Senior School Report

It has been an extremely busy end to the term. Year 11 VCE students and Year 10 students have been busy studying for and completing their Semester One exams and Year 12 VCE students have been completing the last of their Unit 3 school-based assessments. The Year 11 and 12 VCAL students have been completing their Term 2 personal development, work-related skills, literacy and numeracy projects to be up to date and ready for Term 3.

Unfortunately, the Year 10 Work Experience program needed to be postponed due to the disruptions and changes to the school program caused by the latest Covid -19 lockdown.

The term break provides the opportunity for important leisure, rest and family time; however, it is also important for senior school students to continue their study habits and a study routine to prepare for Semester Two. Students need to complete their set term break homework tasks and revision is crucial for the VCE students to continually develop and consolidate the key knowledge and skills of their subjects.

The VCAA, VCE Unit 3 and 4 exams are only four months away. Students studying VCE Units 3 & 4 must be preparing for the exams. Students can access past exams (and examiner reports) and look through these for questions based on the outcomes that they have already completed in Semester One. Past exam papers can be accessed from: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/vce-assessment/past-examinations/Pages/Index.aspx

The Senior School team of Mr Santos (Year 10 Coordinator), Mr Barnett (Year 11 Coordinator), Ms Manioudakis (Year 12 Coordinator) and Mr Stirling (Head of Senior School) wish students, parents and carers a rejuvenating, happy and productive term break and we look forward to working cooperatively with you all again in Semester Two.

College Uniform

The Senior School Coordination Team looks forward to seeing the senior school students wearing and role-modelling correct college uniform on the first day of Term 3. Senior school students are fully aware of the uniform requirements and these are also available in the college planner. Students should not be organising to get piercings or hair colouring over the holidays. Students must try on all of their school clothes to ensure they fit properly and meet the college uniform expectations.

Units 3 and 4 VCE Exam Timetable

The 2021 VCE Examination timetable is now available at: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/Key-dates/Pages/VCE-exam-timetable.aspx

The GAT (General Achievement Test)

The GAT has been rescheduled to Thursday 29 July 2021 10am to 1.15pm. The GAT was rescheduled to support schools to focus on returning to onsite learning and completing school-based assessments.

All students enrolled in one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3 and 4 sequences must sit the GAT. No special study is required; however, the students required to sit the GAT have been provided information to understand and prepare for the test.

The General Achievement Test is a test of general knowledge and skills in these broad areas:

written communication
mathematics, science and technology
humanities, the arts and social sciences.

GAT results:

do not count directly towards a student’s VCE results
help check that school-based and external assessments have been accurately assessed
contribute to statistical moderation of school-based assessment results
determine scores in school-based assessment and external assessment if a derived examination score is required due to illness, accident and trauma.
are used in some studies’ statistical moderation calculations. This is done where it gives a better match with schools’ school-based assessments throughout the State.

Year 10 Study Skills Session

During May, our Year 10 students participated in a study skills session conducted by the organisation Elevate that specialises in developing the study skills of students. The Year 10 session focused on achieving better results through taking effective notes, such as using trigger words to condense a large body of information. Feedback from the students was extremely positive with them overwhelmingly recommending the program to other students and finding the presenter effective in developing their study skills.

Comments from students included that they could now better:

“use VCE study designs”

“make summary notes”

“effectively study in less time”

“use colour in study notes”

“use time management skills”

“complete practice exam papers”

Year 12 ‘Residential’ Program- Day 2

Due to the Year 12 Residential not being able to proceed at the beginning of the school year, the college decided to instead conduct a two-day program throughout the year - the first day at the beginning of Semester One and the second day at the beginning of Semester Two. The second and last day of the program will be held on Monday 12 July (first day of Term 3) at Ormond College, University of Melbourne for all VCE Year 12 students. The students will participate in sessions including, how to maintain motivation and health in the second half of the year, how to work effectively as a community leading up to the exams, and understanding the ATAR and how to maximise results. The bus will leave the college at 8.30am and students will return to the college at approximately 4pm on the day.

The Year 12 VCAL students will instead attend the METEC Driver Training Program on Thursday 15 July where they will drive with driving instructors on METEC's non-public road course and do some driver safety training. This program will begin one of the student’s major units for Semester Two focusing on driving and road safety. The bus will leave the college at 8.30am and students will return to the college at approximately 3pm on the day.

Year 12 Valedictory Dinner

The college’s Year 12 Valedictory Dinner is planned for Friday 15 October at Vogue Ballroom, 399 Blackburn Road, Burwood East from 6.45 pm to 11 pm. The word ‘valedictory’ means to say farewell and it will be a night to celebrate the end of Year 12 with family and friends. Notices have been distributed and copies can be obtained from Ms Manioudakis, Year 12 Coordinator. Tickets are on sale from Saturday 26 June to 5pm Sunday 3 October through https://www.trybooking.com/BSEQZ

Bookings require the graduating student’s name, guest names and dietary requirements (if any). Graduating students also require a purchased ticket and are required to sit on the same table as their guests. Tables sit 10-12 and small parties may be combined with other small parties to form one table group. Children under 18 must be in the company of an adult and it will be the responsibility of families to ensure safe transport to and from the venue.

Mr Tony Stirling

Head of Senior School

VCE Biology

On Wednesday 26 May, Ms Rooke and the Biology class of 2021 travelled on an excursion to the gene technology access centre (GTAC) at Melbourne University in the city. The purpose of the excursion was for the students to gain a better understanding of the process of the body responding to foreign substances. The students also got to partake in a case study, involving tests such as the ELISA test and the wells test to determine if a herd of cows had been immunised against certain diseases.

Overall the excursion was a success and the biology class loved it. Thank you to GTAC and Melbourne University for having us even during such uncertain times.

Mason Rimmer – Year 11

Other comments from the class:

“I liked being able to physically use equipment to reinforce my understanding of a topic”

– Carla (Year 11)

“I liked the allocation of PhD students to work with us during the experiments”

– Sam (Year 11)

“I liked the fact that we got to do legitimate experiments regarding a real disease found in cows”

– Edsel (Year 11)

“GTAC was a wonderful experience that allowed me to experience the use of scientific technology that we don’t get to use at school, as well as being able to experience what experienced scientists do like working with case studies”

– Ally (Year 11)

Ms Emma Rooke

VCE Biology Teacher