Assessment

Year 11 students are currently completing assessment for the new QCE. They do not have a shutdown and will have timetabled classes up to and including the last day of term Friday 3 April.

Year 11 students will then finalise their Unit 1 assessment in Week 4/5 of Term 2 in mid-May this year. As per QCAA guidelines students cannot change subjects mid Unit so no subject changes are available to Year 11s until late May.

Year 10 and 12 students commence shutdown in Week 10 of this term. Year 12s commence on Monday March 30 and Year 10s commence on Wednesday April 1. The timetable for the Year 10 and 12 shutdown will be published on the school website below in the coming days: https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/curriculum/testing-and-assessment .

Students can also down load a copy on the school’s K drive under curriculum.

All students need to be aware of the date, room and time of their scheduled exam. During shutdown students only have to attend school for scheduled exams or study sessions.

Students must be in full school uniform to sit exams. Students who are studying VET subjects and are not up to date with their competencies will be required to attend school during VET catch up sessions to complete their competencies.

All assessment tasks are due at 9:00am on the due date not during class time. Students who are absent for an exam will need to provide a medical certificate and apply for a change of date with their HOD on the next day they are at school. Similarly, students who are applying for an extension or special consideration will need to download an extension/change of date form from the school website and submit to their relevant Head of Department at least 48 hours before the due date. The school Assessment Policy is also published on the school website under curriculum/testing and assessment.

Note that the assessment schedule for all Senior years has been published on the above school website since August last year. Year 10 and Year 12 will have assessment due in week 10 of each term whilst Year 11s will have assessment due in Week 7 of term 1, Weeks 4 and 5 of Term 2 and Week 2 of Term 3 and then the last week of each term. Refer to the website for more information. Please note that as per QCAA policy family holidays are not grounds for an extension or change of date of assessment.

The QCAA has also published the timetable for Year 12 external exams in term 4 of 2020. It will also be published on the school website in the coming days.

Other senior schooling news:

• Students that have a long-standing medical condition that requires a change to the mode of assessment or assessment conditions need to apply for an Access Arrangement and Reasonable Adjustment (AARA) with the school Guidance Officer Mr Jones. This should be completed as soon as possible.
• All Year 11 and 12 students should by now have registered with the QCAA student portal and completed the online Academic Integrity course. Students should check their EQ email account as they were emailed details regarding this portal and course at the start of the year.
• Parents and students are reminded that successfully completing General English or Literature (Year 12 2020) is a pre-requisite for the majority of Universities in Queensland.
• Year 10s and 11s are again encouraged to register for School based traineeships and apprenticeships (SAT) in Y block. A SAT will give students paid employment, work experience and a Certificate 3 qualification which gains extra QCE credits, but also opens up a tertiary pathway. Please contact Ms Shreeve in Y block for more information.
• Students in Year 10 are again 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.
• The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority has created a new website

(https://myqce.qcaa.qld.edu.au/index.html). This is a great source of information on the new Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE), Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), Senior Education Training (SET) Plan, future pathways, subjects and assessment.