencies.
Elevate Education:
For many years we have been inviting guest presenters from Elevate Education to our school to assist our students in preparing for exams using effective evidence-based revision strategies. Our Year 12 students were lucky enough to attend “Ace Your Exams” at the beginning of term, with the presenter joining us virtually in the classroom. This session covered areas such as fixing mistakes to ensure constant improvement, time allocation during exam preparation and techniques for managing stress and time pressure in exams.
Towards the end of this term, we will be providing all students who are sitting the VCAA end of year exams, an opportunity to purchase the follow up presentation, “The Finishing Line” using Elevate’s interactive program “Elevate Online.” Students will gain access to a series of videos and activities that they can complete on their laptops that will cover the areas of overcoming weaknesses in the lead up to exams, the role of exam study groups, stress management techniques and study routines for SWOTVAC and the school holidays. Payment for this program can be made via XUNO.
Access Education:
Many of our students have attended subject specific Access Education Lectures over the years and have found them extremely helpful in revising for exams. This year the lectures will take place on Zoom during the school holidays and beginning of Term 4. The subject specific lectures cost $36 each while the Essential English sessions are $15 each. Included in this cost, is a full study booklet that will be sent to the school. Students can sign up using this link and payments can be made via XUNO.
In addition to these external supports, we will also be running a School Holiday Practice Exam Program commencing on Monday,27th September. Through this program, students will receive access to practice exams for each subject as well as external marking for the English, EAL and Literature exams. They will also be able to access support from their subject teachers who will be supervising the exams.
Advice to Parents about Exam Preparation
Elevate Education is providing parents with free exclusive access to their Parent Webinar Series for Term 3, 2021. The final webinar for term is happening on Wednesday, 1st September, at 7pm. To reserve your spot, you can register for free here.
The topic of the webinar is, “The Exam Homestretch: how your child should approach exam preparation and what they should be doing.” The webinar is run live online from 7pm to 8pm where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and skills and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask the presenter questions directly.
We wish all our students the best of luck for the remainder of the term and encourage them to use the Senior School staff for support during this very important period of their education.
Melissa Foresio
Senior School Leading Teacher