Learning  

Dear Parents and Guardians 

In our penultimate newsletter of the year, I would like to share some feedback from the Year 9 Real Industry Job Interviews (RIJI) program that our Year 9s took part in this year. 

Students learned about themselves and what they might like to explore in the future, they explored different career paths, how to act in a professional environment, wrote résumés and cover letters and had a job interview with someone in industry.  Some of the feedback from their interviews are shown below:

• “…I liked that the interviewer was not part of the school (we had more opportunities due to not knowing the interviewers beforehand).” 
• “…that the interviewer gave feedback about our interviews right then and there, so then I could revise my answer and make it better.” 

• “I learned lots on how I can improve and on what I did well.  I left with satisfaction in my performance and understanding of how I can do better.” 

   

It was also lovely to hear the following feedback from interviewers about the Year 9 students. 

• “Very impressed by the candidates, their willingness to participate and overall attitude to the program.” 
• “All were polite and presented well.” 

• “Calibre of students was impressive for their year level.” 

   

Well done to all Year 9 students for completing this program and thank you to Lauren Sach, Careers Practitioner, and the Synergy teachers for all the work in developing the unit and preparing students for their interview.  

In October, I had the privilege of accompanying sixteen Year 8 students when they visited the new STEM Centre at Simonds College to take part in the inaugural STEM competition between Simonds and the Academy. 

Students worked in teams to complete STEM based challenges that included designing and creating prototype for futuristic vehicles, using engineering principles to see who could build the highest earthquake proof tower, testing their Science knowledge and using problem solving skills to crack codes. 

Thank you Simonds staff, Mark Molino and Colleen Marriott for organising the Academy students. 

Subjects and booklists for 2026 

Students have received their subjects for next year, there are instructions on Compass for students wishing to change subjects.  Following this, booklists will be made available on Compass early next week.  

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight that an extra item has been added to the booklist for all students.  All students are asked to purchase ‘Whiteboard Flexi A4 2 Sided Blank/Grid + Pen + Eraser’.  Mini whiteboards are a simple and effective strategy that can be used to help improve student engagement and learning, especially for girls who may be reticent to put their hand up in class or answer questions in front of the class.  Mini whiteboards ensure all students are able to provide their thoughts and answers in class and receive immediate feedback from the teacher about their thoughts and answers.  

We are excited about using them with our classes on a more regular basis next year, so please make sure you daughter brings one to school next year.  

Year 10 and 11 Exams 

As Year 10 and Year 11 students begin their exam period, I would like to reiterate the advice given in the last newsletter for students completing 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.  To help reduce stress make sure you have enough sleep (at least 8-10 hours sleep per night) and to drink plenty of water and eat healthily, as well as keeping up some exercise for a healthy body and mind. 

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

Ms Lucy Neil 

Deputy Principal – Learning and Teaching