SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

Semester Exams

Students are reminded that semester exams will be held this week for Year 10 and some elective subjects for both Years 9 & 10. 

In Week 6 students in Year 7 - 9 will sit their exams.

Classes have been given study guides and outlines of the material being assessed. If a student is absent on a scheduled exam day they will complete the missed exams at the first available opportunity. If known in advance exams may be completed before the absence. 

It is also important to note that the exams are only one of the methods of assessment. The semester report will include a variety of assessment tasks, both formative and summative, completed over the course of the semester.

To optimise performance students need to be well-rested. They also need to ensure that they have the necessary equipment, for example, spare pens, a calculator and geometrical instruments for Mathematics and Science. Please advise staff of any issues regarding the completion of exams.

In order for students to achieve their best possible results, it is necessary to prepare adequately for these important assessments. 

Exam timetables have been distributed to students and are also available below.

TEST-TAKING TECHNIQUES

What do you do in the few days before an examination?

At least a few days before the exam, make sure you do the following: 

• Plan out how much time you should spend on each section of the test.
• By looking at past papers, get a feel for the types of instructions that will be on your paper.
• Do some exercise so you can burn off the pent-up stress that can come before exams.
• Look after your body – lots of water to juice up your brain, healthy food, decent sleep.
• To calm nerves, make mental pictures of yourself sitting down and doing well in the test.
• Purchase any equipment you may need, extra calculator batteries, pens, rulers etc.
• Ensure you know what equipment is allowed in the test or exam.
• Focus on reviewing the key points, perhaps a condensed version of your summaries.
• Practise as many past test papers as you can get your hands on.
• Check the timetable to ensure you have a clear picture of when each exam is being held.

The night before the test or exam:

• Pack your bag with everything you will need for the next day, ensuring you have all the necessary equipment.
• Plan what time you need to leave to ensure you have plenty of time for unexpected delays.
• Don’t go to bed too late – you need to make sure your brain is fresh and alert.
• Don’t ring friends and discuss your preparation or the examination.
• Just before you go to sleep, look through your notes briefly.
• If you have a number of exams, check the timetable to doubly confirm the date, time and location of the exam.

The morning of the test or exam:

• Visualise success. Before you get out of bed close your eyes and picture yourself going into the exam, doing well and coming out pleased with your efforts.
• Review your notes. You are not doing intense study at this stage, just looking through and reminding yourself of the main things you want to remember.
• Eat breakfast. Your brain needs fuel so eat a hearty breakfast so you can focus and concentrate in the exam.
• Be on time. Make sure you leave enough time for contingencies so you won’t be late.
• Avoid negativity. Don’t stand around in the group discussing what you did and didn’t study.

Preparing For Blocks Of Exams

For many students, a block of examinations can be daunting. Some students have no idea where to start and what they should work on. The first thing to do if you have examinations approaching in the next few weeks is to find out what topics will be tested. Even a simple question to teachers can get you started such as ‘are we being tested on the whole year’s work or just this semester?’. Once you know what topics will be covered, organize all of your learning materials and make sure nothing is missing and you have everything you need to review those topics. The next step is to make study notes on these topics if you haven’t been doing this throughout the year (hopefully you have!). 

Next, it is time to start learning the notes (testing yourself on them over and over) and doing practice questions to make sure you can apply your knowledge to different types of questions.  

If you have a number of weeks prior to the examinations, it is a good idea to make a plan in your diary or phone or on a whiteboard of what subjects you will study when. Try and allocate each subject once or twice each week, depending on the number of examinations you have. 

Vinnies Christmas Appeal

Decades Dress Up Day

Last Tuesday students in the Secondary had the opportunity to participate in a Decades Dress Up Day. Students are to be congratulated for the enthusiastic manner in which they involved themselves in the spirit of the day.

Students were asked to bring a gold coin to donate to our Vinnies Christmas fundraising appeals and we thank you for your continued support.

This was the launch of our Vinnies Christmas Appeal with the Lap-a-athon and Christmas Hampers to also contribute to helping less fortunate members of our community have a festive holiday season.

Vinnies Lap-a-thon

In Week 6 on Thursday 19 November the Secondary department will give up their sport time to take part in our annual Vinnies Fancy Dress Lap-a-thon.  Students will complete their laps within their year groups spaced out on the back oval as per current COVID-19 restrictions.

Sponsorship forms for the lap-a-thon will be sent home with students and participants will be asked to collect sponsorship money and make a donation to this cause. 

All funds raised will be donated to our local St Vincent de Paul centre for their busy Christmas period. There will be prizes for the best outfits presented for judging.

SRC Sausage Sizzle

Thanks to Mr Gaias and the SRC who provided a sausage sizzle and icy pole free of charge last Tuesday for all Secondary students.

Touch Carnival

Last Friday four mixed touch teams participated in an Inverell Schools' Touch Carnival at the Complex. All teams acquitted themselves very well and were excellent representatives of the school. Congratulations to all students who competed on the day and thanks to Mr Ehsman, Mrs East and Mrs McLachlan for coaching and supervising.

Uniform

The majority of students are to be congratulated for the manner in which they consistently show respect for our school uniform code and dress accordingly.

Mr Koch worked with many students last term and the wearing of our sport uniform, in particular, has greatly improved. 

Over the next two weeks staff will be paying particular attention to the following aspects of our uniform: hats, hair, makeup, nails, jewellery and shoes.

If a student is not able to wear the correct uniform please provide written information to the roll teacher indicating when the situation can be remedied. 

Sun Safe

The weather has been heating up rapidly and students are reminded that they should have a hat for all outside activities. Sunscreen is also available for Sport, PDHPE and other outside lessons, however, the best protection is provided with the combined use of a hat and sunscreen. School caps are available from the Uniform Shop.  Please ensure that your child has the correct school uniform cap or hat.