At the time of publication, all of our Senior students have completed their first round of assessment for the year. For our Year 10's and 12's, the first round of Exam Shutdown in Week 10 provides an opportunity for students to be assessed on their hard studies thus far. For our Year 11's, in what is a packed schedule, they continue with classes in Week 10 after recently completing their very first assessment block in their senior subjects. On behalf of all staff, congratulations to our students on your efforts in what can be a daunting time. We look forward to celebrating your results.

In terms of report cards, Year 11 reports will be sent home this week. Year 10 and 12's first report cards for the year will be sent home in Week 2 of Term 2. Please discuss your child's results with them.

Our Senior students have also participated this term in the 2021 roll-out of the Growing Good Humans program. This program, designed by Tommy Herschell from Find Your Feet, as well as our fabulous staff Anna Wyatt and Paul Bullpitt, is a program at the forefront nationally in schools - encouraging our students to have open communication regarding their mental health, societal pressures and impacts of schooling on their young lives. We'd like to thank all families for their support of this program and to all students for their commitment to becoming better versions of themselves.

Vape Pens

Recently our school, like many others has experienced an increase in students bringing 'vape pens' to school. Parents are to be reminded that these pens are illegal to both purchase and possess in Queensland and clearly breach our PBC Student Code of Conduct. These are dangerous items with severe health consequences and place the safety of every student firmly at risk if bought on to school grounds. All students have been addressed in assemblies regarding the clear expectations, consequences and health risks of these devices.

Parents are encouraged to know what is in a students bag, jacket and shorts/skirts. Teachers have been requested to prohibit movement of students in/out during class time and the playground is strictly monitored. Students are aware that evidence of possession, selling or indeed smoking of vapes either on school grounds, in school uniform or if students can be identified as PBC students will result in suspension and other disciplinary consequences. All information presented to the school regarding sales of this item by any community link will be passed on to the Queensland Police Service.

Year 12 Movie Night 

A huge thankyou to the Student Council and for the 150 Year 12 students who gave up their Monday evening to attend the first Year 12 event of the year, Movie Night. Students enjoyed lounging around in the Library, chocolate raffles and raising money for charity.

Assessment

Year 10 and 12 students are currently completing shutdown exams in Week 10 of term (March 29 to April 1). The timetable for senior assessment and the school assessment policy has been published on the school website: https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/curriculum/testing-and-assessment

Students can also download 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.

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.

Year 11 students have timetabled classes all of Week 10 (29 March to 1 April) and will have their next assessment items due at the end of Unit 1 in Week 4 and 5 of next term (13 to 18 April).

Other senior schooling news:

Year 10s and 11s are  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 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.

Any current Year 11 and 12 student interested in completing a Diploma of Business in the school holidays (10 days over the April, June and September holidays) should contact Mr McDougall in Y block. This is the last opportunity students have to complete this course before it transitions to a new training package and an 18 month time frame.

The Gold Coast Trades College is conducting a Trades and Careers Expo on 21 April (Wednesday Week 1 of Term 2). Any students interested in attending should register with Ms McQueen in G block (bmcquo@eq.edu.au ).

Any Year 12 students interested in completing a White Card course on Wednesday 31 March (when most will have finished assessment). Please see Ms Shreeve in Y block. The course is at the Gold Coast Trades college at Currumbin and costs $65. Students must wear steel cap boots.

Any Senior student interested in accessing free online lecture with ATAR Notes (external provider) in the April holidays should contact Ms Golding in the library or register via the ATAR Notes Lectures link.

2021 Next Step survey

The Queensland Government is conducting its annual statewide survey of all students who completed Year 12 in 2020. The Next Step survey is a brief, confidential survey that gains a comprehensive picture of the employment, study and life choices made by Queensland school completers in the year after they finish Year 12.

Between April and June, all our students who completed Year 12 last year can expect to receive instructions to complete a web-based survey or a telephone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. Please encourage them to take part. If their contact details have changed, please assist the interviewer with their updated details or forward the survey to their new address so they can participate.

Thank you for your support of the Next Step survey in 2021. Further information on Next Step, including results from previous years, is available online at www.qld.gov.au/nextstep or on toll free telephone 1800 068 587.

Study Skills Strategies

Chunk & Chew information

By breaking information into bite-sized ‘chunks’ and providing an opportunity to process (‘chew’) the learning helps to make meaning clear but also assists in moving it from working memory to long-term memory. The process of chunking and chewing information can be used in the delivery process but can also be used when engaging in study. By grouping information to study into manageable sections and allocating time to processing the information will help students to consolidate meaning and make it more easily accessible for retrieval later.