Senior School Report
We are now half way through Term 3, and have already had some exciting events with more to come. Our teachers have worked on their Year 11 Progress Reports, which our Year Level Coordinators use to monitor student progress and phone home to parents as required. The final Year 11 and 12 Progress reports are due Wednesday 11th September. Coordinators will again contact parents as required to discuss any concerns.
Our Year 11 students have chosen their subjects for Year 12. It was vital that students chose their subjects carefully. They need to read their Course Counselling booklets, look at their Semester One reports and are realistic about their choices. Once they start in Year 12, it will almost be impossible to change a subject or unit of study.
We had our Year level assemblies on Friday 2 August.
The theme for the Year 11 assembly was ‘Moving towards Year 12’. Students were presented with information about what the Year 12 ATAR is and what is required to attain a VCE certificate. There were also samples of ‘ATAR’ scores and how scaling affects individual subjects and results. Students were also reminded about the importance of the ‘Orientation Program’ after the Year 11 exams and the Year 12 Study Camp that runs at the beginning of 2020. The Year 11 VCAL class was also presented with information about meeting the competencies of the school bases subjects, their work placement and VET to be able to move to Intermediate or Senior level in Year 12.
The Year 12 assembly incorporated a motivational lunch for students. It was to recognise and acknowledge the hard work and sacrifices most of the students have made in Year 12. We had three past students speak to the Year 12 cohort about ‘life at university/TAFE’ and how important it is to apply for scholarships. They also spoke about what their experiences were like for them when they were in Year 12 and what they did to get them to where they are now.
The Equal Education ran workshops with all the Year 12 VCE students on ‘Goal settings’ and ‘Barriers’. This is something that most students face at some point during their schooling. The workshops were designed to raise awareness and how to seek help and manage their time.
All Year 12 students are starting to fill in their VCAT application forms. They were given information on VTAC, how and when to apply for courses, scholarships and special consideration when writing their SEAS applications. Students need to start looking at courses, as they will need to put down eight preferences when filling in their VTAC application. All Year 12 VCE and VCAL students will need to resister with VTAC (on-line) if they want to be considered for a university or TAFE course.
They have been given information about the important dates and rules set by VCAA The ‘Exam Navigator’ – this explains what they need to know about their exams – what is permitted in the exam for particular subjects. They were also given the ‘VTAC’ guide for applying in 2020’. This gives them information of what they need to apply through VTAC.
All Year 12 students sitting external exams will be doing trial exams during the second week of the school holidays.
The ‘September Exams’ time table will be distributed next week. It is compulsory that students attend.
There will be an English/EAL lecture on Monday 16 September from 3.30pm to 5pm. Again, it is compulsory for students who are doing the external exams to attend.
The English/EAL Practice Exam will be on Wednesday 18 September at 9am. This is the same day as the Parent Teacher Interviews.
Year 12 VCAL students spend a session with our MIPs coordinator applying for courses through VTAC. They all have individual appointments to continue this process.
Enrichment programs for Year 12 students are continuing. Some individual teachers are also running after school classes to best prepare their students for the exams.
We had our first session of the “ABCN Focus Mentoring Program for girls”. The girls work on developing their ideas around the qualities of leadership. They look at different female leaders they admire from fields such as sports, politics, academia, business, religion, community, family, science, medicine, volunteering, charity, IT, arts, music, literature or performance.
All Year 11 VCE students will have their last seminar from ‘Elevate Education’ on ‘Ace your Exams’. This will take place on Monday 9th September during periods 3 and 4. This workshop is to help students gain skills on how to prepare for exams and how to be organised for exams.
The Year 11 VCAL students are still involved with the ‘CHASE’ program and the ‘Smith Family’
There are various facilitators that come to the classrooms and run workshops with the students. Students have completed the Education Phase of their Chase program and will now begin the next step.
A show case of projects will occur on Wednesday 30 October during the school day.
Our Year 11 and 12 VCAL students will also be involved in a program called ‘Real Talk’. Representatives from different fields in the work force speak to students about their journey and how they ended up in their current career/job.
On Friday 6 September ‘Youth Day’ is being organised by the Year 12 VCAL classes. There will be a fantastic selection of activities and food, including an ice-cream van, a bouncing castle, face painting, hairspray and fake tattoos, a movie-hamper raffle, popcorn and fairy floss, and other activities.
Our next Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Week 10 this term on Wednesday 18 September. We encourage all parents to come along and discuss their child’s progress in VCE or VCAL with their teachers on that afternoon. Coordinators will be visiting classrooms to confirm that appointments have been made. We look forwards to meeting with you again to discuss your child’s progress.
Again, we would like to thank parents who contact us when their child is absent for any reason. This is of great assistance to the Year Level Coordinators, as we call home regularly if there are any unexplained absences. The Case Management process continues to monitor closely the attendance, achievement and individual needs of all our students. Please contact us on 9366 2555 if you have any queries or concerns about your child.
Stav Bekiaris
Senior Sub School Leader