Andrew Chisholm

Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

I write this from sunny Cairns where 60 Year 11 students are rotating through a range of science-based activities in locations such as Fitzroy Island, Daintree Rainforest, James Cook University and the outer Great Barrier Reef. Students have been assessing coral health, measuring rainforest revegetation rates, learning about toxicology and drug development as well as investigating measures employed to protect iconic species such as green sea turtles and endangered butterflies.

This is an annual trip that will be available to current Year 10 students. Sign-ups for next year will be advertised in early Term 3.

Group C at Daintree Rainforest

Semester Reports:

Reports for Semester One will be published on Compass in week one of term 3. This week teachers have been busy finalising the marking and moderation of assessments and the uploading of results. With Term 2 only being 9 weeks in duration and many staff and students coming down with the Flu and Covid, this week has also been used for many students to catch up assessments.

The GAT:

The biggest ever cohort of JMSS students sat the GAT last Thursday. 447 students who are completing one or more Year 12 subjects this year completed the 4 hours of assessment. The GAT is the only assessment all students completing a Year 12 subject do. It has many purposes including determining the strength of subject cohorts, assessing the numeracy and literacy of students and it can be used to help construct a Derived Exam Score (DES) for students if they are too ill to sit an exam.

The Holidays:

The upcoming term 2 holidays should be a time to relax and refresh before the start of next term. For those who have been ill, this is a chance to catch up work missed and consolidate revision folders. For those completing a Year 12 subject or subjects it is important that all of the skills and knowledge covered in semester one are archived in an accessible format so that this archive can be used as a resource for end of year exams in October. 

Upcoming events in Term 3:

One of the major events for Year 10 and 11 students in term 3 is the selection of courses for 2024. There will be face-to-face information nights for Year 10 and Year 11 students and parents to discuss the processes involved in course selection in weeks 2 and 3 of term 3.

More details will follow early in term 3.

Andrew Chisholm

Assistant Principal