Learning and Teaching 

Parents and Carers

As we reach the end of Semester 1 and transition to the second half of the year, we endeavour to keep families updated and informed as to how they can provide support and guidance for all students. With that in mind, feedback on assessment tasks completed during Terms 1 and 2 will be available for Years 7 – 12 on Friday 24 June from 3.15pm.

Access to such information is vital, and parents/carers are reminded that during the term task results and feedback are available via PAM as soon as this has been uploaded by teachers. The end of semester report is a combined document summarising what has been achieved by students during the semester.

1. End of semester reports

The Parent Access Module (also known as PAM under Quick Links on the St Bede's College Homepage) has been updated with the end of semester reports. You can view/download the reports by logging in to PAM and selecting the image of your child. Then select “Assessment Reports” from one of the menu items.

Please note that some tasks will be finalised, including the re-calculated subject overall result, by Week 1 of Term 3 due to illness and absence. Reports will then be re-uploaded to PAM. 

2. Ongoing assessment results (including rubrics) via PAM

At any time during the term, parents can access student learning programs via the Learning Tasks section (see attached file for instructions).  You can also view the full rubric under this section of PAM.

If you have any queries regarding individual subjects, please contact the relevant subject teachers.

Year 9 – 11 Exams and Year 12 Summative Assessments

As is common prior to the end of a semester, Exams and summative assessments have taken place over recent weeks. Years 9 and 10 were assessed on their core subjects with Year 11 (Unit 1) subjects undertaking exams in all of their subjects. These have gone remarkably well; the students acquitted themselves admirably with limited preparation and time between exams.

On a similar note, the Year 12 (Unit 3) subjects have been completing summative assessments based on the material covered thus far. These are in the form of exam style questions and activities in preparation for their trial exams which commence late in term 3. The final VCE exams in October/November contribute significantly to the calculation of the final study score in VCE and, as such, ensuring that all students are adept at both the exam process as well as subject specific skills, knowledge and understanding is vital. 

Students may feel a sense of stress or apprehension about exams; this is completely normal. Nonetheless, in the second semester, we will be encouraging students to take a more consistent approach in their exam preparation through application to preparation on a more regular basis. Parents are encouraged to engage with their child on such techniques. The statement that there is ‘no homework’ may simply mean that specific work may not have been set for the evening. Revising, annotating, summarising, transcribing to cue cards, and memorising are all great study techniques that we encourage students to do regularly in preparation for an assessment that is some months away. 

Careers Week

Year 10 St Bede’s students recently completed a Careers Week in order to make sure they are well informed in the lead up to their subject selection process. As a new initiative, it was a great success, with all Year 10 students at the College gathering on the Mentone Campus for the week as well as paying a visit to some of our tertiary institutions. 

Events for the week included;

• Guest Speakers on the future of work, apprenticeships, Defence Force Careers and University
• A panel of former students on their experience and advice on choosing their pathway
• Virtual Work Experience, completed online
• Tertiary visits to the Chisholm Institute, University of Melbourne, RMIT, Deakin University, ACU and Swinburne University

This tremendous experience for our students would not have been possible without the commitment of the Careers Team - Ms Angie Greaves, Ms Kaylene Menara and Ms Sherine Burl- and the teachers who worked to ensure the week ran smoothly. We are blessed to be able to run such events and look forward to it continuing to grow into the future. 

Subject Selection Events

The start of Term 3 is when the subject selections process commences for many students. There are some events that will take place here at school with students. They will get advice around the process and some general information about subjects that will be helpful.

We do also encourage families to be a part of the process through support, discussion and advocacy. As such, there are a number of events that take place over the course of the first few weeks, both in person and online, that will assist in this process. They are:

• Wednesday, July 15th - Senior Pathways Expo (For current Year 10 students and families students, onsite, in person)
• Monday, July 25th - Year 9 2023 Subject Selection Information Evening (Current Year 8 students and families, online)

More information regarding these events will be provided in individual communications to relevant families. 

Brenden Mair

Deputy Principal

Teaching and Learning