The Senior School has enjoyed a busy but productive last fortnight with several highlights such as the Swimming Carnival and Valentines Day. As we move into Week 4 subject changes are now closed and our students will settle into their classes. The beginning of the year is the right time to establish good habits for both study and self-care. For good tips and tricks on the above students can visit myqce.qcaa.qld.edu.au/study-tips.

We also take this opportunity to remind all senior students of our uniform expectations that can be found here. Polishable black shoes and ‘reds’ socks are a must.

Assessment

• Assessment Calendars for Years 10, 11 and 12 will soon be uploaded to the school website https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au. Click on the Curriculum tab and then under Testing and Assessment. Students can also download this information from the student drive on the school’s network. This information will be useful for parents and students when planning their study timetable.
• The Year 11 exam timetable will also be uploaded on the school website by the end of this week. Year 11 students do not have a shutdown this term and are required to attend school every day. All Year 11 assessment will be finalised in Week 7 and 8 of Term 1. Year 11 students will commence new work in Weeks 8 and 9 of this term. Students need to ensure that they appropriately managing their time and do not leave study and assignments to the last minute as they will have numerous assessment items due in Week 7 and 8.
• Parents are reminded that exams will be scheduled in Week 10 at the end of each term for Years 10 and 12. Please see school website for a published schedule of assessment for 10s, 11s and 12s. As per the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority guidelines and handbooks, family holidays are not grounds for missing assessment or exams.
• All students and parents need to be aware of the Senior School Assessment policy. The policy is published on the school website (https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/), under the Curriculum/Testing and Assessment tab. Assignments and presentations etc. are due at 9:00 am on the due date and teachers must make a decision on the evidence which has been submitted at that time. Late assignments will not be accepted. Students requiring extensions need to apply to the relevant Head of Department at least 48 hours before the due date. Students requiring special provision should note the new terminology of Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments (AARA); please refer to the published document for more detailed information.

Year 10

• Year 10 students are again reminded that their results in Semester 1 will determine their pathway and subject availability in Years 11 and 12. To study an ATAR pathway students need to be achieving at least a B level in English and Maths. If students wish to study senior Science subjects they also need to be achieving at least a B level in Year 10 Science, (Academic Excellence students will have slightly different cut offs).
• Year 10s are also reminded that they can commence School based apprenticeships and traineeships (SATS) in Year 10. These courses provide students with paid employment and work skills, up to 8 QCE points (equivalent of 2 subjects) and a Certificate 3 qualification which may provide tertiary options.

Year 11 

• Year 11 students will need to have very good time management in 2021 as the units for each subject are only 7 weeks in length including assessment.
• In the QCE unit credits are banked into each students learning account at the end of each unit. The implication for this is that students who are not engaged in learning and perform poorly in a number of subjects could find themselves ineligible for the QCE as early as week as Week 5 Term 2 (21 May). Students have been repeatedly reminded of this and will need to ensure that they are actively engaged in all classes at all times.
• Many students will have completed traineeships and higher VET certificates before they sit external exams in November of 2022. This will provide students with extra QCE points and help ensure that they get the QCE even if they have a poor external exam. Please see Ms Shreeve in Y block to register for a traineeship.

Year 12 

• The school hopes to complete reporting for Year 12s on their first summative task of Unit 3 (IA1) as soon as possible unfortunately One School reporting software is not allowing this at the moment. In the mean time all students should have received their marks from their subject teachers in all subjects, except Maths, and should be able to keep parents informed regarding progress. Please contact your student’s specific subject teacher for more detailed information. All Year 12 students should be in the process of finalising their Problem Solving Modelling Task for their Maths subjects.
• All Year 12 students that have not yet completed their First Aid qualifications have recently been emailed a letter regarding an opportunity to complete a First Aid and Safety course which will enable them to attain 2 QCE points. Please check your emails for more information.
• All Year 12 students on an ATAR pathway are again reminded that they must pass an English subject for Unit 3 and 4 to attain an ATAR.

Useful websites

• 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.
• The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre has released a new tertiary course search engine https://www.courseseeker.edu.au/ . This is a new National higher education admissions platform which will be useful for students researching nationwide tertiary options.
• Griffith University has updated their admissions pathways https://www.griffith.edu.au/apply/admission-pathways/vet . This document highlights the large range of courses that students can apply for a Griffith University with VET qualifications such as Certificate III, IV or Diploma in 2021.