Senior School Report – May 12, 2016

Year 10 Parents

• One Night of Homelessness–

It is with great excitement that I announce that the College will again be offering all year 10 students the opportunity to experience One Night of Homelessness.-

This challenging and at times confronting experience is to be conducted on Thursday May 27, 2016 and will introduce the students to just some of the conditions of what 36,000 young people in Australia experience on any given night.-

–One Night of Homelessness– consists of a range of challenges and experiences including eating a meal from a soup kitchen, sleeping with only the assistance of a blanket, exposure for a small period of time to the elements of nature and informative sessions from outside agencies working with homeless youth on a daily basis.-

Date and time:- – – – – – – – – – – 7.30 pm, Thursday May 26, 2016

Venue:– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – St Patricks College Canteen

Pick up:- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 7.30 am, Friday May 27, 2016

• Year 10 Morrisby Parent Information Evening

Have you ever bought furniture from IKEA? Everything comes in flat packs and there is always one member of the family who, without fully reading all the instructions just has a glance and begins to assemble the item only to discover half way through that a vital screw or bracket had been overlooked! Then, after much ado which usually involves blaming everybody else they refer to the instructions and wish they had read them fully in the first place! Sound familiar? In 2016 all year 10 students undertook Morrisby assessments at the end of Term 1.

Since the beginning of Term 2 all year 10 students have been assigned a one on one appointment explaining the content of the Report and how to interpret it. On WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 from, 7:30pm to 8:30PM there will be a session to inform parents on how to interpret the data there by ensuring the Report will be a tool that will assist you and your son in subject selection in years 11 and 12 and beyond. I strongly encourage all parents of Year 10 boys to set aside time to attend this session. The College values this initiative and accordingly we invest a significant amount of time and money in ensuring that both the boys and their parents understand how to interpret that data thus rendering the final report a valuable tool in subject selection and career planning in the final years at St Patricks College.

Date Claimer Year 10 Parents

We need your support.

At St Patricks College we have identified an increasing number of students who are struggling to cope with the increased pressure of study and developments in technology thus it is vital for students to develop self-awareness and personal leadership.

In an effort to develop these traits in your son we have engaged the services of Hugh van Cuylenburg, Founding Director of the Resilience Project to work with your son and we need your support.

On Monday July 18, 2016 we are requesting your involvement in the development of skills that focus on Resilience by helping your son to be mentally healthy in the areas of Empathy, Gratitude and Mindfulness.

– -‘The Resilience Project’ was born. Off the back of Hugh’s post grad. studies into mental resilience, Hugh’s presentations emphasise the value of gratitude, empathy and mindfulness. Of note, Hugh has developed and facilitated programs for over 220 schools Australia wide. In 2015, the National Rugby League asked Hugh to design and implement a program for every single club in the competition to ensure the entire NRL community were emotionally engaged on the challenges of mental health. Hugh has also worked closely with Collingwood, Gold Coast Suns, Geelong, Essendon and Hawthorn in the AFL. He has also served as CEO of Step Back Think.

Hugh delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, sports clubs and business’s and provides them with evidence based, practical strategies to build resilience.

http://www.msn.com/en-au/money/other/the-resilience-project/vp-BBrmaLB

I shall be sending home a letter in the near future with further details about this initiative.

• Semester One Examination Timetable (Years 10 and 11)

The Semester one examination timetable has been published and is available on the school homepage or by clicking on the below links.- If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Year 10 Semester One Exam Timetable please click on this link

Year 11 Semester One Exam Timetable please click on this link

• General Achievement Test (GAT)

All students undertaking a Unit 3 VCE subject will be undertaking the General Achievement Test (GAT) on 7th of June, 2016.– The GAT is a three hour test, undertaken by all students enrolled in one or more Unit 3 / 4 studies. The results have been used in statistical moderation of course work against exam performance and in the calculation of derived examination scores should an unforeseen event (accident, illness etc) occur which results in your son missing the final VCE written examinations conducted in November.

Given that two of the major Victorian Universities have begun to refer to students GAT results when contemplating third round course entry offers the GAT has a taken on a greater significance than ever before. Thus students need to adopt a positive attitude and undertake some preparation prepare for the GAT. Past GAT papers are available from the KRC for practice and revision purposes.

• External VCE Unit Three Revision Programmes

As VCE Unit 3/4 students complete their VCE Unit 3 studies a number of external providers have begun to advertise mid-year intensive Unit 3 revision programs. While I usually advocate boys attending a full year revision programmes later in the year I concede that there are some circumstances in which a Unit 3 programme may be beneficial.

– If your son has:

• fallen behind in Unit 3 coursework,

• lost motivation or

• has struggled to understand all aspects of the coursework inUnit 3

then an intensive revision programme may have some benefit.-

What is the benefit of doing an external revision course mid-year ?

Primarily they encapsulate, in a succinct manner, the whole Unit of work in a six hour block. Further, it allows the students to rehear the same information presented and explained in a different manner, thus offering understanding. Thirdly, they provide students with comprehensive revision material. While many students have sound revision and summarising skills, for those that struggle in this area it is of great assistance and finally, it is a great confidence boost to students and they prepare to embark on Unit 4 coursework.- They realise what they do in fact know and are thus encouraged to keep focus and continue to maintain the necessary level of commitment.- May I stress these courses are NOT MANDATORY.- Brochures from all providers are available from the display stand outside my office.

• Year 11 Fit 2 Drive

On Friday 20 of May the Year 11 cohort will participate in Fit 2 Drive, the second stage of the State Government funded Road Safety / Driver Education Programme.- The message from this course will be consolidated and reiterated in term three when the cohort participates in the Carmen Road Safety programme.

Whilst there are a plethora of organisations wishing to conduct road safety and drink driving courses in schools the College has elected to run a sequential programme which reiterates the message during their time in the senior school and is relevant to their life experience at the time of delivery.- The Year 12 cohort will take part in Looking After your Mates, – the third stage on Wednesday August 17, 2016.

Regards

Mrs Elizabeth Ryan

Director of Senior School