Secondary School
As we approach the Albany Show and the final weeks of Term Four (where has the time gone?), it’s essential to remember that we still have a packed schedule at school, and it’s important for our students to finish the term strong.
Effective Study Strategies
With final assessments just around the corner for all students, and Year Ten and Year Eleven students preparing for their end-of-year exams, now is a great time to remind everyone about effective study strategies that can help students succeed.
A Learner’s Toolkit (alearnerstoolkit.com.au). The package is based on research and provides six clear strategies to help students learn how to study.
They are detailed at The 6 Strategies – A Learner’s Toolkit (alearnerstoolkit.com.au).
In summary, they are:
Read It
Read It uses the cognitive process of active reading. Active reading is the purposeful construction of meaning from text. Constructing meaning occurs by connecting the text and your existing knowledge/understanding. Using activity reading strategies, like Eagle and Wolf, aids one’s ability to regulate their ability to read and interpret the text in an efficient and effective manner.
Retrieve It
Forgetting is the number one enemy of learning. Retrieval is the top cognitive strategy that fights forgetting. Retrieve It uses the cognitive process of retrieval practice. Retrieval practice in the purposeful recall of learned information from one’s long-term memory. It exploits the testing effect to connect new knowledge. This strengthens the speed at which we retrieve information and works against forgetting.
Space It
Space It is the purposeful distribution of study over a defined period. Applied in association with Retrieve It, this strategy can significantly impact one’s ability to fight forgetting. Retrieval over time requires effort to remember past content/concepts. The addition of effort aids the construction of the connections between this content/concepts in the brain. In turn, this aids the speed of future recall.
Space It uses the cognitive process of spaced practice. Spaced practice also helps you not fall into the trap of cramming. By spacing out your learning/study and doing little bits often, you often benefit from doing little bits. Also, you are preventing a significant drop in your understanding brought about by the Forgetting Curve.
Jumble It
Jumble It is also known as interleaving. Interleaving, like Space It, works against the negatives of cramming/massing your practice/study by changing/jumbling the order of what is studied.
Changing the study order requires multiple processing strategies to see the links, similarities and differences between concepts. Interleaving can scaffold the practice of cognitive thinking strategies or problem-solving processes. Furthermore, jumbling the order of what we study naturally engenders effort, and effort is critical to strengthening learning.
Visualise It
Visualise It is also known as dual coding. Dual coding is when the arrangement and organisation of the text and accompanying images create a meaning that is easier to comprehend than pictures or text alone.
Allan Paivio’s dual coding theory suggests that there are visual and verbal intake channels in the brain (like lanes on the highway/street). Paivio suggests that the simultaneous use of the verbal and visual channels in the brain supports the absorption of more informing while reducing the impact of cognitive load. So, using the highway/street example, a traffic jam is created when you shut one of those lanes to the traffic. Similarly, if you use only one channel, all that information overwhelms the ability of the brain to take in that information, thereby creating a traffic jam of information/knowledge.
Connect It
Elaborative Interrogation is key to going from knowledge to understanding. Connect It is also known as Elaborative Interrogation. Elaborative Interrogation involves explaining and describing ideas with many details. The process involves making connections among ideas you are trying to learn. These connections help the learner build schemas in their mind. The construction of schemas is the building block required for understanding.
Asking ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions encourage the production of explanations for the ideas you are learning. These prompts engender the thinking process that integrates new material with the knowledge you already know and your previous experiences.
Many teachers have started sharing and using strategies from the toolkit with their classes and we plan to build the strategies into our classrooms more comprehensively next year.
There is a section for parents For Parents – A Learner’s Toolkit (alearnerstoolkit.com.au) and students and I look forward to sharing more information with you as we develop the program more here at Great Southern Grammar.
Whole School Assembly
On Monday, we held a truly inspiring Whole School Assembly, where our new School Captains took the stage to deliver powerful speeches on the theme of excellence. Their words resonated with students and staff alike, setting a positive tone for the weeks ahead and encouraging everyone to strive for their best.
Below are the speeches from our School Captains, each of whom shared unique insights into what excellence means to them, how it can be achieved, and why it is a core value of our school community. Their speeches emphasised hard work, integrity, and resilience, and reminded us of all of the impact we can have when we set high standards for ourselves and support each other.
Please take a moment to read their inspiring words, as they offer valuable perspectives on what it means to pursue excellence in every area of school life.
Mr Neil Ferreira | Acting Head of Secondary
Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend, experiencing the calm before the storm of end of year events.
First an introduction to the primary school, I’m Colin, and this is Amy. And we’re honoured to be your School Captains for 2025. Our mission is simple: to make Great Southern Grammar the best it can be, to make your time here one of joy, and to prepare you to lead with excellence as you venture into the world.
And I want to start with that, this idea that: “Excellence is not a goal but a purpose.” This means embedding a mindset of continuous improvement in everything we do. Excellence of course isn’t an overnight achievement; it’s not something that’s handed to us, nor can it be checked off a list. It becomes effectively, a way of life. Accomplished through effort, resilience, and notably dedication.
Now, let’s take a moment to envision what excellence looks like for each of you. Look around at those you admire, what qualities do they possess?
Understand that true excellence isn't just about doing more but becoming more. For when excellence defines your character, everything else flows from that strength. As we’re not chasing mediocrity, we’re pursuing what it means to be exceptional. This journey means never settling and never accepting “good enough” when greatness is within reach.
Rejecting this culture that “trying too hard” is something to be ashamed of.
Now, let’s connect this idea of excellence to something equally important: purpose. Purpose is what drives us, what motivates us to rise each day and strive for our best. It lets us live our lives with both direction and magnitude.
Finding your purpose might involve exploring your passions—whether in sports, academics, the arts, or community service. Engage in activities that resonate with who you are and what you value.
So, I ask each of you:
What is your purpose?
What are your passions?
What do you value?
Discover your reasons for success.
Recognising your purpose will not only enhance your own life but also create a ripple effect throughout our school community. For when each of us finds our purpose and acts on it, we collectively elevate GSG together, and make grammar great again .
Remember to look forward and enjoy these final days together.
Thank You.
Colin Ferreira | School Captain
Good morning, everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend, and are looking forward to the week ahead!
Coming up to our end of year exams, I’ve been thinking a lot about excellence, it is something here at school we value so highly. But what does it mean? How can you achieve it? A little history lesson; the word excellence comes from a Latin word ‘exellere’ which means to surpass. To exceed past a point.
With this in mind, I’d like to share an analogy. Last week I was sitting in math, admittedly getting frustrated as Mr Barnett tried to explain trig to me for what felt like the 100th time.
Caught up in the feeling of disappointment, it wasn’t until I sat down to write this speech that I was reminded of a milestone stone I hit back in 2012. I was in Kindy, elbows deep in colourful mess when finger painting my newly learnt shapes. Mrs Douthey rewarded my absolute masterpiece of squares and triangles with a gold star. Four-year-old me was full of pride. Now, if I painted a triangle, I probably wouldn’t get as much as a second glance from anyone.
But it did make me think about the standards we set. About how whilst striving for excellence, for your next grand final win, big musical performance, or 100% on that test, it is ultimately important to look back on what you’ve come from, how much you’ve already accomplished.
This perspective is valuable, it gives us the motivation to continue to excel. It isn’t easy to push that bit more, put in the work to reach new heights and goals. It takes effort and commitment and all the hard things. But at every checkpoint - between finger painting, and trigonometry - it has paid off. You’ve excelled, you’ve surpassed a point previously thought out of your reach. So please remember, excellence isn’t just about where you’re going, but how far you’ve come.
I hope you all have a great day, thank you!
Amy Medway | School Captain