Year 11/12

Senior School Key Dates

August

10th: Year 11 into Year 12 Course Counselling

September

18th: Last Day of Term 3

Senior School Assistant Principal News

Our VCE and VCAL students have been on a roller-coaster, as well as the parents, carers, families and teachers 2020 has been a year like no other.  The Senior Students were the first students back at school during Term 2, then had the changed rules and routines at the start of Term 3, then the recent school closure. Please be assured that we will do everything possible to support all senior students through this difficult time. 

Many of you may have heard the recent announcement by Minister for Education James Merlino last week, where he assured more support for VCE students and further mental health resources for young people struggling with this pandemic. 

Every Victorian student will be individually assessed, and any adverse impacts of coronavirus will be reflected in ATAR rankings as part of a wide-ranging process to ensure fair and accurate results in this unprecedented year of school – taking a huge mental load off students and their families as we head towards exams.

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) will introduce a wide-ranging “Consideration of Educational Disadvantage” process to calculate VCE scores, taking into account disruptions to learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

This new process will mean the only thing impacted students need to focus on is their exams – and doing their best.

In a normal year, individual students are assessed for special consideration on a case by case basis. This year, schools will provide the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) with information on every single one of their students.

These reforms will reach every Year 12 VCE student in the state, ensuring the experiences of the class of 2020 are factored into their results.

The VCAA will consider a range of data alongside exam results, including a student’s expected achievement levels before the impact of coronavirus, school assessments completed prior to remote and flexible learning, the General Achievement Test (GAT) and a range of statistical analyses to calculate final results.

This may include assessing the individual impact of coronavirus on each student, including school closures, direct impacts on the health of a student, students dealing with substantial extra family responsibilities, ongoing issues with remote learning and mental health challenges.

This will then be used to calculate a student’s final VCE results and ATAR rank, ensuring that our kids’ final results take into account not only their performance in an exam – but their courage and commitment in the face of huge adversity.

This adds to the steps already taken by the VCAA, such as reducing course content for Unit 4, rescheduling the General Achievement Test (GAT) and extending Term 4 for VCE students with exams to be held later in the year. The ATARs received by Victorian students will be equivalent to those received by students in other states.

Carys Freeman

Senior School Assistant Principal

Year 11 News: VCE

During Term 1 the students decorated a ‘hand’ to stomp out bullying, looks great in the Yellow building! Massive thanks to Mrs Stein for putting together the creation :) 

Year 11 VCE Awards

Well done to all students who have received Semester 1 Awards. Certificates were given to students for overall Achievement and Growth as well as school RGAR points and attendance. Keep up the good work!

Students with 100% Attendance

New Year 11 VCE Assistant

Welcome Ms Mears as the new Year 11 VCE assistant. Mr Savio has gained another position within the College, we thank him for the all work he has done semester one and wish him the best of luck in his new role.

Year 11 News: VCAL

Year 11 VCAL Awards

Congratulations to the following Year 11 VCAL students who received Academic Achievement and Effort Awards for a VCAL or VET subject in Semester One.

Year 12 News: VCAL

Year 12 VCAL Awards

Congratulations to the following Year 12 VCAL students who received Academic Achievement and Effort Awards for a VCAL or VET subject in Semester One.

VCAL News

In PDWRS the year 12 classes are completing their How to Adult Unit covering topics that will support them in a positive transition into adulthood, this has included sessions with our school nurse Anna and the Wellbeing team. Students have been covering topics including Respectful Relationships, How to Get a Job and Health and Fitness. We even had a special guest speaker Ms Blackson deliver a session to three classes at the same time via WebEx.

In PDWRS students also spent time making reusable fabric masks for the new Covid 19 restrictions requiring them to wear masks at school.

During Term 1 and 2 our Year 12 VCAL students were involved in writing letters to members of our Local Retirement Village. Students wrote these letters with the purpose of being able to make a booklet relating to the lives of these local residents. Students asked questions over numerous letters in relation to education, childhood, working life, travel and hobbies. Writing these letters assisted students in meeting learning outcomes whilst learning about a generation gone by and allowed these retired people to remain connected with the outside community during our recent Covid lockdowns. On the 24th of July students in the Food Operations class made cookies and students in our Personal Development Class wrote further letters and created cards to thank the residents for their time – these were then collated and delivered to the local Village by Year 12 teacher, Kellie Friso. Positive feedback abounded, this included; “It was my pleasure to share a little of my life with you. I am very impressed with your presentation, you did a wonderful job. You are our future so I am confident it is in good hands”.

Creative Industries

Creative industries students have been working hard to complete their most recent drawing assessment. This task requires the use of illustration to communicate the steps required to construct a hamburger, building students visual literacy and drawing skills, along with confidence gained from developing and discussing their ideas.

Burger Illustration - Roymond DUNGCA

Burger Illustration - Hayley ORCHARD

Wrong-Handed Portraits

Year 12 News: VCE

Key dates

• The General Achievement Test (GAT) will be rescheduled to Wednesday 7 October 2020.
• The scheduling of end of year examinations will remain unchanged.

(VCE written exams will begin in the week commencing 9 November and be completed by 2 December 2020) 

• Students will receive their results and ATARs on 30 December as per the current schedule.

Unit 3 Awards

Congratulations to the following students who achieved the highest score on their Unit 3 exam. Also to the students who have demonstrated the most growth over the year. Keep up the great work!

VTAC & SEAS

VTAC is now open and will close on the 30th September. SEAS and scholarships applications close on the 9th October.

All year 12 students need to make an appointment with Nancy Huez, the Careers Advisor, to go through their pathway plan and begin entering their VTAC preferences. They will also be going through their SEAS application and the scholarships that are available.  It is very important that all students attend their scheduled meeting. 

Parents are more than welcome to attend these meetings with their children. Meetings are happening remotely via WebEx. 

Please feel free to contact Nancy Huez (careers advisor)  or Kelly Jessop (Year 12 Leader)  at the College, if you would like further information regarding this process.

Exam Revision Lectures – Unit 3 & 4

This year with the necessary COVID-19 restrictions in place Access Education will be running the program online (live and interactive) on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. While the lectures will be delivered online, attending students will still receive a copy of the much sought after subject specific notes sent to them prior to the online lecture.

Saturday 10 October

Psychology                                         8:45am – 11:30am

Business Management                       9:00am – 11:30am

Maths Methods                                   12:00pm – 2:30pm

Physical Education                             12:15pm – 2:45pm

Biology                                                3:00pm – 5:45pm

Legal Studies                                      3:15pm – 5:45pm

Sunday 11 October

Chemistry                                           8:45am – 11:30am

Health & Human Development      9:00am – 11:30am

English                                                12:00pm – 2:30pm

Further Maths                                     3:00pm – 5:45pm

Physics                                               3:15pm – 6:00pm

Lectures are normally $44 per lecture, but the Careers team are offering them for $10 per lecture.

To book, students will need to email Nancy their chosen lectures and contact the finance department at school on 5990 0200 to make payment.   

Closes: Friday 10 September, 2020.