Senior School Report – October 26, 2017

Our Year 12’s marked the end to their formal classes with a very positive Leave Taking ceremony which included many humorous reminiscences from the boys about their journey from Years 7 to 12.- The Thanksgiving Mass and supper provided an opportunity for students, parents and teachers to acknowledge this significant moment in time together.- Father Anthony’s homily included the quote from Robert Frost’s poem about -taking the road less travelled, and that making all the difference-.- He went on to encourage the boys through their lives to make choices for good in matters of integrity, to do the right thing even when it is going against the crowd or is difficult, and to never underestimate their enemies and to never underestimate their own ability to be good and to do good.- A great message which I think is relevant for us all.

Year 12’s and Year 11’s with Unit 3/4 exams are encouraged to arrive at least 20 minutes prior to the exam’s scheduled starting time so as not to be in a flustered state, and their equipment should be sorted days before.- Lists of allowable materials and the exam timetable can be found on the VCAA website in the -Exam Navigator-, accessible via this link.-

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/documents/vcaanavigator_web.pdf

Students have also been sent a personalised print-out of their exam timetable which includes the time and venue of their exam.- Encourage them to display these in a prominent place at home so that others in the house are aware of when things are occurring.- In the past, those who have relied on friends telling them when exams occurred have sometimes turned up at late; you don’t want to be that person.- Should something occur, not of a student’s making or choosing which prevents them from achieving their best, (e.g. sickness on the day of an exam or a death/funeral of a grandparent) they should contact Mr O’Loughlan (5322 4387) to see what arrangements can be made and whether an application for a Derived Exam Score (DES) would be appropriate -“ students should sit the exam where practicable even if an application is being made for a DES.

Year 12’s are strongly encouraged to see their teachers through this study period as they continue preparing for exams.

Year 11 exams run from November 10 to 17 inclusive.- Through preparing for these, students should both strengthen their base in each subject as well as improve their ability to perform in exams, both necessary for achieving their best in Year 12.- Students returning to complete Year 12 in 2018 take part in the Head Start program from November 20 to 28 inclusive.- In this time students will commence their Year 12 courses, typically covering a section of work and getting some additional work to do over the long break.- Year 10s doing a 3/4 Study in 2018 will also attend these classes at this time, and will need to catch-up on work missed in their other classes.

Year 10 exams will run from November 30 to December 7.

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