Learning and Teaching News

Subject changes for Semester 2

A reminder to students that if they would like to change elective subjects for Semester 2, changes will be open until Friday Week 2 (22 July 2022). Please use the following contacts for subject changes:

• Years 8 and 9 – Head of House or Mr Adam Knight 
• Year 10 – Mrs Tara Franklin or Ms Jen Smeed 

Mrs Franklin, Mr Knight and Ms Smeed can all be found at the Academic Care Team office, accessible from the Studies Office before school, after school or at break time.

Year 10 2023 Subject Selection 

On Thursday last week, current Year 9 students were emailed a link to complete their online subject selection form for Year 10 2023. The online form will be open until the end of this week (Friday 22nd July). A reminder that students should be selecting subjects they are planning on completing in Year 11 and 12.

Later this week, parents will also be provided with instructions on how to book in for each student’s Academic Conversation with a member of College staff which will begin in Week 3. These interviews provide a time for each student, their parent/s and a teacher to discuss the student’s selected subjects and future pathways. There is an opportunity at this interview to change subjects if needed. Meetings prior to these interviews are not needed and will not be booked.

Year 12 Night Study Sessions

The Year 12 2022 Academic Captains have been busy arranging a trial for Night Study Sessions. The weekly session is available to Year 12 students who wish to work in collaboration with their peers for assessment, revision, classwork or external exam preparation. The first Night Study Session will run this Wednesday from 5:00-8:00pm in the Resource Centre. Please note this session is supervised by a member of staff in this location only. Students are required to make their way to and from the Resource Centre directly and not ‘hang around’ other areas of the College. Normal student behaviour expectations apply; if these cannot be met boys will be prohibited from returning to future sessions. Students are also reminded that they need to arrange for pick up/travel home by 8:00pm. 

Many thanks to the 2022 Academic Captains on initiating this wonderful opportunity for the cohort. 

Year 12 Exam Block

The IA3 Internal Exam Block is scheduled to run from Monday 1st- Wednesday 3rd August (week 4). The Exam Block Schedule will be released to Year 12 students and parents this week. Subjects with assessment scheduled for this block include:

• Certificate III Fitness
• Specialist Maths
• Drama
• Essential Maths
• General Maths 
• Maths Methods
• IGS

Normal timetabled classes will re-commence of Thursday 4 August with all students expected to be in attendance. 

Study Hall – All Year Levels

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning the teacher librarians in the senior library offer study hall sessions from 7:45 am to 8:30 am. These are designed to build the student’s capacity to study independently by teaching them key skills for the first 15mins of the sessions and then offering independent supported study for the remainder of the time.

Please find below the outline for the Study Hall for Term Three. 

How to access Academic Reports – Parent Lounge

Please follow these steps to access academic reports

1 - Open parent portal and click on “Parent Lounge”

2 - Academic Reports are accessible via the link of the left-hand side of the page, or at the bottom of the main screen. Click on the academic report you would like to see.

Accessing LMS for Task Specific Feedback 

At the completion of each drafting stage and final completion of assessment (both written and exam), your son will receive task specific feedback from his teachers. It is important that your son/s access this feedback, so they are aware of their strengths and limitations. Parents are also encouraged to access this information.

Please follow these steps to access task specific feedback.

1 - Open parent portal and click on “Parent Lounge”

2 - On the left-hand tab select “Curricular Activities Due” and select “view all activities” on the top right-hand side of page. 

This will take you to a screen that lists of your son/s assessment to complete, or has been completed.

3 - Click on a subject to view feedback. 

4 - Once you click on the subject you will be able to find the following information:

1. Task sheet for assessment – this will outline what your son needs to do to complete the task successfully
2. Draft due dates and due dates
3. Criteria sheet
4. Feedback
5. Result

Academic Monitoring – All Year Levels

During this week and next, Pastoral Group teachers will be sitting with all boys one-on-one to review their Semester 1 report and the feedback from assessment. This forms an important part of goal setting, where the boys will be guided to review and reflect to eventually set realistic goals in moving forward this semester. Parents/carers can assist with the following:

• Having a conversation regarding their son’s performance last semester. This can be done by reviewing their report, and the specific feedback left from teachers on assessment items. This can be found in Student Café/Parent Lounge – as per instructions above.
• Checking academic goals with their son. There is a section in the school diary where this can be completed.
• Displaying these goals. This is good in a well-visited area of the house, or in your son’s study space.
• Looking at what specific actions are needed to make these goals happen. For most, it will be a review of organisational habits, study techniques, where to access further help or support or looking at an optimal balance of study/homework/assignments with other commitments. 

If the boys do require help with this task, they have a raft of support here on hand – ranging from Pastoral Group teachers and Heads of House through to the Academic Care Team. They only need ask!