Senior School Director Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

Semester 1 certainly was busy. Our year 12 students have already begun Unit 4 studies and year 11students are in the midst of Unit 1 exams and interviews. 

Settling into classes, having assemblies, excursions and assessments has kept everyone on their toes. Overall, the students have settled in well and have been engaging in all aspects of school life.

It has been a busy last few weeks for the Senior School as the semester comes to a close. Year 12 students are completing a large number of assessment tasks to round out their Unit 3 studies and are well on their way in Unit 4. The Year 11 students have been completing their end of semester exams over this week and continue into next week, providing them with the opportunity to get a feel for exams and how they differ from classroom assessment. This hopefully will let them be better prepared come the end of year exams that they will face in Year 12. Students have overall made a great start in exams.

Our Year 12 cohort attended the Teenage Road Accident group (TRAG) excursion this week, with 750 students from around Bayside and the Peninsula in the session. Students heard from SES, paramedics, and police officers in their roles as first responders to road traffic accidents. We also heard from family members of victims of fatal accidents. It is hoped that seeing and hearing about these personal experiences, our young drivers and passengers will be able to prevent themselves from becoming a statistic.

Students studying a Unit 3 or 4 subject have the GAT (General Achievement Test) in two weeks (Tuesday 17th June). Students have been given information about this and participated in a practice GAT last Wednesday. 

Year 10 and 11 Examinations

A reminder that Year 11 Examination marks (these will be included on semester reports) are not pass or fail. Students who have met all course requirements (most of our students) were only completing their first exams to experience the demands of revision, studying and to demonstrate their knowledge of a full semester of content in a timed situation. 

Our Year 11 and 12 Vocational Major students have enjoyed getting out into the community, working in teams to plan activities and organising excursions. Our Year 11 students are completing interviews this week, where they present folios and practise talking about themselves and employability skills. Year 12 Vocational Major students have their interviews next week. This is an invaluable learning experience that both students and staff enjoy and get a lot out of this process.

Students will be receiving their reports at the end of term, and I would encourage them to look through them and reflect on how they have started the year, including where they have gone well and where they need to continue to improve in Semester 2. They should use these reports as a guide to set themselves some goals for the second semester.

The Year 12 end of year examination timetable has been released on the VCAA website, and I would again urge students studying a Year 12 subject to check this so that they can begin to plan out their study routines in preparation for the exams. 

 As we move into the second half of the year we also start to plan for next year. Students have been given information about subject selection for 2025. All pre-selections need to be completed by FRIDAY 20th JUNE. This is then followed up with course confirmation interviews in Week 2 and Week 3 of Term 3.

Pre-selections for 2026 Edval WebChoice will open for 2025 Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 students on Thursday 5th June and will close 5pm Friday 20th June. Students will receive their Edval WebChoice via Compass email. We hope that you are able to make some time to read through the material provided to assist with these choices.

You MUST have your subject pre-selections entered by this deadline to ensure you have selected the subjects that you want, in your order of preference. Webchoice instructions will be sent when the system opens.

Early next term, students and parents / carers will be allocated an individual online course selection session to discuss their choices further and finalise their preferences. Further information will be provided before the end of term.

Year 11 and 12 students have their Formal events over the next few weeks, we look forward to celebrating with them. 

We look forward to a positive Semester 2 and remain committed to supporting and working with our senior students through the rest of the year.

Susan Cochrane

Director of Senior School