Improving school for Year 9's & 10's

Goals

Keeping middle school students focused and engaged in the classroom is one of our school improvement goals. This year, we have set up the Middle Sub School where an Engagement Leader leads a team of Year Level Coordinators and Admin Assistance to support our Year 9 and 10 students.

We have started a Year 9 and 10 Middle School Curriculum review this year, analysing student opinion data through ATOS and Pivot and looking at the positive aspects of our curriculum and the areas that we can change to improve learning outcomes. Our goal is to improve focus, engagement, learner behaviours by creating environments where students have agency in their own learning through inquiry-based learning and application to real world learning.

We have been developing plans to revitalise the Middle School in 2024 by implementing some structural changes at the Year 10 level where elective subjects will become semester-based subjects rather than a full year. This will give students the opportunity to more choice in subjects and topics that they are interested in.

We are also introducing some new elective subjects at Year 9 and 10 level that may be of interest to our students. More information about these subjects can be found in the Year 9 or Year 10 subject handbook and you will be able to ask specific questions about the subjects on the Senior Expo evening on Wednesday 19th July.

The new and exciting subjects that are going to be offered in 2024 are:

Year 9:

The Power of Pictures
Philosophy and Ethics

Year 10:

Creativity and Critical Thinking
Climate and Social Justice
Heroes and Villains
Advanced Algebra and Mathematical Thinking
Pre-General
Pre-Methods
Life Sciences
Physical Sciences

HELPING OUR YEAR 12's SUCCEED IN 2023

Year 12 students only have a term to go until all the students’ focus will shift towards preparing for their final VCAA exams. This year we have put CRT teachers in front of Year 12 classes to maximise time in class and give students support in continuing their work even when their teacher is absent from school.

In Term 3, we are offering study skills, exam practice, master classes and connect lectures. We recommend that all year 12 students take up any opportunities that are made available to them to access support to complete their VCE and prepare for exams.

All Year 12 students have been offered a range of study skill sessions where they can get support on the following revision strategies. All students still can sign up by communicating with Ms. Sheppard. The sessions will be run at lunch time in the Year 12 study centre.

Command terms: understanding the differences between instructional verbs (e.g. define, describe, analyse, evaluate, etc.)
Goal setting: setting realistic and achievable goals for your SACs and your ATAR
How to revise or “study smart”: techniques to help improve your memory of lots of content and tricky concepts
Exam skills: how to stay calm and focused to maximise your results and tackle different exam sections (multi-choice, short-answer, etc.)
Note taking: taking the most important points from class discussions and written text
Responding to short-answer questions: writing succinct and clear short responses
Extended responses: how to tackle long answer questions with a clear structure and sophisticated prose.
Improving your organisation and time management: how to organise yourself for successful revision.

At the start of Term 3, the Senior sub school are providing students with the opportunity to complete Unit 3 practice exams and putting on master classes after school. I encourage parents to have a discussion with their children and support them to take up any opportunity to start completing practice exams under exam conditions or being part of revision master classes. This is an invaluable opportunity to start revising content and skills necessary for the final exam. A consistent revision program throughout the year reduces the level of stress towards the end of the year.

Shareen Bottrell

Assistant Principal