HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

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.

 

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 from the DEVELOPING MOTIVATION and OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION 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 the entire night with your friends. Instead, have set times for

collaboration and set times for independent work.

Year 10 Work Experience 

Year 10 Work Experience takes place next week from Monday 23 September and concludes Friday 27 September.  This is a great opportunity for all students to experience the workforce and gives them a good insight into occupations of interest. 

Excursions

The Year 8 excursion to Tea Gardens leaves from the Tourist Information Centre at 5am Monday 23 September and returns Wednesday 25 September at 6pm. Teachers accompanying students will be Mrs McLachlan, Mrs Cheal and Mr Gaias. 

 

The Year 9 excursion to Sydney leaves from the Tourist Information Centre at 5.30am Monday 23 September and returns Thursday 26 September at 6pm. Teachers accompanying students will be Mr Koch, Mrs Watchirs and Mr Gils. 

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 check in the coming days as at the end of term all items will be taken to St Vincent de Paul.

SRC 

The Secondary SRC are wearing plain clothes (gold coin donation) in support of Climate Change this Friday.  The SRC are providing Secondary students with a free BBQ lunch at 12.50pm followed by activities from 2pm concluding at 3.15pm.