SECONDARY NEWS
From the Assistant Principal

Miss Kim Bailey
kbailey@arm.catholic.edu.au

Good Luck...

U16s Rugby League Team

Good luck to the U16s rugby league team, who will travel to Coonabarabran on Wednesday to play Nyngan High School in the next round of the Small Schools' Rugby League competition. Mr Koch will drive the bus, and Mr White will coach the team.

Chess

The chess team will travel to Tamworth on Thursday for the next round of their competition. Good luck!

Congratulations...

Congratulationsto Maryann Otieno, who represented Holy Trinity last week at the Legislative Council's Public Speaking Competition and Youth Forum. She was an excellent ambassador of our school.

Aerospace Camp

Several students successfully applied to join the Aerospace Camp in Inverell from 29 July to 1 August. Congratulations to Dom Kenny, Lachlan Tindall, Ryan Hill, and Jack McGavin.

Year 10 Transition

Macintyre High School

Students attended 'My Futures' workshops yesterday at Macintyre High. They were able to select sessions to find out more about pathways for the future including the workforce, school-based apprenticeships, TAFE and university options. Year 10 were then able to talk to teachers about subject selections.

Thursday 1 August: MHS Information Evening.

Inverell High School

Thursday 1 August: Inverell High will visit Holy Trinity
Wednesday 7 August (9.00 am - 12.00 pm): HTS students will go to IHS.
Tuesday 13 August: IHS Information Evening.

Year 10 Term 3 Calendar and Assessment Outline

Year 10 were given a calendar and assessment outline for Term 3. It is a busy term, and this may help their time management and planning. They were given a hard copy, and an electronic copy was emailed. The schedule was also posted to Compass for both Year 10 students and families.

Year 10 T3 Calendar & Assessment Outline 2024.pdf

Uniform Reminders

Thank you to those students who regularly adhere to the expectations regarding uniforms. However, some students are not in uniform. The following issues are causing concern at the moment:

Students not wearing ties.
Students not wearing the correct socks.
Students not wearing their school shirts underneath hoodies.
Students are wearing black Canterbury tracksuit pants on Thursdays.

Class teachers, Pastoral Care teachers, and the Leadership Team monitor uniforms regularly. If a student is not in the correct uniform, a dated note from the family advising when the uniform can be rectified is required. This note is to be given to the Pastoral Care teacher (Secondary) in the morning.

Where the school can assist, we will endeavour to help the student correct the uniform, e.g., provide an elastic hair band, provide a container for excess jewellery, and give a spare school outerwear garment.

Many lost property items are in the secondary staffroom. Please check if you are missing any clothing. All students are advised to label their belongings, allowing lost or misplaced items to be returned.

Last Friday, a uniform spot check was held, and Pastoral Care teachers and Stage Leaders will continue to follow up with students who are out of uniform.

Attendance Matters

Research indicates that:

Regular attendance at school is fundamental to student learning. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve educational success and increase their career and life options.
Student attendance has been identified as an important aspect of a student’s wellbeing and failure to receive an education has been identified as a risk of harm factor.
Poor patterns of attendance place students at risk of not achieving their educational, social and psychological potential and disadvantage them in the quality of choices they are able to make in later life situations.
Communities benefit from students who regularly attend school and are achieving. These benefits include greater student safety, community wellbeing, and a sense of connectedness for all.
Schools, families, and communities can work together to send a strong collective message about the importance of going to school.
Promoting the benefits of regular attendance to students, teachers, early childhood centre staff, parents, and community groups will help create a culture where regular school attendance is the norm.

STUDY SKILLS TIPS

Top 10 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination is putting off a task that you know you have to do, even though you know that it will probably be worse for you in the long run. For example, when you procrastinate about starting an assignment, it doesn’t make the assignment go away or the deadline change; it just gives you less time to finish the work. To manage this, try the following:

Become aware of the excuses you use - make a mental note when you procrastinate. What excuses do you give yourself? Too tired? Too difficult? Too boring? Being aware is the first step in changing your behaviour. Keep yourself honest by asking questions like “Is this the best use of my time at the moment?” and “Am I doing this to avoid what I should be doing?”.

2. Reduce or eliminate distractions - creating a clear, uncluttered work environment which is free from distractions will help you avoid procrastinating. Turn off your social media or WiFi, turn off your music or TV, close the door. It’s easy to get distracted and lose focus on what you are trying to do, or to procrastinate by surfing websites that are barely related to the topic you are meant to be researching.

3. Make a prioritised list - beforeyou start work (or procrastinating) take a few minutes to work out what your priorities for the session are, based on your deadlines. Take into account all the time you have available and make a prioritised list. Work on the most important thing first (see also tip 7 below).

4. Break down projects into chunks - if you have a big task that you have to do or something that you really don’t want to start, think about how it can be broken up into smaller parts. A big assignment might need a plan, the purchase of resources, a trip to the library, internet-based research, and then several days to write and edit each section. If you just focus on doing one of these tasks, it’s easier to commence.

5. Just start - stop focusing on getting it done perfectly, or even well, just make a start, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Starting the task makes you realise it’s not as daunting as you originally thought and allows you to make a small amount of progress, which encourages you to keep going. Sometimes, once you get started, you can even do more than you originally thought you could or would.

6. Reward yourself - set yourself a small goal (to do with the task you are procrastinating about) and then reward yourself appropriately when you complete it. For example, write an outline for your essay and then have afternoon tea. You will be more motivated to complete the task to get the reward. Note: For extreme procrastinators, you may need to get someone else to check that you’ve done the work and give you the reward! Learn more about this in the Goal Setting unit.

7. “Twofer Concept” - when you are working on a difficult or boring task, break it up by having a more interesting or easy task that you work on in the same study block. You get two lots of homework done, but when you are losing focus on the difficult one, you can switch to the easier one for a bit of a break.

8. Create routines - establishing a routine can help you avoid procrastination as you get into the rhythm of working for a set time each day at a set time of the day. Making this routine known to your family and friends also helps keep you accountable and stops them from interrupting you during your work time.

9. Find a study buddy - perhaps starting that difficult work will be easier if you have someone to work with. This could be a school friend or a sibling. You could share resources and help each other to get started with similar work.

10. Schedule in breaks - breaks give you time to think and process information that you have been working on and give you an opportunity to do the things you really enjoy. Plan them as much as you plan your work.

TOP TIPS FOR OVERCOMMITTED STUDENTS

Maybe you are an elite athlete? Or a dedicated performer? Or someone with many talents across many different areas and doesn’t want to give up any of your activities? No matter the reason, the bottom line is you are time-poor. You struggle to fit in everything you need to do for school, because of all of the other commitments in your life. The bad news is there is no magic solution that will easily fix this issue for you. You cannot create more time. The good news is that there are things you can do to make more efficient use of the time you have.

1. Don’t waste time in any of your classes at school. Make the most of every moment, so you have less to do at home, and set up a buddy system in case you miss any lessons.

2. Prune your activities and see if there is anything you can cut to reduce the pressure.

3. Make a timetable so you can schedule in everything that you need to do and want to do.

4. Use all little pockets of time. If you are waiting before training, then use that time to complete some homework.

5. Always prioritise before you start work to ensure that the most important and urgent work is completed first.

6. If you are too tired when you get home from training, it may be better to get to bed early, get up a bit earlier in the morning when you are fresh, and do your work then.

7. You may need to sacrifice an occasional lunchtime when you know you will be too busy that night.

8. Let go of perfectionism. It may not be possible to do everything as fully as you would like. Take smart shortcuts when you can.

9. Use any big blocks of time to tackle the time-consuming tasks that you haven’t had time for.

10. Some work like study notes, assessments or major works may be able to be left to the holidays.

Remember to be kind to yourself. It isn't easy to have enough time to excel in every aspect of your life! All you can do is make good choices with the time you have, make the most of that time, and still try to get the best results you can, given the time constraints you are working under.

REMEMBER to accept the invitation to Google Classroom Guardian Summaries

Device Policy

Students are not permitted to use their devices unless instructed by a teacher. This includes both the classroom and the playground. The students are aware of this policy and receive constant reminders in Pastoral Care and their teaching classes. There are also many posters displayed all around the school.

If a student needs to use their device, they must first seek permission from a teacher and use it in an area designated by the teacher. This is usually under their direct supervision or outside the Secondary staffroom.

If students cannot follow this policy, their phones are confiscated and placed securely in Miss Bailey's office, where they are collected by the student at the end of the school day.

Teachers record each time a device is confiscated. After it is confiscated for a second time, it remains at school until it can be collected by a parent or carer.

Making Contact with Teachers in the Secondary

If you have any questions or concerns about your child's learning or wellbeing, please contact Miss Bailey, your child's Pastoral Care teacher or their subject teacher. We are only too happy to assist.