Learning  

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back to Term 4, it is lovely to see the arrival of Spring and the time of new life and hope.  It is also a time of new life and hope here at the College, our Year 12s are moving (after their exams) into a new chapter of their life, the new Senior Student Leadership Team for 2026 has been chosen and it was wonderful to welcome our Year 7 2026 cohort on Saturday for their transition testing. 

Before we do move into 2026, we do have a busy term ahead with lots of opportunities and challenges for students to do their best in their learning.  We know that some students can sometimes feel frustrated that they are trying their best and not often reaping the rewards of their efforts.  People often talk about working smarter, not harder but what does this mean?

Re-reading and highlighting notes are passive learning techniques and while they can be helpful to some degree, or as initial activities, the following are proven to be more effective at all year levels:

• Practice testing – self testing, being tested on material or completing practice tests 
• Spaced practice – set a schedule of practice that spreads activities and subjects over time.  Doing 25-30 minutes of learning for one subject several times a week is much more beneficial than a 2 hour block for one area.
• Elaborative interrogations – creating an explanation about why facts or concept are true
• Self-explanation – explaining how new information relates to known information, explaining the steps to solve a problem 
• Teaching others -  teaching and explaining to others about concepts, reasons and how to solve a problem.

• Summarising – writing own summaries of various lengths of information that is to be learned and keep refining these.

   

We encourage students at all levels to use these techniques to help make the learning process more effective.

In addition to these learning tips, a few words of advice for students who are completing Unit 3 and Unit 4 exams.  There are bound to be a few nerves and feelings of stress or anxiety leading up to and during the exam period.  Please rest assured that this is normal and a certain level of stress is a good thing. 

Here are a few survival tips for students as they approach exams.  These are relevant to all students completing exams not just Year 12s:

• Sleep is important, you should be aiming to sleep at least 8-10 hours each night 
• Drink plenty of water and eat healthily and try to keep up some exercise for a healthy body and mind
• Have a timetable that details how long, when and what you will study, as well as planning enough break, rest and relaxation time to unwind
• On the day of the exam, avoid stressful situations - plan to arrive in plenty of time with the correct equipment and don’t do any last minute revision or discuss what you do or don’t know with other students
• After the exam, avoid looking for the solutions and worrying about what you got right and wrong.  Continue to look forward to the next exam or celebrate the end of your exams.

• Remember your ATAR does not define you.  There are many paths to get to where you want to be.  As long as you have done your best, you should be proud of your achievements.

   

These exams are a culmination of many hours, weeks and months of hard work by students and teachers.  I would like to thank all families and teachers who have supported the VCE students throughout their time at the College but especially this year.  We are proud of our student body and hope that they will be proud of their efforts and be rewarded for them with their results.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or feedback.

Ms Lucy Neil

Deputy Principal – Learning and Teaching