The Crest

Senior School

Mr Mark Robson, Head of Senior School

End of the school year approaches

Last week during our Year 12 Assembly we spoke to the boys about the time they have left with us at St Patrick’s.  For those that are sitting the exams at the end of the year, we reminded them that the “job's not done yet”, and they need to stay focused on the task at hand.  There are some key dates that are approached:

It is an exciting time in the boys' lives.

Practice Exams

Year 12 students and those Year 11 students accelerating in a Unit 3 & 4 subject, are expected to complete a practice exam in each of their subjects in the week commencing Monday 16th September. A timetable for these exams has been provided to the boys, and this represents a great opportunity for them to get a sense of where they are in each of their subjects, and the areas that they need to focus on so that they can ensure they make progress in their level of understanding in the lead up to the exam.  Here is a link to the Practice Exam timetable:

Practice Exam Timetable.pdf

Exams and Revision Strategies

The VCE exams are fast approaching and the Year 12 students are in the process of completing their final SACs for each of their Unit 3 & 4 subjects.  Earlier in the year, we gave the boys some direction around revision strategies that are proven to work through extensive educational research. In particular, the use of flash cards or cue cards as an instrument for retrieval practice, to strengthen a student’s ability to recall information and knowledge used to think with and their understanding of this information and knowledge.  

 

We encourage all parents to ask their sons to show them their preferred “retrieval practice” or revision method.  We would expect a majority use flash cards for each of their subjects.  You can assist them over the remaining weeks by testing them on the content and concepts covered by these cards.  

 

Another important method of revision is engaging in “spaced practice”, this involves spreading out study sessions over time instead of cramming in a short space of time.  We have encouraged the boys to use this approach throughout the year, continuously returning to topics covered earlier in the year to strengthen their ability to recall it and the level of understanding they possess.  As we have approached the end of the term, the boys have been reminded to continue this approach looking back to earlier “Areas of Study” in the study design for each subject.

 

All students that study a Unit 3 & 4 subject will receive six hours of holiday homework per subject.  This will be structured toward revising for their final exam.  It is important that parents check in on their child to ensure they know what is expected of them for each subject, they have a study space devoid of any distractions (ie. mobile phones and other devices).  Their focus should never be on what the outcome is going to be, but rather the focus should be on the effort and process they are going to apply to their revision.  When a student gives everything 100 per cent, and they apply processes that are proven to work through research, then the outcome is the best of their capacity and that should always be the goal.

 

For parents of students in the lower year levels, encourage your child to experiment with revision strategies to determine what works best for them as earlier years are a good time to do this.  If they have their processes set up well before they move into the Senior School, this makes into the VCE system a more seamless transition.

Break the Cycle

I would like to acknowledge the students, led by Ollie Hannaford, who will be participating in the “Break the Cycle” starting at 4pm this afternoon.  They have committed to cycling continuously for a period of 24 hours to raise awareness of gender-based violence and call for a stop to the cycle of violence. This is a student-led initiative driven by events earlier in the year here in Ballarat.  The boys felt that they needed to do something, and the idea for this initiative took form.  The school is proud of the boys, setting a fine example for others to follow.