We sincerely hope that our entire PBC community are safe and well after the rainfall and flooding of recent days. Hopefully a return to school will provide some normality to any families who have been impacted by this extreme weather event. The next few weeks form a busy part of the Senior Secondary Calendar, with our first whole-school carnival and assessment commencing in all year levels clear highlights.

Senior Study Skills Program

Griffith University have been tailoring their study skills sessions this term for our PBC students and presenting online on a Monday afternoon from 2:15- 3:00pm. So far we have seen two sessions dedicated to helping students Thrive and Survive Senior, with one final session for Year 11's on Monday 21 March, focused on resilience, which was postponed from Feb due to school closure.

There has been some fantastic feedback from the students attending who have been learning about how to develop invaluable skills to support them through their senior years.

Griffith University has partnered with PBC this year to provide a range of sessions for years 10-12. Students are encouraged to keep an eye out for upcoming sessions that will be promoted throughout the year.

Senior Jerseys

In the coming weeks, Year 12 jerseys will be distributed to our Class of 2022. Students will be reminded of the importance of what this jersey represents in terms of upholding our school values, both within and outside our school gates. Please note that as per Uniform Policy, student must continue to wear the PBC school shirt underneath their jersey, it must be worn as an outer layer to full school uniform only. 

Assessment

Assessment Calendars for Years 10, 11 and 12 have been uploaded to the school website https://pbc-shs.eq.edu.au 

Year 11

The upcoming Year 11 exams, impacting some subjects have been pushed back due to the recent weather. Please note the new dates for Year 11 examinations are Wednesday 16 – Friday 18 March. Please note Year 11 classes run as normal during this time – if a student is not in an exam, they should be in class.

Revised schedule will be placed on the website and accessible to Year 11 students shortly.

Week 10 Exams - Year 10 and 12

Parents are reminded that exams will be scheduled in Week 10 at the end of each term for Years 10 and 12. The Year 10 and 12 shutdown calendars for Week 10 of this term (28 March to 1 April) will be published on the school website later this week. As per the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority guidelines and handbooks, family holidays are not grounds for missing assessment or exams.

Year 10

Year 10 students are 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 10 exam shutdown timetable should be published on the school website by the end of this week.

Year 11 students

Year 11 students should be very busy completing assignments and revising for upcoming 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 Term 2 Week 5 (20 May).

Many students will have completed traineeships and higher VET certificates before they sit external exams in November of 2023. 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 11 student have been reminded this week of the need to pass English and Maths subjects to meet the literacy and numeracy components of the QCE.

Year 12 students

All Year 12 students should be in the process of finalising their Problem Solving Modelling Task for their Maths subjects.

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.

Year 12 exam shutdown timetable should be published on the school website by the end of this week. Students are reminded that they must be up to date in their VET certificates at the end of this term. If they are behind they will be required to complete catch up sessions during shutdown.

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.

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.

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.

Beyond the School Gates

Attention Year 12 students! There is just two weeks left of these masterclasses for Term 1 so make sure you log in. PBC is offering you FREE access to high level academic virtual tutoring this year. As part of an initiative of the Gold Coast Secondary Principals’ Alliance, and jointly funded by Study Gold Coast, you will be able to join specialised masterclasses each week over Term 1, 2 & 3 this year in the subjects of mathematics methods, chemistry or physics. Scan the QR code to self-register for these sessions or speak to your subject teacher to find out more. Join as many as you want or watch the tutorials back at a later date. Any student who participates will also be invited to a free school holiday consolidation workshops in the June July school holidays delivered by Griffith University.

From Weeks 3-9:

• Tuesdays 4:15pm: Physics
• Wednesday 4:15pm: Chemistry
• Thursdays 4:15pm: Mathematics Methods

Self-register here.