DEPUTY PRINCIPAL LEARNING AND TEACHING

We have a busy time ahead with reports, exams and retreats. I would like to take this opportunity to wish our Year 9, 10 and 11 students all the best for mid-year exams. Approaching these exams with the right attitude can be beneficial for the development of the student and in preparing them for exams at Year 12.

SCHOLARSHIPS

In 2017 the college introduced a scholarship program to encourage and support the continued education of dedicated and hard-working students. This has been a fantastic success and it is great to be able to recognise and support the students in this manner.

Year 11 Founding Sisters of Mercy Scholarships

I would like to take this opportunity to remind families that applications are now open for the 2022 St Joseph’s College internal scholarships. To encourage excellence and to acknowledge our diverse student population, the college is excited to offer a number of scholarship opportunities to our students in Years 11 and 12.

As in previous years, we are offering the Year 11 Founding Sisters of Mercy Scholarships. The college presents nine $1,500 scholarships annually to Year 10 students transitioning in to Year 11 at the college, who respect and display our Mercy Core Values and who have shown excellence both in their academic and personal school life.  

Applications for the Year 11 Founding Sisters of Mercy Scholarships and the VCAL Excellence Scholarship are now open and close on Friday July 16, 2021.

Mercy Academic Internal Scholarships

The college has introduced the Mercy Academic Internal Scholarships which are offered on the basis of academic merit to students continuing Years 11 and 12 at the college in 2022 and 2023. These scholarships have a tenure of two years. The scholarships are for the remission of 50% of the global fee each year of the scholarship and are offered to a limited number of Year 10 students ranked in the top ten percent of the Year 10 cohort. 

Continuing from previous traditions, the Postgraduate Year 12 Award Scholarships will be awarded to successful graduating students of 2021. 

Further information in regard to all scholarships on offer and the selection criteria can be viewed in our new 2022 St Joseph’s College Scholarships booklet, available on the college website. 

SEMESTER 1 REPORTS

Semester 1 reports will be available via PAM and SIMON on Friday June 25.

To access these reports, you will need to visit the college website and go to Login > SIMON/PAM > and enter your username and password. If you have lost your login details or cannot remember your details, you can contact college reception and they can organise for your login details to be reset. Once you have logged in, navigate to your child’s profile by clicking on their name or photo, then click on the student assessment tab to access your child’s completed reports for the year.

The reports are also accessible for students through their SIMON profile.

I encourage you to discuss with your child the contents of this report which aims to communicate how students are progressing in various subjects. The report is an important document and parents/guardians and students should take some time to consider its contents and to reflect on progress and current levels of achievement.

For example, the report might highlight that organisation is a concern, that work is sometimes rushed rather than being completed to the best of their ability, or that data is well presented but data description is too general. If this is the case, the question to ask your child is what can be done to address these sorts of issues?

Report time is a great time to have important conversations with your child. Remember, feedback is a critical element to improved learning and reports can provide valuable feedback. This feedback can assist in keeping students ‘on track’ for achievement.

If you experience any difficulty accessing your child’s report or if you would like a hard copy, but you cannot print the report at home, please contact college reception and the staff will be able to assist you.

VO/VCE/VET/VCAL INFORMATION NIGHT

Save the date for the VO/VCE/VET/VCAL Subject Selection Information Evening, which will be held on Tuesday July 27 at the Mercy Campus. This is an important event to ensure students select subjects that are best suited to their goals and interests. All teachers will be available on the evening, so this is a great opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with the teachers of specific subjects.

YEAR 11 PERISHER SNOW CAMP INFORMATION SESSION FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS/GUARDIANS

There will be a Year 11 Snow Camp Information Session, held in conjunction with the VO/VCE/VET/VCAL Information Evening, at 8:00 pm in the Mercy Theatre on Tuesday July 27. We have scheduled this session on the same night to reduce the number of times parents/guardians attend school functions. 

It is a Risk Assessment requirement that parents/guardians and students attending the Year 11 Snow Camp have viewed and understood the Alpine Responsibility Code prior to attending the camp. If you do not attend the session on Tuesday July 27, both parents/guardians and students will be required to acknowledge that they have viewed the Alpine Safety Code in their own time, before students will be permitted to attend the camp. 

SUBJECT SELECTIONS – KEY DATES AND PROCESS

The subject selection process will commence at the start of Term 3. This will be for current Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 students. In week 2 of Term 3, students will receive their access codes and passwords for selecting their subjects online via Web Preferences. 

Subject information booklets are available from the college website as are instructional videos. The instructional videos explain how to access Web Preferences and how to undertake the task of selecting subjects. Below you can see an example of the access code documents that students will receive early in Term 3.

Over the next few weeks, students in Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be required to make selections about subjects they would like to undertake as part of either Vertical Organisation (Years 9 and 10) or VCE/VCAL/VET (Years 11 and 12) next year. It is an important process. Students should take the time to familiarise themselves with the various subjects that are being offered and attend the VO/VCE/VCAL/VET Information Evening. 

Mr Greg Kluske

Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching