HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

Year 10 Work Experience

Work Experience is scheduled for Year 10 in Week 10; 21 - 25 September. Under current CSO guidelines, it is still possible for this valuable experience to go ahead.

 

However, there may be increasing difficulty for students to find placements due to COVID-19 restrictions in different industries and resulting changes in workplaces.

 

PROVISION OF A COVID-19 SAFETY PLAN

In addition to the usual paperwork and assurances provided by the employer, the school must also be provided with a copy of their COVID-19 Safety Plan.

 

Work Experience will not be allowed to go ahead at businesses where a COVID-19 Safety Plan cannot be provided by the employer.

 

The deadline for returning Work Experience paperwork is Monday 14 September.

 

Students who have not yet made any attempt to find a placement will need to do so immediately.

 

As always, the responsibility for finding a work experience placement lies with the individual student, however, under these unprecedented circumstances the school may be able to assist.

 

Please contact Mrs McLachlan or Miss Bailey is you have any further questions or require assistance.

Summer Uniform

With the arrival of Spring students are able to wear their summer uniform. We remind students to wear either summer or winter uniform, not a mixture of both. It is also advisable to check the forecast as early Spring weather is often a time with great temperature fluctuations. The lost property bin in the Secondary staffroom has a number of jackets and other items of clothing. 

 

Please clearly label all clothing with student’s names – this would enable items to be returned promptly. 

 

If students are not correctly attired they are required to present a note to their Pastoral Care teacher and to remedy the situation as soon as possible.

 

Practical Classes and Appropriate Footwear

It is essential that students have the correct footwear at all times for practical classes in specialist rooms. This includes classes held in the Industrial Technology Workshop, the Food Technology Room and the Science Labs. The school uniform policy states that students are required to wear enclosed black leather or strong vinyl school shoes.

 

Acceptable Black School Shoes

 Shoes should have substantial soles (a substantial sole should be able to tread on a thumb tack and not cause injury to the wearer). Shoes should have laces or a buckle or similar mechanism. Slip on shoes are not permitted and ballet style shoes and black volleys are not acceptable. 

 

 It is imperative that, as per WH&S regulations, students adhere to this rule.

 

If a Technology class is on a Thursday the students are expected to bring their black leather school shoes to change into for that lesson. Students will not be permitted to enter the workshop if they have incorrect footwear.

Year 10 Transition

Year 10 students have visited both high schools and are now in the process of making subject selections for next year. 

 

They have been encouraged to seek advice from their teachers at Holy Trinity, Mr Ryan at Macintyre High School or Mr Dal Santo at Inverell High School. Please contact Miss Bailey if you require assistance regarding this matter. 

 

SUBJECT SPECIFIC ADVICE

If you are finding a particular subject difficult, the first place you should seek help should be your classroom teacher.  Firstly ask questions in class as problems arise. If you find you have too many questions to ask in class (as you’d end up disturbing the class) then ask your teacher if you can make a time to see them before or after class or during lunch or after school. Teachers are happy to help students who do their best and are keen to improve. Other places you might be able to find help are: books or extra textbooks in the school or local library, other students in the class, students in older years, other teachers at the school, family members, family friends. If you try all of these options and are still having problems, then you might consider looking for a tutor. Often ex-students from your school who in Years 11 or 12 might be interested in doing some tutoring or even teachers at other schools. 

Pastoral Care and Wellbeing 

COVID -19 

Students are reminded to follow the directions of staff with regard to COVID-19 protocols. The support from parents in ensuring that students remain vigilant and do not become complacent is greatly appreciated.

The protocols in place are as follows:

  • Wash your hands with soap before eating
  • Use sanitiser when entering and leaving the school/classroom
  • Use a tissue when sneezing/coughing followed by washing your hands or use sanitiser
  • Refill your water bottle only at the bubblers
  • Do not touch the belongings of others or share food
  • Keep your distance from others; hands off
  • Obey the social distance markings
  • Stay home if you are unwell.

STUDY SKILLS

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR LEARNING

 Learning is not just what you do in the classroom. Study is not just what you do the night before a test. Both of these are ongoing activities that are enhanced by the correct pre and post activities. See which of these 5 Ps you do.

 

PREPARE: This is the stage where you ensure you have all of the materials you need for learning and have completed any pre-tasks such as reading sections of your textbook in advance or any other activities your teacher asks you to complete prior to the class.

 

PARTICIPATE:  Engaging in your learning is the best way to start to embed it in your memory and ensure you understand. Having the opportunity to discuss and interact and complete different styles of learning activities really helps your brain to process what you are learning.

 

PLAN: Take the time to look at the assessments for the course and plan when you will start, work on and complete tasks. Anytime you are asked to complete work for class, plan when you will do it and even better write your plan into your diary or online planner.

 

PRACTISE: One of the best ways to learn is to do practise questions. When you apply what you have learnt to actual questions, you will engage retrieval and cognitive pathways in the brain and reinforce your learning and uncover areas that need extra study.

 

PINPOINT: After a test or assessment is returned to you, celebrate your successes but also use it to pinpoint areas of weakness. This allows you to then spend time building your strengths in these areas without the pressure of an exam looming.

GETTING MOTIVATED TO DO YOUR WORK

If you are struggling to get motivated to do your schoolwork, sadly there is no magic solution. However, here are a few strategies you can try  units if motivation or procrastination is an issue for you:

  • REWARDS: Set yourself small specific tasks to do with a specific reward at the end of the task. For some people little rewards are enough to get them going.
  • CHUNK IT DOWN: If the work seems overwhelming or boring or unappealing, break it down into small bearable chunks and just do it one piece at a time.
  • FRIENDS: Work with a friend or else tell your friend what work you want to get done and then check in on each other at the end of the night. Help each other stay on track.
  • RULE OF 3: If you can’t get started, write down the 3 most important things you must get done before you go to bed, then don’t even look at any other tasks until these 3 are completed.
  • MOTIVATING IMAGES: Find slogans or images that motivate you and put them near your workspace.  Some people are motivated by pain (thinking of the consequences if you don’t study) while others are motivated by pleasure (thinking of all the good outcomes that will happen if you do study).

LEARNING COLLABORATIVELY

We are all different in the way we prefer to learn. Some students like to work in groups, and

others prefer to work alone. Some students like to discuss things over Skype or messenger

and some like to work together in person. There is a reason why we have the saying ‘two

heads are better than one’, so let’s see how this applies to different types of students.

 

If you think you always prefer to work alone:

  • It is great that you are very self-sufficient. Students who prefer to work alone are often confident in their own abilities. However, sometimes these students make it more difficult for themselves by not asking for help when they need it. So if you are this type of student, don’t struggle on alone when you get into difficulties or don’t understand something. Being able to ask for help when you need it is an important skill for academic success. Just become more aware that you don’t always ask for help and instead try reaching out a little more when you need help.
  • The other area to consider is that when you talk about things with other people it can often help you to see things from a different perspective. By discussing ideas with another person, you also may find you clarify your own thoughts. By not being open to collaboration, you might not develop your ideas as well as you could or you might not see potential issues that a fresh pair of eyes and ears might discover. If you haven’t done much collaboration, give it a try and you might find yourself surprised at how valuable you find the experience.

If you already love working with other people:

  • Make sure that you always contribute equally and don’t expect other people to do all the work for you.
  • Collaboration doesn’t mean cheating. For example, it is ok to discuss an assignment and what you think it is about and how you might approach it, but it is not ok to write the assignment together and hand in similar pieces of work.
  • Collaboration also doesn’t mean wasting time. If you are working with other people make sure you are staying on task and not getting distracted.
  • Every now and then you have to do things on your own. If you always do your Maths homework with your friends, you might not really know what you can and can’t do on your own. The first time you find this out could be a test which could be a big issue. Always ask yourself if the work you are doing is going to be enhanced by collaboration or if it is more appropriate to try the work on your own.
  • It is important each night to have a certain amount of homework time on your own. If you want to collaborate when you are working at home, make specific times to do this. Don’t Skype/Zoom the entire night with your friends. Instead have set times for collaboration and set times for independent work.