Learning & Teaching
Important Academic Dates
Fri 20 Feb: College Assessment Schedule for Semester 1 available on Compass
Tue 10 Mar: ARC Conference bookings open on Compass
Fri 20 Mar: ARCs Year 7 - 11
Fri 20 Mar: Learning Redemption Day 1
Assessment Schedule
The Whole School Assessment Schedule is now available to parents and students on Compass in 'School Documentation' today. The schedule provides students in Years 7-12, the name and weeks in which the summative assessments occur in their subjects. It helps students to plan their revision and study time to align with the assessment schedule. Summative assessments measure students' performance at a point in time across a number of skills.
VCE Senior School News
Parent Interviews and Presentations
Thanks to the parents and students who attended last night's parent teacher interviews for Year 12 subjects. Numbers at our interviews were well up this year from 314 in 2025 to 564 this year and teachers reported great conversations with students and parents.
Thanks also to the families who attended the VCE Parent Engagement and VCE Information Presentations held yesterday in the theatre. Carrie and I were encouraged by the level of engagement from our parent community. Pleasingly, parent feedback was very positive about the value of these presentations.
VCE & VCE VM Student and Parent Handbook
This handbook is now available for students and parents to access in Compass under the School Documentation tab. It contains summarised information about VCAA and college processes regarding the VCE and VM program. Any questions regarding this please contact any member of the Senior School team.
Vocational Major News
Last night, we had many more Vocational Major attendees at our interviews compared to last year; an indication of the calibre of VM cohort this year. The VM teachers have commented about the high levels of motivation of many of our VM students and a willingness to extend themselves beyond the standard curriculum.
The College recognises excellence in all our students through the end of year subject awards and at valedictory evening for our year 12 VCE and VCE VM students
I would also like to promote the Victorian Premier awards to our VM students. These annual awards recognize excellence in their applied learning program for up to 8 high-achieving Victorian students. Selected by the VCAA, awardees must demonstrate significant growth in employability skills, pathway exploration, and community contribution. Award recipients receive their award from the state Premier at the annual premier’s award ceremony.
I am looking forward to nominating our top VM student for this award at the end of the year and urge all students to strive for excellence in all aspects of their VM program at the college, workplace and their VET program.
Elevate Year 9 and 10
Elevate is an important and compulsory co-curricula program that enhances students’ skills in critical thinking, personal, social and ethical capabilities, and digital literacy. It takes place on Wed period 3 Year 9 and period 4 Year 10. A description of the curriculum is provided below and students are assesses through Elevate on their Victorian Curriculum achievement standards through the program.
Coming up in Elevate in Week 5 and 6: Consent Workshop Presented by our Mental Health Practitioner, Joel Taylor.
The Elevate Rotations
Year 9
Students will participate in one term of each of the following:
Powerful Storytelling - Everyone has a story to tell but what makes a great story and great storyteller? Storytelling is one of the oldest and most powerful forms of communication in the world and a useful skill to have and this course builds student’s ability to tell and listen to stories with deeper understanding of this craft.
City Experience Term 2 - All Year 9 students together will plan and participate in the City Experience Program - Year 9 City Experience is a week-long program with daily trips to the city to explore all that Melbourne has to offer. It builds student confidence in using public transport and navigating our busy city streets.
Holocaust Education - Understanding the past helps us to better appreciate the present. Studying the Holocaust and experiences of Holocaust survivors provides opportunities for our students to learn from this tragic period in our history and be inspired by stories of courage, adversity and resilience.
9 RR - Teaching students how to establish respectful relationships is vital for future relationship success. This course focuses on the skills required to build healthy and fulfilling relationships of all types with oneself and others. Sexual health, consent and sexual relationships are important parts of the lesson content.
Year 10
Students will participate in one term of each of the following:
Fake, Fiction or Fact? - With the thousands of images and text that students scroll through every day it can be hard to tell what's real and what's not. Becoming savvier in the digital world is ever more important and this course is focused on preparing students to sniff out misinformation, deceptions and to stay informed.
Indigenous Perspectives - Our indigenous people have existed for over 65000 years and represent the oldest continuous culture on earth. In this course students gain a greater appreciation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experience both historically and currently though real stories and case studies.
Digital Literacy (new in 2025)- Digital literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills students need to create, manage, communicate and investigate data, information and ideas, and solve problems. It assists students to work collaboratively at school and in their lives beyond school. Digital literacy involves students critically identifying and appropriately selecting and using digital devices or systems and learning to make the most of the technologies available to them. Students adapt to new ways of doing things as technologies evolve and protect the safety of themselves and others in digital environments.
10 RR - It is a complex world and navigating important topics drugs, pornography, gender and sexuality can be difficult, esp. if you are not equipped with the facts. This course helps students to understand respectful language, communication and behaviours in all types of relationships. It also supports our young people to make informed decisions to keep themself and their friends safe now and in the future.
Elevate is a compulsory and essential part of the education program. We encourage you to communicate with Elevate teachers if you have any further questions about the program or the courses on offer.
Natalie Manser
Assistant Principal
mar@wantirnacollege.vic.gov.au