Learning, Teaching and College Operations
Ms Jodie Connell - Deputy Principal
Welcome to Term 3. I hope everyone was able to enjoy some downtime over the break and that students are feeling refreshed and renewed as they begin their studies for the final semester of the school year.
VCE and School Assessed Coursework
As we work through the second half of the year students are beginning to prepare for or complete assessment tasks. Many of our VCE students are currently undertaking School Assessed Coursework (SACs). Parents are encouraged to use the online portal, PAM, to regularly check for work tasks and access student results for assessment tasks including SACs. Teachers provide students with feedback on their assessments. This may be in the form of an attached rubric, written comments on the task or as teacher feedback through PAM. This feedback is about improvement and acting on feedback from teachers allows students to move forward and become more independent learners.
Subject Selection
Your child’s subject selection for the 2023 school year is of critical importance. It is why we invest so much time and energy into making this an engaging process for our students. It is important because:
- Students will get most success in a subject when they do something that they enjoy, are good at and/or need for their chosen course or occupation.
- Late changes to chosen subjects or courses cause significant disadvantage for students because they then miss crucial teaching and learning that they struggle to catch up on.
- We work out what subjects are timetabled next year by student choice. If students don’t choose a subject, then it will not run.
Your role in this process as a parent or caregiver is important. Firstly, I would like to encourage you to ensure that it is your child’s dreams and choices that you should foster, not your dreams or choice for your child. You can do this by listening carefully to your child, asking probing but non-threatening, non-judgemental questions and challenging them to be open and inquiring about their future options. Their goals can be achieved through many different pathways and so it is important that students choose courses and subjects realistically and base this upon their passions and strengths.
Over the coming weeks, students will be introduced to subject selection 2023, and what programs are on offer at each year level. The sessions will provide specific subject advice and the chance to ask questions of the subject teachers.
Year 10 students will have an individual course advice session on either Tuesday 9th August (after school) or during school hours on Wednesday 10th August. Bookings for these sessions will be done via PAM. More specific information will be sent out over the coming weeks.
Studiosity – online study help in 2022
Just a reminder to all students and parents, that students have access to Studiosity online. an after-hours study help service. Your child has 24/7 access to a huge network of expert teachers and subject specialists, online, on-demand. They can connect to an expert in minutes and ask a question one-to-one when they get stuck, or upload a draft essay or assignment for review anytime and get fast, helpful feedback on how to improve it.
Students can access Studiosity FREE all year, thanks to the school. Simply log in to the school’s Studiosity service via Simon, or find your school at studiosity.com/access for instructions.
Practice Papers
The two most important words for Year 12. Research shows that practice papers are the single most significant thing a student can do to increase their performance in their final year. It is unequivocal. The top students do more practice papers than other students. Indeed, the number one variable for accurately forecasting a student’s performance in Year 12 is the number of practice exams they do.
It is never too early for Year 12 students to be putting revision notes together and starting to complete past exam papers. Speak to your teachers about how best to revise. This should be a slow and steady preparation for exams, not a sprint at the end to be exam ready.
Elevate Education Parent Webinar Seminars
Elevate Education are continuing to provide parents of Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional Student College exclusive access to their Parent Webinar Series for Term 3, 2022. The webinars begin on Wednesday 27th July at 7pm. To reserve your spot, you can register for free below
You can register by clicking here
Wednesday 27th July How to Help Motivate Your Child
✅ What impact does praise and reassurance have on your child's motivation?
✅ What are the best types of goals to be setting with your child?
✅ How can you help your child create meaningful and lasting motivation?
Wednesday 10th August Essay Writing Masterclass
Wednesday 24th August Note Making
Wednesday 7th September Exam Room Skills
Wednesday 21st September Memory
The webinars are run live online from 6.30pm – 7.30pm (AEST) where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and skills, and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask them questions directly. If you are unable to make the webinar, don't worry! If you sign up to attend, you'll receive the webinar recording on Thursday morning.
Should you have questions or would like to contact Elevate directly, their details are listed below.
✉️ auscoaching@elevateeducation.com