Junior Secondary Update
Optima Awards
Recently, special assemblies were held to honour our OPTIMA Award recipients. At PBC, every child has the potential to earn an OPTIMA award, be it through excellence in their academics, sport or cultural pursuits, their participation in Community Service, their consistent high standards of effort and behaviour, or their improved results. Approximately 30% of students in the Middle School received acknowledgement through the OPTIMAs, and we hope to see further students aspire to awards throughout this term.
Junior Secondary Rewards
We know that students respond well to positive acknowledgement, not only through major awards but for small successes and actions in the classroom and playground. At PBC, we have various informal ways of rewarding students. In the classroom, teachers may hand out small prizes. More formally, teachers distribute OPTIMA Rewards, small tickets to acknowledge students being safe, respectful or a learner. Teachers will sometimes send home OPTIMA postcards to let parents know that their children have had a special achievement or success. At least 550 of these more formal rewards have been distributed in Junior Secondary so far this year, helping to create a positive, productive learning environment.
Year 9 Work Experience
Thanks to the students who have shown interest in doing Work Experience in Term 4. Unfortunately, given the COVID 19 pandemic, we will not be offering the program to the Year 9 cohort this year.
However, students are strongly encouraged to consider trialling for a Certificate III Traineeship, to be completed in Year 10. The advantages for students of completing a traineeship in Year 10 include:
- 8 hours a week of paid employment
- Build up your resume
- Complete a traineeship without negatively impacting on valuable time at school during Year 11 or 12
- Accumulate 8 points for the QCE -Queensland Certificate of Education
- For those who hope to go to Uni, a Cert III plus four General Subjects in Senior can be used as a VET Pathway to university.
Students considering a Traineeship should visit Mrs Sonia Shreeve in the Pathways Centre in Y Block to discuss 2021 Traineeship opportunies. The Pathways Centre is open every day before school and during Lunch 1.
Planning For Success
We have already reached the mid-point of Term 3 and students are currently receiving feedback on their first rounds of assessment. It is valuable to support children to look for ways to improve, so they might reach their OPTIMA goals, recorded in their Student Planners. Are they on track? If not, what is it that they might do differently in order to achieve their goals?
Assessment Calendars
Parents are reminded that the assessment calendar is now published on the PBC website:
https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/Curriculum/Testingandassessment/Pages/Testingandassessment.aspx
Students and parents should all make careful note of these important dates.
Parent Support
Adolescence can bring additional concerns for parent/caregivers. The following links can provide useful information for your child’s wellbeing.
Frenemies & toxic friendships: teenagers | Raising Children Network
- Frenemies and toxic friendships: what you need to know
- Avoiding frenemies and toxic friendships: how to help your child
- Dealing with frenemies and toxic friendships: how to help your child
- Dealing with bad behaviour from toxic friendships
- What not to do with toxic friendships
- Further help with toxic friendships and frenemies
Mindfulness for parents, kids and teens | Raising Children Network