Thankyou to all Senior students for their efforts in what has been a massive Term 3 of 2023. Term 3 as always has absolutely flown by in a whirlwind of cultural performances, sporting finals and for all of year levels, end of Term exams. Once again, well done to all on what can be a very stressful, yet rewarding time. 

Year 12 Term 4 

Please remember the following timings for Year 12's in Term 4: 

Tuesday 3 October - Friday 13 October (Week 1 - Week 2) - Normal timetabled classes for all students 

Monday 16 October - Friday 20 October (Week 3) - SWOTVAC Study Week for General subjects 

Monday 23 October (Week 4) - External Assessment commences 

Friday 17 November - Graduation Ceremony & Formal Dinner 

Student Study Skills Sessions 

Week 2 and 3 of Term 4  

Monday 1:25-1:45pm in E02 classroom 

Year 11 students are invited to attend these short informative sessions which will cover: 

• • Top strategies for retaining knowledge 
  • How to develop study notes/revision materials as support for External Exams 

They will also be provided with a resource which provides them tips and strategies for success. Year 10 students are also welcome to attend. 

QTAC Applications

Students are reminded that they should be finalising their QTAC applications for 2023 and should refer to their email for details. Students also need to register with QTAC to receive their ATARs (the QCAA does not calculate ATARs and unless students register they will not be emailed their ATAR on December 15). 

The following resources will may be useful for students: 

• Year 12/ATAR page: https://www.qtac.edu.au/atar/ 
• How to Apply page: https://www.qtac.edu.au/applications/ 
• Education Access Scheme page: https://www.qtac.edu.au/educational-access-scheme/ 

Year 12 results 

The QCAA no longer mails out certificates and results to students at the end of the year. On December 15 they will provide a digital copy of results into each students’ QCAA learning account. 

All year 12 students should by now have logged onto their QCAA learning account in the QCAA student portal. This is accessed via the myQCE website https://myqce.qcaa.qld.edu.au/index.html. There are still some students that have not yet registered. 

To access the External Assessment timetable please visit the myQCE website: 

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/assessment/external-assessment/timetable  

The External Assessment Guide which includes Directions for Students,  approved Equipment, Calculator lists and External Assessment Resources have also been published on the myQCE website above and the school website https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/SupportAndResources/FormsAndDocuments/Documents/assessment-calendars-and-shutdown-timetables/ext-ass-resources.pdf    

Students need to be aware of these documents and procedures which has been covered in classes and in mock exams.  

Scholarship Opportunity  

This year there are two Diploma scholarships available for Year 12 students to apply for. The scholarships available are two fully funded places (usually costing approx. $5,000) in the Diploma programme at Aurora Training Institute in 2024 and all Year 12 students are welcome to apply. The Diploma’s available for students to complete are:  

• Diploma of Business 
• Diploma of Leadership and Management 
• Diploma of Hospitality  

Any interested students should contact Mr Poirrier jrpoi0@eq.edu.aufor an application form. Applications close Thursday October 12th at 3PM (Week 2, Term 4).  

First Aid & Safety Course

A final First Aid and Safety course will be conducted at PBC on Wednesday October 18. To register for this course students, need to collect a letter from Y block and ensure payments are made by Monday September 11 ($100 for year 12s and $75 for year 11s). This course also attains 2 QCE points. Do not include this if the newsletter is published after Monday. 

Year 11 

Year 11 students will finalise Unit 2 in shutdown during week 10 of this term September 13 to 17. 

Moving forward Year 11 students will commence the summative units for ATAR in term 4 of this year and will have their first assessment for Unit 3 in the last week of term 4. This will be a full shutdown in the week of November 22 to 26. 

A reminder that all students must have passed a Unit of English and Maths by the end of Unit 2. Students that do not meet this requirement will have to complete Unit 1 or 2 gain in 2022 to be eligible for the QCE. 

Year 10 

Year 10 students are again reminded that they are much better off commencing a school-based apprenticeship and traineeship (SAT) in Year10 than in Year 11. Please see Ms Shreeve in Y block for more information regarding SATs. 

Assessment policy 

This policy is published on the school website. 

If students are absent for an exam they must contact their teacher and provide a medical certificate (allowances will be made for  border restrictions ). 

A reminder that all assignments are due at 9:00am on the due date and that teachers are instructed to make a judgement on the evidence, which is available at this time. Late assignments are not accepted. 

Students are reminded to back up their work via USBs, emails or cloud storage as computer malfunctions and losing assignments are not grounds for an extension.