Senior Secondary Update
Study Skills
Week 8 and 9 study skills sessions for year 10-12 students covered interleaved practice and SWOT for exams.
Interleaved practice:
This is a process where students mix, or interleave, multiple subjects or topics while they study in order to improve their learning. While this practice is not terribly difficult, it does call for a bit of planning and students sometimes feel they're learning less, as it is tougher when problems are interleaved. However, with increased struggle to develop the answer the greater the learning and the more likely the information is transferred into long-term memory.
Figure 1: demonstrates how study can be distributed to incorporate interleaved practice (exam study expert, 2021)
SWOT analysis:
A SWOT analysis is a technique used widely by companies and organisations to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the business but can also be used personally as a study analysis to support exam preparation. Students identify their strengths and weaknesses (being aspects they have control over) and determine opportunities and threats that may impact their success. The greatest impact however will be when the students are able to identify how:
- their strengths can make the most of the opportunities;
- they can use their strengths to minimise weakness;
- They can use opportunities to improve weakness;
- to manage weakness to avoid threats
Connect Education Exam Preparation Sessions
In term 3 PBC is partnered with connect education to provide exam preparation sessions to Year 12 students studying Biology, Legal Studies and English on selected afternoons. These sessions will support students in their study practices for these subjects for the upcoming mock and external exams.
Permission forms and further information was emailed on 14th June and provided at assembly in week 9 for students.
Year 10 students have shutdown exams for the whole of week 10, Monday June 19 to Friday June 23. The timetable for these exams are published on the school website: https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/curriculum/testing-and-assessment).
Year 11 students have normal classes every day for the rest of the term. They will have assessment in week 2 of term 3. Due to the compressed nature of the year 11 curriculum, all year 11 students will have assignment tasks and exams to study for over the holidays.
Year 12 students will have normal classes for the Monday and Tuesday of week 10 and then have an exam shutdown commencing on Wednesday June 21 up to and including Friday June 23. Many subjects will have assignment tasks due in weeks 2 to 3 of next term.
Year 12 students and the parents of students behind in their VET subjects have been notified advising them that they need to attend school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of week 10 until they are up to date in their VET certificate courses.
The timetable for Year 12 exams and VET catch up is published on the school website: ( https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/curriculum/testing-and-assessment).
The school’s assessment policy is published on the school website. Note that students need to complete all assessment in a subject to be given a result. If students do not submit an assessment task by 9:00am on the due date then the teacher must use the evidence collected before that date to make a judgement. If the student did not submit a draft this means that the student will not get a result for the subject. This will affect their progress towards the QCE and also their enrolment in post compulsory education.
Useful Study Techniques
The link below is an academic paper on improving study techniques amongst students, which may be useful when parents are discussing the best way to prepare for external exams. Note late night cramming whilst listening to music has been proven not to be effective:
Other Senior Schooling Reminders
- Students in Year 10 are reminded that their academic performance in Year 10 semester 1 will determine which pathway they can choose in Year 11. Students wishing to complete an ATAR pathway need to achieve Bs in English and Maths. Students wishing to study a senior science course in year 11 and 12 also need to achieve a B in Year 10 Science.
- Year 12 students and parents have recently been sent an email regarding the opportunity to complete a First Aid and Safety course for next term. This course attains 2 QCE points and is very well regarded in the community. Please refer to the email for more information.
Year 12 Trivia Night
Wednesday the 17th of May saw the Year 12's take on Trivia Night! The night was hosted by Mr Johnstone and Mr Patison, who had the crowd on the edge of their seats with their commentary of the pin the nose on Johno comp, the cup stacking comp, the doughnut eating comp and most importantly Trivia, which was run the old-fashioned way this year, on paper!
The Year 12's let their competitive sides loose with extra points from the physical challenges only just separating first and second place. From Superheros, to Fruit and Veg, to the entire cast of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Year 12's went full out with their team costumes.
A big thank you to Sticky Rice Tugun, Crystal Expo Coolangatta, Earth and Sea Coolangatta, Studio Pilates Coolangatta, Grill'd Healthy Burgers Coolangatta, Ottimo Coolangatta, Zambrero Coolangatta, Grip Star Socks and Cheap as Chips Framing who all donated prizes for our raffle to support our school's charity, Albatross Nippers.
Overall, a great night! Thanks for a great turnout Year 12's!
Link and Launch
Introducing Grace, our Link and Launch Coordinator! Leaving school after graduating from Year 12 can be both exciting and scary for our students. There are a lot of opportunities for study, work and training, and it can sometimes be confusing for our students to navigate what is best for their future.
We have a designated Link and Launch Coordinator who will see to it that Grade 12 leavers receive individualised advice and support to ‘open the door to their future success’. Talking it through might just make the difference for our students...
Know someone suitable who will be graduating or has graduated in the last two years? Text or call 0467 951 239 or email gmack73@eq.edu.au. #linkandlaunch