The focus for Term 3 in the Senior Sub School was to celebrate student achievements and to build students’ confidence and self-efficacy. We have also been supporting our students with preparing for the GAT and the upcoming exams.

We held our traditional ‘Motivational Lunch’ with our Year 12 students on Wednesday 10 August. The Year 12 students reflected on their goals as Year 7 students, and contemplated “looking back, so the view looking forward is even clearer”. We welcomed back Jamal Baba, whose engaging presentation captivated the audience. He spoke eloquently about habit formation and the importance of discipline versus motivation. His key messages were to set small and consistent S.M.A.R.T goals, to take into consideration the ultradian performance rhythm when planning study, the importance of sleep for wellbeing and to make the most of the last few months at St Albans Secondary College. Students were given a pizza lunch, while they enjoyed musical performances from our talented senior music students. Many students also received “motivation awards” for their effort, enthusiasm, support of their peers and consistent hard work.

General Achievement Test (GAT)

All students enrolled in one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3 –4 sequence will be required to sit the General Achievement Test (GAT) sections A and B on Wednesday 7 September 2022. Senior VCAL students will sit Section A only. To familiarise students with the requirements and structure of the GAT, we held after-school GAT information sessions on Tuesday 16 August and Wednesday 17 August. Students were given detailed examples of questions and were guided on how to write responses that would attract maximum marks. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Michelle Veith, who volunteered to run the GAT information sessions for our students. Ms Veith is an experienced member of staff, who has been a VCAA assessor of the final English Examination for over 25 years, and has marked the GAT since its inception. We are thankful to Ms Veith for sharing her knowledge and expertise of the GAT with our students.

Health & Wellbeing

As part of a whole school approach to promoting health and wellbeing, Year 11 and Year 12 students will participate in a session run by our Health Promotion Nurse on vaping. This proactive approach aims to educate our senior students on the short and long term effects of vaping on health and wellbeing, and is based on scientific research.

Year 11 Progress Reports

Year 11 Term 3 progress reports are now available for viewing on the student and parent portals. Year level coordinators will be meeting with parents or contacting home if there are any concerns. We would like to remind families that students must meet the ‘Promotion Policy’ to move from Year 11 into Year 12. Please refer to the “Senior Sub School handbook” that was given to families during Term 1 or refer the College website.

Year 12 – Unit 4 Coursework 

All Unit 4 coursework will be completed in Week 8. As the VCE exams are just around the corner, we encourage our students to use the skills they have learned in note-making and other study techniques to start preparing for their final exams. As a guide, students should be studying for 3 to 4 hours each night, with short breaks in between study sessions. We request parents/guardians to support their child by providing a quiet space to work, with minimal disruptions where possible.

Year 12VCAL Youth Day

Year 12 VCAL students have been busy preparing for Youth Day on Friday 20 August. We encourage students to join in the plethora of fun activities they have organised for the school community. They will also be preparing their portfolios for their final interviews in the coming weeks.

Exam Preparation 

As the saying goes, preparation is the key to success. If students would like support with exam/portfolio preparation, please do not hesitate to speak to your teachers, or see us in the Senior Sub School.

 

We welcome parents/guardians to contact us on 9366 2555 if they have any queries or concerns about their child. 

 

Marlene Cassar – Senior Sub School Leader