For our Senior Years students undertaking a Unit 3/4 sequence, the September school holidays are anything but a break. Next week, students will undertake Trial Examinations in each of their subjects which will serve as a baseline data point – an indication of what they have mastered to date without any revision or preparation. The feedback provided should be used to guide further revision in the weeks ahead.
We encourage VCE students to familiarise themselves with the VCAA Exam Specifications for each of their Unit 3/4 subjects. These documents outline the specific conditions, content and format of each examination as well as the approved materials and equipment permitted in the exam room. Students are reminded that this information will vary for each subject. The VCE Exam Navigator should also be read by all students undertaking VCE exams this year. A hard copy of this document will be distributed to students during the Trial Examination period.
The second week of the school holidays should be utilised for structured study. We advise students to follow the normal rhythm of the school day, waking each morning at a consistent time and working in 45-minute chunks followed by a 15-minute break. During the school holidays, evenings and weekends should be protected for leisure to give our young people adequate time to decompress and re-energise for the weeks that lie ahead.
Effective study practices during the September school holidays include:
- Using Edrolo videos, quizzes, topic tests and trial exams
- Completing trial exams or sections of trial exams available on Whitefriars Learn
- Practicing working to time, using reading time, responding to key command terms
- Summarising unfamiliar content in a new notebook (not the content that has already been mastered!)
- Creating cram cards of key terminology related to each study and self-quizzing
- Compiling a “mistakes book” of annotated examples of questions that you have gotten wrong on previous SACs or practice exams
I wish all Senior Years student well for the weeks ahead as they move towards their VCE exams.
Catherine Spurritt
Deputy Principal – Learning and Teaching
