CONGRATULATIONS TO YEAR 12 STUDENTS

Congratulations to all Year 12 students on your VCE and VCAL results. Your VCE or VCAL certificate is now available for collection from the office at school.

This year 25% of our students achieved ATAR scores of greater than 80. This is a really wonderful result. We also have 14 new members of the VCE 90s Club. Eight of these students had ATAR scores above 96.00. Please cheeck the VCE High Achievers page on this blog for the full list of names entered into the 90s Club for 2011.

Special congratulations to our 2011 Dux Reece Hodge.

YEAR 12 JUMPERS

Year 12 2012 jumpers have been fixed and will be ready for collection shortly. There are two ways to collect your jumper:

1. From THURSDAY DEC 15 you can collect it from ‘Sweats Factory’ 41 North Valley Rd Highton 5244 2910. The opening hours are weekdays 9.00am – 5.30pm, Saturday 9.00am – 1.00pm.

2. Awards Day December 20. You may collect it at approx 12.00 when you return to school from the Awards Day ceremony to collect your report. The jumpers will be in N3 from 12.00pm.

Don’t forget that you will need to pay the balance owing in either cash or cheque made out to ‘Sweats Factory’.

YEAR 12 EXAM RESULTS AND ATARS

Year 12 exam results and ATARS will be available from 7.00am on Friday December 16.

There are three ways in which you can access these results. If you choose internet or SMS you will need your VCAA number and PIN. If you have not already set a PIN it will be your birthday eg. If your birthday is the 6th of December, your PIN will be 0612. Your VCAA number is the 9 digit number that you had for your exams.

1. Internet.

Go to  resultsandatar.vic.edu.au any time from 7.00am on Friday December 16.

2. SMS.

You need to pre-register before midnight on Thursday December 15. To register, send a text message as follows: student number (eight digits and no letter), space, PIN (4 digits). Send to 19 787 888. You should then receive a confirmation message. For any problems registering call 1800 501 083.

You should then receive your results and ATAR at 7.00am on December 16.

3. Mail Delivery

Australia Post will deliver results in two separate packages (results and ATAR) from Monday December 19.

A reminder that VCE certificates will be available from Ms Milne at the Awards Day ceremony (Tuesday 20th December), and after that from the office at school.

2012 Year 12 Jumpers

Sweats Factory will be replacing the back panel in all jumpers and the  design will be printed again. This is a huge task as they have to undo all of the jumpers and then re-sew them. They are making this a priority and may have the jumpers completed in a couple of weeks.

Details of collection arrangements will be posted on this blog as soon as they are available.

2011 GRADUATION

The arrangements for the 2011 Graduation have been finalised and students will receive a notice on Tuesday September 13. A copy of this notice can be found in the page links above, entitled 2011 Graduation. Ticket orders will be taken between monday October 10 and Friday October 28. An order form has been given to all students but can also be found in the links above entitled 2011 Graduation Ticket Order Form.

YEAR 12 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Planning has begun with students and staff for celebrations on the last day of school for Year 12, Thursday October 27. We are looking forward to an enjoyable, memorable day, with behaviour of students both in the school grounds and in the neighbourhood to be based on respect and common sense. All students will be asked to sign an agreement outlining the behaviour and events that have been agreed to by students and staff. Parents will be asked to also sign the agreement to indicate that they understand the activities that are approved by the school on this day. Please click on the link to the page called ‘Last Day Agreement’ to see the current draft copy of this agreement.

ACE YOUR EXAMS AND MEMORY MNEMONICS

On Monday Aug 1, during House Assembly periods 1 and 2, ALL Year 12 VCE students, 11PL and 10Gd (doing a Yr 12 subject) will be attending these sessions run by Elevate Education. VCAL students will attend their normal classes. Research has proven that most students do the wrong work at the wrong time. You will be provided with a simple, easy to follow process for exam preparation. You will find out: what you need to do and when; how to correct past mistakes in order to stop losing marks; how to develop an exam planner to avoid cramming; why practice papers are important and how to use them; how to get motivated and stay motivated during exams; how to stay calm; how to ration your time; how to analyse exam questions. You will also learn some simple tips to help you remember information. At the end of Form Assembly ALL VCE (not VCAL) students are to go straight to class for periods 1 and 2. Do not go to House Assembly. YOU MUST TAKE A PEN WITH YOU.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DAY: There are two groups of students:

1. Students with timetabled Year 12 classes in periods 1 and 2 will go to their normal period 1 classes after Form Assembly (Don’t go to House Assembly). The presenters of the program will come to your room. At the end of the presentation you will remain in your class. Yr 12 IT with LKE will go to Rm N1.

2. Students who don’t have timetabled Yr 12 classes in periods 1 and 2. Students in 10Gd, 11Pl and the rest of Year 12 who do not have timetabled Year 12 classes during periods 1 and 2, will join the following classes: 12Mo and 11Pl students will join Yr 12 Specialist Maths with KWA in Rm P4 12Bl and 12 Eb will join 12 Biol with NNI in Rm N4 12 Gd and 12Gn will join 12 Lit with MNI in Rm C2 12Pl will join 12 Eng with KMA in Rm 6 12Rd and 12Sl will join Yr 12 IT with LKE in N1 10 Gd will join 12 Health with ANH in Rm P5

Please see Ms Milne with any questions.

YEAR 12 PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Students should have appointment cards from Tuesday (July 19) for Parent Teacher interviews to be held next Tuesday from 4.00pm until 8.00pm in the school Library. Parents of all students studying Yr 12 subjects are invited to attend this important evening to discuss the best ways to maximise student performance in the last important weeks of Yr 12.

STATISTICAL MODERATION

An expert from the VCAA will be coming to speak to Yr 12 teachers about how statistical moderation works. This is the process that adjusts your Yr 12 results according to the performance of students in the class. Any interested Year 12 or Year 11 students are welcome to join their teachers at this meeting in the Library at 3.30 – 4.30 on Thursday (May 12) afternoon. See Ms Milne for more information.

END OF TERM 1

As we approach the end of Term 1, with 9 weeks out of 30 teaching weeks gone, it’s time for Year 12 students to assess their progress to date. Here are some questions for you.

1. Can I honestly say that I am focused on achieving my very best?
2. During Term 1, have I designed and stuck to a home study plan that includes completing all homework on time, and allows for some revision every night? (‘Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out’ – Robert Collier)
3. Am I managing my time effectively? Do I have a planner that documents my SAC dates and other important activities in my life, so that I can prepare carefully for busy time periods? (Remember the VCE dates that were given to you to help you make a start on this.)
4. Am I constantly revising work and asking questions of my teachers even when there are no impending SACs?
5. Am I using my spare periods at school to complete work, revise, or do reading for future topics?
6. Am I actively engaged in classes, listening to the teacher and other students’ contributions and not disadvantaging others by creating distractions or diversions?
7. Have I looked at examples of excellent work in each subject area so that I understand the level of work expected by examiners?
8. Am I leading a balanced lifestyle that enables me to complete my school work and commitments, but also gives me some time for some of my other favourite activities?
9. Am I getting enough sleep? (‘The best study tool going around’ – Michael Carr Gregg)
10. Am I remaining positive about Year 12 and the rewards that a successful year can bring?  (‘Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.’ Thomas Jeffersen)

If you answered ‘yes’ to all of these questions, congratulations. You are well on the way to achieving your best results and maximising your potential outcomes. If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, the two week holiday period is the perfect time to re-assess your goals and how you can best achieve them. Term Two will be busier than Term 1, with additional SACs, exams and the end of Unit 3. With careful time management and a consistent, positive approach to achieving your best, Term 2 will be a satisfying time of consolidation and progression, rather than the stressful, tiring, out of control term that some students in the past have managed to create for themselves. Have a relaxing and enjoyable break from school, but consolidate your Term 1 work with revision and preparation for the Term ahead. Remember that your teachers have years of experience in helping students to achieve their best results. Listen to their advice and take note of the amount of time you will need to spend on school work during the holidays.