Viewbank College

Senior School News

Dear Senior School students and families,

 

Congratulations on finishing yet another term of learning mostly from home, with our brief periods together at the start of the term. There is no question that this term has been one that many of our students have found the most challenging of their schooling journey, however the Senior School team have been incredibly impressed with our students abilities to persevere. There have been bad days, but there have also been good days. It is important to recognise these good days as well as celebrating the successes of the term. 

 

For our Year 11 students, you have progressed well into Unit 2 studies now, and have almost completed your first year of VCE. This is a significant step towards the completion of your VCE, and all that awaits beyond! Many of you are completing a Year 12 subject and will be preparing for the GAT early next term, and then your end of year exam. Prepare well, seek help from your teachers, and put in a personal best effort to prepare!

 

For our Year 12 students, your VCE has not been what you expected. Since you commenced your VCE at the start of 2020, you have not had a full term on-site at school. You have adapted, you have been resilient, and you have simply got on with the job. You are now entering the home stretch of your VCE, something that we know will bring a lot of joy for you. There are still a few SAC/SATs to complete for some, however most subjects are now well into end of year exam revision. The upcoming holiday period is a perfect opportunity to get some serious revision in to set you up for success in your exams. 

 

We also want to stress the importance of taking a break over this holiday period. We know that all of our students are aiming to achieve their best, and that they will prepare accordingly and put in the effort and time to complete the most thorough preparation possible. Please make sure you also get out and enjoy some sunshine, read a book you have been wanting to read, connect with your family, friends and nature. Most important of all, take some time away from the screen each and every day. You have spent most of the term on the screen, and so we encourage all of you to take at least a couple of screen free days. For many this will be a challenge with revision, however completing revision screen free is very possible, even in 2021! Please continue to reach out to your teachers for support, they are some of the most dedicated we have had the pleasure of working with and know they are keen to support you to achieve your best. 

 

Below are some key dates for our Senior School students, with confirmation of more dates to come in Term 4:

  • Tuesday 5th October – General Achievement Test (GAT)
  • Tuesday 19th October – Last Day of Year 12 Classes
  • Wednesday 20th October – Year 12 Last Day
  • Wednesday 27th October – English Exam and VCAA Written Exam Period begins

Students will receive personalised exam timetables in Term 4, however can also access the VCAA examination timetable following this link: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/Key-dates/Pages/VCE-exam-timetable.aspx

 

To assist students in preparing for these exams, there will be revision sessions running online for some subjects over the holidays. The timetable for these sessions will be posted on Microsoft Teams in the Senior School Team. We would like to thank all of the staff who are offering these sessions. 

 

Term 4 is a big term in the Senior School, and we are looking forward to having our Year 11 and 12 students back on-site as soon as the government allows so that we can support them through this important term. There will be many university positions available for Year 12 students this year and for those that are striving to take this path we are here to help you get there. For those simply wanting to achieve their personal best, the same help is available.

 

Our Year 11 students have a great opportunity to further develop and refine the skills that will help them achieve success in Year 12, before the transition begins towards the end of this year. The House Leaders and Heads of House are enthusiastic to make this transition as smooth as possible and set you up to begin your final year in the best position possible.

 

Finally, we would like to wish our entire Senior School community a great break, it is certainly well deserved. For those families that feel they need some extra support, please have a look at the wellbeing resources in this newsletter. We are certainly looking forward to taking a break as well, before we come back to finish the year off strongly in Term 4. As a Senior School team, we can’t wait to have the students back to see what they can achieve! 

WaterMarc Youth Employment Program

WaterMarc Youth Employment Program is a new initiative by WaterMarc Banyule supporting young people to obtain meaningful and enjoyable employment opportunities in the recreation industry.

 

We will do this through creating a supported pathway for secondary school students to gain qualifications and experience on the way to becoming professional and high performing swim teachers.

 

WaterMarc will be offering twenty new casual and part-time employment positions to local high school students aged 17 and over in the role of a swim teacher at our facility.

 

Further to this, our vision is to maximise the positive impact of the WaterMarc ‘GoSwim’ program in our community. This will primarily be through ensuring as many children and non-swimming adults are taught water safety skills.

 

What are the next steps?

We are hosting two youth employment online information sessions for students, parents and teachers to attend online. 

These will be:

  • Wed 29 September 4-5pm, and
  • Thurs 30 September 7-8pm

To RSVP to either one of these sessions, please email our event organiser Catherine on ccorbett@watermarcbanyule.com.au with the subject line “RSVP - Youth Employment Program” by Mon 27 September 4pm.

 

Please list your name, school and preferred session time in the email. You will receive the link to the online session a few days in advance.

 

After both information sessions, we will send out the next steps to apply for a position.

 

All successful applicants will be entitled to:

  • A fully paid training course with Life Saving Victoria, funded by WaterMarc Banyule. Successful applicants will be required to work at WaterMarc for a minimum of six months.
  • Regular mentoring from a senior coordinator at WaterMarc to facilitate personal development and learning on the job.

Successful applicants will be required to obtain their own First Aid, CPR, Working with Children’s Check and Victoria Police Check before commencing employment. We will outline the steps for this during the information sessions.

 

When will training commence?

As soon as Government restrictions permit, after the end of year 12 exams.

 

Becoming a swim teacher is a fantastic part time or casual job for students looking to continue studies after secondary school. Many of the shifts are outside school hours and you get to provide children with the fundamental life skill of learning to swim.

 

 

Stay safe,

The Senior School Team