DP News
Year 10s step up
by Dr Lenny Robinson-McCarthy, Coordinator of the Diploma Programme
November has certainly been a busy period in the Diploma! On Wednesday 14 November our 2019/20 students began the ten-day Early Commencement Program. This program is designed to provide students with a rich experience of their subjects and to inform them about the policies and procedures relating to the Diploma. Students also learned how to effectively organise their time, take care of their well-being and the various practical measures they can put in place to manage their work.
The program ended on Friday 23 November with a Q & A session, during which the Year 10s had the opportunity to discuss the Diploma with our current Year 11 students. Our fabulous Year 11s were able to provide the students with an insider’s view of the Diploma and passed on lots of great advice. Many of the Year 10s expressed excitement about next year and seemed confident about undertaking the Diploma, suggesting that the Early Commencement Program was a success. We look forward to welcoming them all back in 2019.
Year 11 exam week
by Dr Lenny Robinson-McCarthy, Coordinator of the Diploma Programme
Meanwhile, our current Year 11s have been immersed in examinations. These do not count towards their final result, however they are a valuable opportunity for students to experience the climate of examinations. Teachers have worked hard to create an authentic experience for students and many of them sat the same papers as their peers in the northern hemisphere. Although examinations are always a little anxiety-provoking, a number of our students expressed gratitude for the experience and now feel more confident about what they need to do between now and their final examinations in 2019.
Our Year 11 students will be completing their first Diploma year on Friday 30 November. Although this doesn’t signal the end of their work (students will be working on completing their first draft of the extended essay over the summer, as well as embarking on a number of other small tasks), it is an important milestone, both for them and for Preshil senior staff. Everyone has put in a huge effort to make our very first year of the Diploma a success and I believe all involved – the students who have accepted the challenge, the teachers who have put in a huge amount of work and the parents who have put their faith in both the staff and the programme – deserve to be congratulated.
What a fine thing we have all done!
Why minister?
by Natasha Prewett, teacher of Environmental Systems & Societies
This term, the ESS class has been studying the causes and impacts of climate change. The class decided to stand up to a Member of Parliament about the issue and invited former Energy and Environment Minister, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, to visit.
Last Thursday, after a week of research and preparation, the class presented the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report to Minister Frydenberg. The students spoke about the impacts of 1.5 degree warming above pre-industrial levels and a range of potential solutions, then engaged in a discussion with Minister Frydenberg.