Deputy Principal's Report

Year 11 and 12 students have been over the past two weeks, completing their end of unit examinations.  As the examination periods draw to a close varying observations of emotions are seen on the faces of students leaving the centre.  Whilst some students are clearly relieved that their examinations are completed, others feel the burden of the ATAR requirement and how this number will determine the course of their futures.  This is simply not the case! Howard Kelley (former Chair of the Victorian Board of Studies) states “At times, we create in our schools, too much hype about the final years of school and we need to put this in the context of everything else. The VCE is an important year in [students’] lives, but it is not the most important year. It is just another stage in a student’s career, and the sun and the moon and the stars do not revolve around what happens at the end of it. Students have to be focused, disciplined and work hard, but they also have to understand that they are still a part of a unit of other people and should not be entering some kind of monastic existence that takes them away from their usual responsibilities.” At Catholic Regional College Sydenham, we made a concerted effort to ensure that whilst education and academic achievement was of great importance, the development of the whole individual was also as of equal importance.  It was the mission of the school, that our students be provided opportunities through the SPICES model so that all students, once they completed their secondary education could become global citizens that could participate in society.

TRANSITION

The Transition Program is an integral component to the successful commencement of Year 12.  The College is determined to provide the best possible start for our students in this vital final year of their secondary education. As such, it is compulsory for all current Year 11 students who are returning to study at the College to attend all classes during this program. 

During this time teachers will commence the delivery of learning programs as part of Year 12 studies in VCAL, VCE and VET.  Students have commenced the course content in each of their units of study. Homework will be set and checked in the follow-up session within this transition period.  It will be presumed that the content in covered during this time and as part of the holiday program will be retained and in some learning areas assessment, either formal or formative, will be conducted.

It is important that all families at the College in 2018 are familiar with the Student Attendance, Achievement and Promotion Policy. One aspect of this policy is that students must attend all classes at the College, with unapproved absences not exceeding more than two hundred and fifty minutes of class time for each specific subject within a semester of study. Students exceeding this amount of unapproved absence within a given subject will receive an N result for the specific unit due to not fulfilling the attendance requirements. As we commence semester one studies at the College during the transition period, any absences accrued during this time will count towards absence totals in semester one in 2020. As such, students who are absent during this period must contact the College and provide approved documentation for the absence to be approved.  As these students will have fallen behind their fellow students, they are responsible for collecting any work they have missed and for the completion of the holiday homework. 

Please do not hesitate to contact the College if you would like any additional information about the Transition Program.

Year 12 2020 – Parent Information Evening

On Thursday 28 November, all parents of year 12 students 2020 are invited to attend the parent information evening. 

We encourage the attendance of all families to this evening so that we are able to continue the development of relationships between the school and families.  As an added incentive on these evenings, a BBQ dinner is provided along with a raffle – the major prize being a year of free tuition!

The focus of the Year 12 information evening will focus on the Adolescent brain and how through an understanding of Adolescence, we are able to maximise student achievement.  Andrew Fuller, psychiatrist, specialising in wellbeing of young people, will be the guest presenter for this evening and provide families with entertaining strategies for assisting students in their final year of senior education.   

Cluster coordinators along with leadership will also present key information on the evening relating to dates for 2020,  policy information and SEQTA information.

Dinner -  6.00pm Presentation commences at 7.00pm in the College Hall.

380 Sydenham Road, Sydenham

Bookings can be made as follows: https://www.trybooking.com/577640