Senior School
Yr11 Chemistry
VCE Exams
I have some exciting news to share!
One of the aims for us in Senior School is to see growth and development of our VCE Program. A key step of this initiative was to apply to hold our Written Examinations at St Andrews, as opposed to sending our students to an unfamiliar, offsite location. It is with much excitement that I am pleased to announce we have been successful in our application, and St Andrews students will sit their Unit 3&4 exams at their own school!
Another initiative to help our students with their Unit 3 and 4 VCE exams is to run trial exams during the school holidays. Students will sit in an exam environment—which will be the same location and setup of their actual exams. The exams will be invigilated by staff from St Andrews who are not their own teachers, in order to further simulate test conditions. Feedback from these practice exams will be exceptionally useful to teachers to formulate revision plans, but importantly to students to give them a picture of where they can best focus their personal revision prior to the actual exams.
John Presant
Head of Senior School
Year 9 Geography Field Trip to Phillip Island
On Thursday the 7th of September, the Year 9s went on an excursion to Summerland Peninsula, Phillip Island. In Geography we are studying about ecotourism and sustainability. At our first destination, The Nobbies, we were shown some ways that the rangers and staff at the Nobbies support ecotourism. Some of these were; information about the history of the place, information about looking after the environment and animals who lived there, and also supporting different charities that focused on looking after the environment. They also had many rubbish bins around the place in order to support ecotourism, as well as very strict policies to make sure that the tourists followed the rules to maintain a sustainable environment. At Summerland Peninsula, we also went to the penguin parade. At the penguin parade we came across some ways that the penguin parade provided for ecotourism. They were very strict on the rules concerning the penguins, and were very protective about the penguin's health. Some of their practices were, dim orange lights in order to protect the penguins health and no photography under any circumstances. The day was great for growing our knowledge in the practices of ecotourism and sustainability.
Isabella Rakers and Emilie Hughes
Year 9 Students
Year 10 Geography Field Trip to Mornington Peninsula
On the 14th of September, class 10Y went on a field trip to Mornington Peninsula, to investigate how their coasts are managed. The trip was separated into 3 main locations; Sorrento Ocean Beach, Weeroona Bay (Portsea) and Sorrento foreshore.
We completed a Fieldwork Booklet that included questions regarding the locations we visited, for example, naming coastal landforms, creating field sketches, finding evidence of human activity and identifying management strategies used to preserve the location. As a follow-up task, each student will create an annotated visual display poster related to these three locations. We will assess the locations and compare the management strategies used and how effective they are. This field trip was very useful for our class to get a better understanding of just how much these places are impacted by the actions we make. Instead of only learning from a textbook, field trips such as these allows one to broaden their perspective on the things learned inside the classroom.
Fiorella Salazar and Hadeel Al Hakeem
Year 10 Students
Year 11 Chemistry Excursion
On the 8th of September, Mr. Fernandes took us to the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC).
The facility provided us with a magnitude of opportunities. We engaged in a plethora of experiments, an example being determining the caffeine content present in caffeinated beverages. We utilized chemical analytical techniques such as UV-Visible Spectroscopy, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and Gas-Liquid Chromatography.
The experience as a whole was fulfilling and has furthered our understanding of chemical analysis.
Year 11 Chemistry Students
Careers News
Items in the Careers News include -
- Dates to Diarise in Term 4
- Upcoming Key VTAC Dates
- Australian Apprenticeships
- Navitas College of Public Safety (NCPS)
- ACUcom at the Australian Catholic University
- Projects Abroad: Alternative Schoolies Program
- Deakin University ‘Step on Campus’ School Holiday Tours
- Swinburne University: MathsLink Bridging Program
- NEXT course at Whitley College
In Term Three, our Senior School students participated in the Australian Taxation Office Schools Education Program and learned about Tax and Superannuation. The upcoming school holidays would be a perfect time to apply for a tax file number (TFN). The application process requires students to complete the online application form, print the online form summary, book an interview at a participating Australia Post outlet and attend an interview. The TFN will be emailed within 28 days of attending the interview.
An important reminder that current Year 12 students cannot enrol in a CSP (Commonwealth Support Place) course at university without a Tax File Number, so it is worthwhile getting an application submitted early. https://auspost.com.au/id-and-document-services/apply-for-a-tax-file-number
Please find more information in the attached Careers News:
If you have a question about a topic featured in the Careers Newsletter, please contact Careers Coordinator Mrs Irena Yevlahova iyevlahova@standrews.vic.edu.au
Irena Yevlahova
Careers Coordinator