Andrew Chisholm

Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

It is nice to be writing this as the weather starts to warm and the indigenous gardens around the university have plants flowering earlier than usual! The next 3 weeks are very intense for our VCE students as assessments in all subjects dominate the calendar. This article covers a number of important events and deadlines that are on the school calendar between now and early term four.

VTAC Processes for current Year 12’s

205 of 231 year 12 students have scheduled an interview with the Pathways team and are starting to complete their VTAC applications, as well as SEAS statements and scholarship applications where relevant. The VTAC info night was very well attended and the presentation from that night has been distributed to the Year 12 cohort. This presentation covered the tertiary entrance processes and the changes to VTAC entry for 2024. There are still some students who have yet to pay the fee to register with VTAC and this needs to be completed asap to avoid an escalation in this cost at the end of September.

Trial Exams in Year 12 subjects

All students completing a VCE Unit 3 and 4 Exam have Trial exams scheduled in the second week of the Term 3 holidays. These assessments are an attempt by JMSS to replicate the content and conditions of the final Year 12 exams in November and so provide an excellent opportunity for students to receive realistic feedback on their performance in their subjects and allow them to diagnose with the assistance of their teachers any areas for improvement. The exams are all face-to-face at JMSS, and they will be supervised by VCAA examiners. Students sitting Year 12 trial exams need to arrive at 8.15 am for a morning exam and look at the timetable they have been sent for the timings of the second session of exams. Students should be in full JMSS school uniform and all officialVCAA rules will be enforced. 

A shortened version of the Trial exam Timetable is shown below. AM sessions start at 9 am, and the second session has variable start times. Students should plan to be at school 45 minutes before any Trial exam held at JMSS.

VCE Unit 3 and 4 VCE Timetables, Oral Language, Extended Investigation and Music Performance exams

Any student completing a VCE Unit 3 and 4 subject will be receiving an exam navigator and individual timetable outlining all their exams and the locations of these exams on September 4th. Students do need to show parents this

document so that everyone in the family is aware of the times and locations of each of these end-of-year exams. Students doing Extended Investigation, most languages and music will have an oral component, or a performance scheduled in the first two weeks of term 4. These orals and performances begin in the week of Monday October 7th and the locations of these assessments are varied. If your student is completing a language oral or musicperformance, please check the location of this assessment on your student’s exam timetable closely. Students have been told that they need to turn up to any exam at least an hour early to ensure they are not adversely impacted by traffic or public transport issues.

Andrew Chisholm

Assistant Principal