College Newsletter

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Home Away from Home - Last Day Celebration 

On Thursday, 8 November,  we joined more than 30 international students to celebrate the last event of Home Away from Home (HAH) this year. On behalf of our school, Mr Jeff Pavlou presented a token of appreciation to Stephanie, the Service Manager of Westfield Doncaster as well as our HAH volunteers, Mr and Mrs Yang.

Here are our lovely internationals’ thoughts about HAH:

The HAH activity is just amazing. It created a place where the international students can actually enjoy a bit of time together outside the school, and be surrounded by the great "family". I personally enjoyed the time there, with all the friends, entertaining ourselves and feel free from any stress or restriction. It is a great opportunity for students who are far away from their family and feeling alone to make friends, forming relationships with others. Everyone had fun there, enjoying some snacks and a wonderful afternoon, I would expect myself attending to more of the HAH activity in the future.

Yingda (Judy) Z. 11K

 

HAH is a good program running for international students and local students. It makes international students who are away from their hometown no longer feel lonely. It provides plenty of food and drinks. It was a really amazing experience to let us get involved with the school community and also make friends with others. It helps us to learn to work together and be respectful. At HAH I have been able to get help from students who in the years above me at school. It has helped me to create a better connection with my teachers and other students at the College. I really enjoyed the HAH program this year!

Lichang (Silvia) G. 10D

I also want to share the email sent by Mr and Mrs Yang to DSC:

 We extend herewith a note of gratitude & deep appreciation to Ms Eva McMaster, Mr Jeff Pavlou, Ms Sally Huang and her team, Ms Sonja Allen & team for the excellent support rendered to HAH, a collaborative work which is dedicated for the benefit & welfare of DSC’s International Students. In particular, we wish to thank DSC on behalf of all the students for having so graciously agreed to sponsor the cost of all food, snacks, beverages, cutlery etc incurred in all our meetings & activities held at Westfield Doncaster and the Holy Trinity Church Doncaster (HTD).

 

Thank you once again and we look forward to doing it even better for the students in the coming academic year.

Mr and Mrs Yang (HAH volunteers)

 

Sally Huang

International Student Program Coordinator

Some basic study suggestions for our International Students

1. How long should I spend revising my work and completing work set by the teacher? The following are the minimum hours you should be doing.

Year 10

Weekdays - 2.5 - 3 hours per night.

 

Weekend - 3 hours on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Term 1, 2, and 3 vacations - 2.5 to 3 hours per day

Exceptions to the above guidelines:

  • If your English is weak or you are struggling in any study these times need to be increased by 30 minutes per day
  • If you are doing a Year 11 study you need to increase study time by 30 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays

Year 11

Weekdays - 2.5 - 3 hours per night.

 

Weekend - 3.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Term 1, 2, and 3 vacations - 3 to 3.5 hours per day

Exceptions to the above guidelines:

  • If your English is weak or you are struggling in any study these times need to be increased by 30 minutes per day
  • If you are doing a Year 12 study you need to increase study time by 60 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays

Year 12

Weekdays - 4hours per night.

 

Weekend - 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Term 1, 2, and 3 vacations - 5 to 6 hours per day

Exceptions to the above guidelines:

  • If your English is weak or you are struggling in any study these times need to be increased by 30 minutes per day.

2. What should I do during these study hours?

You need to make sure you are revising your work not just completing set work from the teacher. Revision can include:

  • Answering test questions: from past exams, from test books or questions from your teacher or even questions you have made up.
  • You can use simple terms to help you make up questions for example: who, how, when, why, explain, outline, describe, contrast etc.
  • Revision may also include memorising information or formulas, practising problems e.g. math questions.

You must also prepare yourself for new work or topics that are coming up:

  • If you are a Year 12 look at the past exam questions and examiners reports this will help when the teacher introduces the new topic and it will help you to know what is important when the teacher is talking or when reading your textbook.
  • If you are in Year 10, 11 or 12 looks at the chapter in the textbook. First just quickly look at the topic headings to get an overview. After this look at each page and underline in pencil each work you don’t understand, especially words related to the topic, then translate these and write them on the page. Look at the questions at the end of the chapter to see what the writer thinks is important for you to learn. Write a brief overview of what you think this chapter is about. You will now be more ready when your teacher introduces this new topic.

You may also refer to ELES the school online Study Skills Handbook which is available on the student Intranet for more study tips.

  1. Students studying in a Year 12 subject must refer to past VCAA exams and examiners reports to assist them in their revision. Examiners reports tell you what the correct answer is for an exam question, they also allow you to work out which are the hard questions an also tell you what mistakes students made in answering that particular exam question. In google search type ‘VCAA Past Exams’ and this will bring up the right part of the VCAA site.
  2. Learn good exam technique: use reading time at the start of the exam effectively e.g. read through all the questions, look at the number of marks allocated to each question, work out a time schedule before the exam to ensure you answer all the questions in the time limit.
  3. Have you made the best use of the extra help available for international students?
  4. Do you go to homework club? Do you seek help from Mrs Chen or Mrs Mu? You need to make sure you attend the homework club especially the one for International students. There is also a homework club for local and international students on Thursday in A Block.
  5. Your teachers want you to ask questions in class. They also like to see you out of class to ask questions and get help.

Jeff Pavlou

Assistant Principal