Killester College Latest News

Careers/Senior Pathways

VCAL - Beauty Consultations

 

On Monday 20th of July, Sasha, Alice and I arranged consultations with some Killester teachers about their skin care routine, makeup (if they wear any) and their hand health. We

are all doing our Certificate III in Beauty Services but because of Corona 19 our course with practical work has been cancelled for six weeks. Due to it being postponed, we decided to share our knowledge with the Killester community. Sasha consulted with Ms Scott, Ms Larritt and Mr Harte while I consulted with Ms Jamieson, Ms Heys and Mr O’Neill. Alice consulted with Ms Braiden and Ms Collins. 

 

We enjoyed doing this very much as we are missing out on a lot. We should be doing this at TAFE but this opportunity at school allowed us to practice the things we have learnt.

 

by Ella Pollard Year 11 VCAL Student

VCAL SYN FM Incursion

 

I really enjoyed the student radio incursion we had on Friday 31st of July, as it was really different and fun to do. I’ve never done anything like this before so the experience was extremely enjoyable and I definitely recommend for future VCAL girls to do this in the years to come. We got into groups and came up with topics to talk about in the podcast, each group had their own segment and talked about whatever they wanted to talk about. This opportunity we were given was amazing and informative, hopefully we are able to do this again.

 

SYN FM have scheduled the VCAL Radio Program for Friday, August 7th, from 12pm-1pm. 

 

by Sasha Symss Year 11 VCAL

Senior Pathways Information

VCAA Key Dates:

General Achievement Test (GAT) Wednesday 7th October. All students enrolled in a scored Unit 3 and 4 subject are required to complete the GAT. A GAT briefing will be held beforehand.

 

Performance and Languages oral examinations Monday 12th October – Sunday 8th November. This is for students completing Unit 3/4 language orals, drama and dance performances. 

 

Written examinations Monday 9th November – Wednesday 2nd December.

 

Please follow this link for VCAA Timetable

https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/Key-dates/Pages/VCE-exam-timetable.aspx

 

Careers August 2020

Year 12 Students: VTAC Registration and Applications for Tertiary Study

Year 12 VTAC Registrations opened on Monday August 3rd. VTAC is the centralised body that processes a large majority of the tertiary courses available to Victorian students. I presented a session to all the Year 12 students in late July to provide them with the information about applying to tertiary study, SEAS and scholarship applications via VTAC. I emailed all students a PDF copy of this presentation and placed it in the Careers share drive should they or you need to refer to it.

 

VTAC provides a lot of resources to guide students and parents through the process. Some of these are:

Your daughters have been provided with a plethora of information to help them make informed choices. This has been emailed to them and can also be found on the Careers share drive.

 

Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) Applications

Your daughter may have had something occur, particularly in the last two years that might have affected her academic performance. She may be eligible to apply for SEAS. Once a course application has been made then a SEAS application can be put in.  All girls should be applying for category 1 which includes information related to age, recognition as an Indigenous Australian, living or school location, attending an under-represented school, applying for courses which have historically been under-represented by a specific gender, coming from a non-English speaking background or being the first in family to attend a tertiary institution.

 

The other categories are: 

1. Disadvantaged Financial Background

2. Disability or medical condition 

3. Difficult circumstances - this includes the impact of COVID-19 and remote learning where I would encourage all girls to make an application

 

All of the above categories will need supporting documentation of some kind: impact statements, support statements and supporting documents. I will help students through this process during their interviews should they be applying. Please refer to the VTAC website for more information: http://www.vtac.edu.au/seas.html. 

 

All SEAS applications and supporting documents should be preferably organised and completed by the end of Term 3 to ensure there are no problems. The final application shuts at 5pm on October 9th, 2020. However, VTAC has advised documents may not be 

checked by them if they are submitted after the September 30th payment deadline ($41). 

 

All VTAC dates for 2020-21 can be found here: http://www.vtac.edu.au/dates.html

 

VTAC Interviews

As part of the VTAC registration and application process I will be meeting with each Year 12 student up until the end of Term 3.  They have signed up for these and have a copy of the schedule. These will now be held remotely by Google meet. 

  • It is preferable that student has already registered and started the course application process before their interview.
  • I will send out an invitation the night before.
  • Students are asked to only join if they see no one else is on the meet
  • I will share my screen if necessary
  • I will complete a consultation record that will be scanned and a copy emailed to the student
  • Meetings will be recorded
  • Cameras can be on or off – if the camera is on then students must be dressed appropriately and if possible a blank wall behind them
  • Parents are most welcome to attend
  • Students are reminded to email the teacher of their tutorial if there is a clash and email me to make a change if they need to.

Some Advice for Choosing Courses

Some things to think about as you make your course selections:

  • Read the course information provided carefully, look at the subjects offered and go to the institutions website directly to get more information. Subject selection if often greater at large institutions.
  • Always place your courses in the order that you want to do the course.
  • Make sure you have a realistic range of courses with a range of ATAR scores.
  • Always be prepared for an alternative pathway into a course should you not get the required ATAR.
  • If you are applying for a fee paying course, then check out what the fees might be and if you are eligible for assistance such as VET fee help.
  • Think about the location of the courses for which you are applying: can you get there easily, travel time, the size of the institution, number of offers made and class sizes – what suits you best?
  • Students are reminded to check all the selection requirements for the courses in which they apply.  These often have a variety of due dates and if you miss these you will not be eligible for the course.  These extra requirements could include:
    • CASPer (Education and Teaching)
    • English Language declaration (Nursing)
    • Auditions
    • Supplementary forms
    • Pre-selection kits
    • Folio presentations
    • Interviews
    • If you are applying for courses directly to the institution please follow their instructions and application process carefully.

Pathways into University courses

Completed VCAL this year or think you might not get the ATAR or study score you need for your course or want to try a course before you commit to 3 years then check out the pathways offered by some Universities and TAFEs. Some of these courses can be applied for through VTAC and for others it is directly with the institution. Please refer to the pathways document emailed to you. It is always good to have at least one backup pathway in your list of 8 course applications. Pathways Programs to University 2021

 

Early Offer Programs

Due to the unusual nature of this year a number of institutions have different course entry 

requirements for this year. Two that might be of interest are

Scholarships

There are many Scholarships on offer. Scholarships provide financial support to help students with the costs of tertiary education and are not always just for high achievers. Some scholarships can be applied for via VTAC, a list can be found on the VTAC website, while others are directly through the institution. VTAC Scholarship applications are now open ans close October 9th 2020: https://www.vtac.edu.au/scholarships.html).  Like SEAS support statements may also be required as part of the application process. Some of the scholarships available can be found here: Merit Scholarships 2021

 

Tertiary Open Days

The Virtual Tertiary Open day season has started and I would encourage students in Years 10, 11 and 12 to check out what is on offer. They have been emailed a copy of what is happening what, when and where but it can also be found on the Careers Team Drive: Tertiary Virtual Open Days 2020

 

Each week I send out a Career Compass Newsletter to Year 10-12 students. Please encourage them to have a look at it. Here is this week’s edition: Career Compass Newsletter August 7th.

 

Please take care of yourselves as we navigate the strange times that are upon us. Stay safe, stay healthy.

 

“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare

 to make dreams into reality.” – Jonas Salk

 

Ms Megan Larritt (Careers Counsellor)

mlarritt@killester.vic.edu.au