Curriculum
2022 NESA Confirmation of Entry Forms
Over the next fortnight, students of Years 10 and 11 will confirm their respective enrolment entries with the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) for the purpose of credentialing, ultimately leading to the award of the Higher School Certificate. Year 12 students have been meeting with Mrs Doonan, Study Centre Supervisor to review and complete their entries.
Students are required to check their personal details, all subjects currently undertaken, as well as other details such as indigenous status and Australian citizenship. In addition, each Year 12 student, if undertaking an ATAR pathway, will confirm his eligibility for an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR).
It should also be noted that in signing the Confirmation of Entry form for the Higher School Certificate, each Year 12 student is confirming he has read and understood the NESA booklet, Rules and Procedures for 2023 Higher School Certificate Candidates to ensure compliance. The booklet is available on the NESA website at Rules and processes | NSW Education Standards. Also, each Year 12 student is confirming he has completed the All My Own Work NESA program about good scholarship practices and met or working towards completing the minimum standards in literacy and numeracy.
Years 10 and 11 Confirmation of Entry forms are signed, dated, and returned during Homeroom. The forms do not leave the College. All forms are then cross-checked for accuracy with both College and NESA records.
It is very important that student information maintained by the College is true and accurate and matches records held by NESA for the purposes of credentialing the awards for the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) and the Higher School Certificate (HSC). Changes in contact details, medical information or other family details for a student and/or family need to be communicated to the College in writing and should be forwarded to the Enrolments Officer, Mrs Toogood, via email on enrolments@spc.nsw.edu.au.
Should parents/carers or their son/s have any questions or concerns regarding any of the details mentioned, please do not hesitate to contact me at the College.
Nicholas Phillipson
Acting Director of Curriculum
Year 11 Biology Excursion
On Friday 3 March at 7:15 AM, we embarked on the Long Reef excursion, a yearly staple of the Year 11 Biology course. This saw students engaging in first-hand, practical inquiry into the explosion of aquatic life found in the local rock pools, giving them the opportunity to apply their investigative skills learnt in class to a practical setting.
Our Auseco guide, Lori helped us to identify some brown algae by looking at its key physical and physiological features. This was a very interesting task as it required us to investigate why the algae may have adapted certain characteristics. Some students took a bite out of brown algae (which surprisingly didn't taste that bad, only a little salty)! After some recess we headed out to the rock platform, wading through ankle deep water, over slippery algae which was a unique and fun experience.
A few hundred metres’ walk got us to the upper rock platform, where we investigated the abiotic and biotic factors of the environment. Abiotic was measured through temperature, salinity and pH, whereas biotic was measured by sampling certain species such as knobbly winks and little blue periwinkles in different zones. It was great to see the way they move to hide from the sun and curl up into their shells when they know something is around. Sampling techniques included using quadrats to estimate abundance and a transect for the distribution from the wave zone to the supra littoral zone.
Once our data was gathered and recorded, the group headed back around to the beach rock platform where we would perform the animal catch. As it was low tide, we walked out to see what we could find. We found creatures such as sea urchins, elephant snails, starfish and many other molluscs which were carefully placed into a container of water, had their photo taken and released exactly where it was caught. It was an exciting day that resulted in gaining new knowledge and understanding about ecosystems and the environment and an enjoyable and memorable experience for all.
Year 11 Biology Students