Senior School Report
VCE News
It is now 20 weeks until Year 12 end of year exams start! We are certainly getting down to the nitty gritty end of our Year 12 students secondary education. This is now a time for students undertaking any Unit 3 and 4 subject to be identifying what they know and what needs to become more of a focus.
What is unknown needs to be studied and reflected on each night until it can be recalled automatically. For Year 12 students, a new study timetable was distributed this week to assist with planning weekly study sessions. Remembering that completing work and developing notes is very different to studying.
Year 11 students will be receiving their timetable next week.
To assist with time management we have provided a useful extract highlighting ten strategies for time management which students can apply to their studies.
‘The term Time Management is a misnomer. You cannot manage time; you manage the events in your life in relation to time. You may often wish for more time, but you only get 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds each day. How you use that time depends on skills learned through self-analysis, planning, evaluation, and self-control. Much like money, time is both valuable and limited. It must be protected, used wisely, and budgeted.
People who practice good time management techniques often find that they:
- Are more productive.
- Have more energy for things they need to accomplish.
- Feel less stressed.
- Have more free time to do the things they want.
- Get more things done.
- Relate more positively to others.
- Feel better about themselves.
Finding a time management strategy that works best for you depends on your personality, ability to self-motivate, and level of self-discipline. By incorporating some, or all the following time management strategies you can be more effective in the lead up to exams and for the remainder of the year.
1. Know how you spend your time
A time record is a helpful way to determine how you use your time. Record what you are doing in 15-minute intervals for a week or two. Evaluate the results:
- Did everything you needed to do get done?
- Which tasks require the most time?
- What time of day when you are most productive?
- Where is most of your time is devoted (i.e. job, family, personal, recreation)?
Identifying your most time-consuming tasks and determining whether you are investing your time in the most important activities can help you to determine a course of action.
2. Set your priorities
Managing your time effectively requires identifying what is important and what is urgent. Focusing on important activities allows you to gain greater control over your time and may reduce the number of important tasks that become urgent. Creating a "to do” list is an easy way to prioritize what needs to be done. You can rank the items on your “to do” list in order of priority or choose to group items in categories (high priority, medium priority, or low priority or use a color-coding system. The goal is to mark off the highest priority items. Use your list to set boundaries so you can say “no” to activities that may be interesting or provide a sense of achievement but do not fit your basic priorities.
3. Use a planning tool
Personal planning tools such as your student planner, wall charts and notebooks improve your productivity. Writing down your tasks, schedules, and items to remember can free your mind to focus on your priorities. Always record your information on your preferred tool and review it daily. Whilst there are many phone aps for this be aware that phones are not permitted at school and therefore use of the planner may be a better option.
4. Get organised
Disorganisation leads to poor time management. Declutter your study area and locker so you can be ready to start studying straight away. It is easy to be distracted by unnecessary items around you. Be organised to arrive on time, to set aside time to seek teacher assistance for tasks and allow yourself time for breaks. Use the semester break to make summaries and revise key areas of study in preparation for the next semester and end of year exams.
5. Stop procrastinating
Don’t put off tasks. Complete these tasks as your first action of the day to get them out of the way. Another option is to “snowball” your tasks by breaking them down into smaller segments, completing preparatory tasks, and eventually completing the larger task at hand. Seek help if tasks are overwhelming or you need support to explain what any given task is expecting from you. Avoiding tasks does not make them go away.
6. Manage time wasters
Time wasters can be your phone, visitors, friends and family obligations. You can manage these by setting up your study schedule to avoid clashes between study times and other commitments. Ensure your friends and family are aware of your study times so they can not interrupt at those times.
Make time for your wellbeing
Scheduling time to relax or do nothing helps you rejuvenate physically and mentally, enabling you to accomplish tasks more quickly and easily. Be sure to monitor your screen time as a part of your digital wellbeing, setting boundaries to stay healthy. Set a time each night to shut off all digital devices to give your mind time to relax; this can also help improve your sleep schedule. Choosiing healthy food options and keeping fit and active will support your ability to recharge and reinvigorate in readiness for class, task completion and assessments. A walk is one way to clear your mind and keep fit at the same time.
On Tuesday 14 June all Year 12 students will be attending a one hour workshop – Ace your exams – which will provide students further strategies and techniques to help prepare for exams. The more exam practice students can get prior to the end of year exams the better. Now is a good time to be accessing VCAA Past Exams – not only looking at the exams, but also the examiners reports, which can give great advice on how to respond to the variety of questions that students may encounter. Pages - Examination specifications, past examinations and external assessment reports (vcaa.vic.edu.au)
Thank you to our Year 12 parents and carers who have already sent in prep photos requested via compass last week – where have the years gone?
Congratulations are in order for our VCAL Captain, Lachlan Barton for competing in the Knox Cross Country event on Monday, along with Kaiden Woolley, Jacob Compton and Khye Bondini who are now going to be representing not only Scoresby Secondary College but also Knox in the District Competition – Go Team Scoresby!
It has been great to see our senior students participating is some rounds of table tennis, using the new outdoor table in the Senior Courtyard.
On Wednesday, the VET Music Performance class rocked the Student Centre – congratulations to all students who participated and entertained students from other year levels.
Some dates to put in your calendar
Tuesday 19 July
2023 Year 11 and Year 12l Information Night
(current Year 10 and Year 11 students, parents/carers)
Wednesday 7 September – GAT – see information below
Friday 14 October – Valedictory Dinner – more information soon
Wednesday 26 October – VCE English Exam - Pages - VCE examination timetable (vcaa.vic.edu.au)
GAT - General Achievement Test Information
Any student enrolled in a VCE Unit 3 and 4 or Scored VCE VET Unit 3 and 4 sequence are required to sit both Section A and Section B of the GAT.
Mrs Ruth Smith
Year 11 & 12 Coordinator