Semester Two has started and VCE students are now doing a Unit 2 or Unit 4 study. VCAL students are working at meeting their competencies.

The Unit One exam results for Year 11 students are an indicator about a student’s readiness for a Unit 3/4 study, so now is a good time to start speaking to your child about pathway choices beyond Year 11. A number of students have already changed into a new Unit 2 study.

Your child’s report will be available on the school portal during the school holidays.

To assist some students who ‘underperform’ in exams or assessment tasks, the Senior Sub School, with the assistance of Scott Faulkner is running a program called ‘STRETCH’. This has already started for a selection of Year 11students. ‘STRETCH’ focuses on Study Skills, Time Management and Organisation skills. There is also the After School Study Group (ASSG) where teachers provide extra help and assistance to students. Every student is welcome to attend.

On Wednesday the 22nd June, we will host our special yearly event, the Year 11 assembly to celebrate “100 days of VCE/VCAL success”. This is always an exciting event, with speakers including our alumni students providing helpful advice sharing their successes. Students will also be receiving awards for their contribution to the school as well as academic achievements.

There will be a Year 11 Information evening on Wednesday 20th July. The VCAL session will be from 6pm to 6.30pm and the VCE session will be from 6.45pm to 7.30pm.

It is essential that parents and students attend. Students will be given their Course Counselling booklet during that evening. There will also be information about the Year 12 Study Camp for 2017, what an ATAR is and what the expectation for Year 12 are.

On Tuesday 2nd August, there will be no formal classes for Year 11 students as they will be choosing their Year 12 subjects. They will only be required to attend school for an appointment with a course counseller. It is vital that students choose their subject carefully once they receive their booklets and are realistic about their choices. Once they start in Year 12, it will almost be impossible to change a subject or unit of study.

The GAT (General Achievement Test) was on Tuesday 7th June 2016. There were about 180 students who sat the GAT in Nindethana.

On Friday 10th June, all Year 12 VCE students did their first ‘Practice Exam’ for English/EAL. This is now being marked by external assessors. The school has put hours of work and resources into organising this for students to benefit from and get the most out of it. We do this early on in the year as this is the most crucial time for all Year 12 students to start putting in extra time and effort to their studies to get the most out their final year at school. It is compulsory that all students attend.

The VCAL students are still working with our community and are thoroughly enjoying their work and the responsibilities they have been given. They are continuing their work at the Sunshine Hospital and AMES. Some students are working with the Facilities team at SASC.

We also have the ‘CHASE’ program and the ‘Smith Family - itrack’ working with individual students and various facilitators that come to the classrooms and run workshops with the students.

A group of VCAL students have organised an excursion to the Immigration Museum and RMIT for Monday 20th June. They did all the planning for it as part of the PDS requirement.

Congratulations to the students who assisted with the organisation of the 60th Anniversary Open Day.

CHASE Program

The Year 11 VCAL students completed the Education Phase of their Chase program and will begin the next step with the action phase.

The Action or Project component enables students to implement their knowledge and skills into projects that will improve health in their school or within their community. These projects may include implementing healthy foods in the canteen, petitioning to local council members about improving bike paths or developing lunchtime running groups. The students may also develop projects that incorporate into already existing school groups. The projects will be facilitated by the mentors and driven by the students.

A show case of projects will occur on the Monday 10th October during the school day.

FINANCIAL LITERACY

Year 11 VCAL will also be involved in a certificated course on Financial Literacy supported by the Smith Family during their numeracy classes.

The Smith Family has taken selected activities from the MoneyMinded resource and developed our Financial Literacy Course consisting of five 2 hour sessions. Completion of all 6 elements of this course allows you to gain the qualification of FNS10110 Certificate I in Financial Services.

This Course will show you how to:

Set financial goals
Create a budget
Look at Needs vs Wants
Develop a savings plan
Recognise scams
Better understand credit, debt and debt traps
Find assistance if you are in too much debt
Understand taxation
Understand the basics about superannuation
Understand the role of regulators such as the ACCC and ASIC and how they can help you.

A facilitator with nationally accredited training qualifications will deliver the course. Students will receive a certificate at the end of the sessions if they complete all modules

Again, we would like to thank parents who contact us when their child is absent for any reason. This is of great assistance to the Year Level Coordinators, as we call home regularly if there are any unexplained absences. The Case Management process continues to monitor closely the attendance, achievement and individual needs of all our students. Please contact us on 9366 2555 if you have any queries or concerns about your child.

Ms Stav Bekiaris

Senior Sub School Leader

Berthe Mouchette Poetry Competition