Elective Information Evening - Week 1, Term 4

Year 8 and Year 9 students will receive an information handbook this term, which is a guide to the elective courses of study available to Year 9 and Year 10 in 2018. An Elective Information evening will be held on Tuesday 10 October (Week 1, Term 4) in the Library at 7.00pm. Parents and students will have the opportunity to meet with staff to discuss the various elective study options for students in 2018.

We look forward to meeting as many parents as possible next term. If you are unable to attend and require some assistance please contact Miss Bailey at school.

Year 10 Work Experience

Year 10 will undertake their first week of Work Experience in Week 10 of this term: 18 – 22 September.

Due to relatively recent changes in the timing of some of the end of year activities for Year 10, the dates for the second session of the Work Experience program in 2017 have had to be altered:

Session 2: 20 - 24 November (Week 7 Term 4)

Please contact Miss Bailey if this has caused any problems and we can discuss possible alternative arrangements.

Excursions

Final notes and relevant information pertaining to the excursions for Year 8 and Year 9 students have been sent out to parents in recent weeks. Please contact the school if you have any queries relating to the upcoming excursions in Week 10.

Year 10 Transition

Year 10 students have visited both high schools and are now in the process of making subject selections for next year. They have been encouraged to seek advice from their teachers at Holy Trinity, Mr Ryan at Macintyre High or Mr Dal Santo at Inverell High School. Please contact Miss Bailey if you require assistance regarding this matter.

Summer Uniform

With the arrival of Spring students are able to wear their summer uniform. We remind students to wear either summer or winter uniform, not a mixture of both. It is also advisable to check the forecast as early Spring weather is often a time with great temperature fluctuations. The lost property bin in the Secondary staffroom has a number of jackets and other items of clothing. Please check in the coming days as at the end of term all items will be taken to St Vincent de Paul.

Service in the Community

Legacy

Last Friday Year 9 students assisted with the annual Legacy fundraising activity in the central business district of Inverell. Their generosity, cooperation and willingness to be involved in community activities is commendable and a positive reflection on the students. It is hoped that as they mature into adults that they will continue to give their time to volunteer work. Thank you to Mrs Hollis for supervising the students on the day.

Legacy Merchandise Selling Volunteers:

Rhianwen Bryon, Ellie de Gunst, Harry Glover, Amelia Green, Holly Hindley, Hannah Huynh, Ella Johnson, Joe Molluso, Ira Simbajon, Sienna Smith, Ella Taylor and Georgia Wilkinson.

Rotary Dinner:

Last Tuesday night the annual Inverell East Rotary Dinner was held in the Holy Trinity Hall. Thank you to Mr Gibson and students Geoffrey McCosker and Harrison Frazier for providing a musical item on the evening. Hunter Hollis and Angus Walsh also presented their PechaKuchas to the audience. Thanks also to Katie McMahon, Lacey Myhill, Hunter Hollis, Maria Bates, Laquita Tuipulotu-Best and Angus Walsh who assisted with food service on the evening. Their willingness to volunteer on such occasions is greatly appreciated.

Year 10L Geography Field Trip

As part of their studies of Issues in Australian Environments, Year 10L Geography undertook fieldwork last Thursday. The students, accompanied by Miss Bailey, visited the Northaven Material Recovery Facility and the Community Recycling Centre.

The students gained valuable insight into the ways in which groups and the local council deal with the waste that is generated in our community. They were able to see first hand the benefits of recycling.

Thanks to the representatives from Northaven and the Inverell Shire Council who educated us on these important matters, their time is greatly appreciated.

Year 10 VALID Testing

The Validation of Assessment for Learning & Individual Development (VALID) test for Year 10 students will be held on Tuesday 5 September. The test takes approximately 70 minutes. The VALID Science 10 test is an interactive, multimedia test completed entirely on a computer.

VALID Science 10 contains multiple choice, short response and extended response tasks that are grouped around real-world issues, including scientific investigations. This is a diagnostic test, with tasks framed on Stage 5 outcomes and essential content in the NSW Science Years K–10 Syllabus. Students will be tested on their:

• knowledge and understanding of science

• understanding and skills in the process of scientific investigation

• ability to evaluate evidence, make judgements and think critically

• ability to access information and communicate scientific ideas.

Students also complete a survey about their opinions, attitudes and values about science.

Since students complete VALID Science 10 on a computer, each student needs to bring headphones or earbuds that plug into a school computer. Earbuds for an iPod or portable player are suitable.

Learning Collaboratively

We are all different in the way we prefer to learn. Some students like to work in groups, and

others prefer to work alone. Some students like to discuss things over Skype or Messenger and some like to work together in person. There is a reason why we have the saying ‘two heads are better than one’, so let’s see how this applies to different types of students.

If you think you always prefer to work alone:

It is great that you are very self-sufficient. Students who prefer to work alone are often confident in their own abilities. However, sometimes these students make it more difficult for themselves by not asking for help when they need it. So if you are this type of student, don’t struggle on alone when you get into difficulties or don’t understand something. Being able to ask for help when you need it is an important skill for academic success. Just become more aware that you don’t always ask for help and instead try reaching out a little more when you need help.
The other area to consider is that when you talk about things with other people it can often help you to see things from a different perspective. By discussing ideas with another person, you also may find you clarify your own thoughts. By not being open to collaboration, you might not develop your ideas as well as you could or you might not see potential issues that a fresh pair of eyes and ears might discover. If you haven’t done much collaboration, give it a try and you might find yourself surprised at how valuable you find the experience.

If you already love working with other people:

Make sure that you always contribute equally and don’t expect other people to do all the work for you.
Collaboration doesn’t mean cheating. For example, it is ok to discuss an assignment and what you think it is about and how you might approach it, but it is not ok to write the assignment together and hand in similar pieces of work.
Collaboration also doesn’t mean wasting time. If you are working with other people make sure you are staying on task and not getting distracted.
Every now and then you have to do things on your own. If you always do your Maths homework with your friends, you might not really know what you can and can’t do on your own. The first time you find this out could be a test which could be a big issue. Always ask yourself if the work you are doing is going to be enhanced by collaboration or if it is more appropriate to try the work on your own.
It is important each night to have a certain amount of homework time on your own. If you want to collaborate when you are working at home, make specific times to do this. Don’t Skype the entire night with your friends. Instead, have set times for collaboration and set times for independent work.

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