As we hit the midpoint of Term 2 all eyes are turning towards Exams and Final Assessments. Next week begins revision week for our Year 10 & 11 students as they ensure they are setting themselves up for success with good study habits, meticulous notes and understanding their gaps in preparation for the final assessments of Semester 1.

The recent Curriculum Day for our staff was focused around developing our own skills in providing quality revision techniques, reviewing our exams for quality writing and ensuring that we were working on standard marking schemes to match the VCE external exams for our Year 12s. All of these areas of growth for staff will benefit our students in the coming weeks.

As mentioned in my previous newsletter article I implore all of our families to have the conversations with your children around their preparation for exams and final assessments.

Now is the time for students to ensure they have strong study and homework habits. Multiple subjects will have assessments overlapping their timelines and it is imperative that students are organised, prepared and ready for all of their assessments. Some questions to ask your child to ensure they are having strong study habits:

Do you have a regular routine to complete homework?

Do you have a structured time to revise your classwork?

What assessments, SACs or exams do you have coming up? What does your calendar look like in the next week / next few weeks / remainder of the term?

The school has a range of homework and subject-support clubs running during break times and after school that your child can access and we encourage you to ask your child whether they are accessing those supports. They can always ask their teacher for the support or when these support and homework clubs are running.

Wynspeak

It has been so pleasing to see the school build upon our success at WynSpeak from last year. This year we have had 5 students compete in WynSpeak (compared to just the one last year). We had 2 students compete at MacKillop College last week and this week we hosted our own round and had 3 students competing. I am very pleased to say that our Year 11 student Sobiya Fatima came in 1st place in the round held at our school and will now be competing in the final!

I was equally pleased to see so many of our families and also fellow students attend the event at Tarneit to support their peers. The collabora and collegiality of our student body is continuing to grow and impress me and I am so pleased to see our students supporting each other and giving up their time to see their peers succeed.

The competition is run jointly by Rotary Cub of Hoppers Crossing and the Hoppers Crossing Apex club and the aim is to provide an opportunity for students to develop their self-confidence through the skills of effective public speaking. The WynSpeak final will be held at Thomas Carr College on Friday 7th June. For further information check out the website - https://wynspeak.org/.

We wish Sobiya all the best for the upcoming final!

Work Experience

A reminder to all of our Year 10 students to ensure they complete their Work Experience form so they can have access to Work Experience during the last week of Term 2 - Monday 24th - Friday 28th June.

Any Year 10 students who have not organised a structured Work Experience will be required to attend school and we have an alternate program organised that will allow students to link with the local community and participate in some engagement experiences. Further details on the program, times and permissions will be provided in the coming weeks.

Uniform

As we move into the colder months it is common for schools to start seeing alternative non-uniform clothing being worn by students including hoodies, jumpers and jackets. Please be reminded that students are required in full school uniform and there are a range of warm clothing options within our school uniform range. Students out of uniform are required to remove these items of clothing and will need to put them in a locker or collect them from the House Engagement Team at the end of the day.

If your child needs support in purchasing or getting some warm uniform items please reach out to the Year Level Coordinator or Wellbeing Team and the school will be happy to try and support.

-Shane Cole-Hayhow

College Principal

VPC Students (Year 11 and Year 12)