Year 12 News 2011

Boarding News. Year 12, Week 8, Term 1, 2011

Dear Year 12 parents/ carers

This has been a challenging week for most boys as they have faced a few more exams than week one of the exam period. Again it is hard to generalise but the majority have continued to be cooperative and motivated to do their best.

There are a number of events happening before the end of term which I will be alerting the boys to:

• The Summer Sports Rally is in the Hall at 6.30pm on Saturday. There will be a name check at the end of this. Boys with overnights, weekly boarders and dayboys may leave after this concludes about 7.30pm.
• On Sunday all boys returning need to be back by 8pm as we have the weekend Mass at 8.15pm in the Chapel.
• The Lenten collection continues and a lot of Year 12s need to make a start with their donations on Sunday night or Monday morning.
• On Monday all boys will be involved in speeches for Standard and Advanced English
• On Monday winter sport will begin and so gear will be needed for this.
• On Wednesday summer sport photos will be taken. Clean gear will be needed for this.
• On Wednesday the whole year group have a Reflection day. This is to be held at the Villa Maria Marist Fathers complex just down the road. It is a follow up to last year’s retreats which went so well and it will be run by Br Tony Leon who is in charge of the Vocations Ministry for the Marist Brothers.
• I will be giving information about voting in the election on Saturday for those who are 18. There is a polling booth at the local church just off Ryde Road.

It is important that the boys finish this term well and begin new work in class with vigour. Your continued encouragement is very helpful in ensuring that they get this message. They have a very good holiday coming up and this will be a time to rest and renew themselves for term 2. A lot of social events in the next two weeks can wait until the holidays and again your support with this is essential.

Parents are very welcome to the rally and Sunday’s Mass if you are available. I hope you enjoy the weekend.

Blog fever has hit all areas of Joeys. To access the new P & F blog please use this link:

 http://blogs.joeys.org/pandf/

Pat

Academic News. Year 12, Week 8, Term 1, 2011.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Not much from me this week. Students have been in exams for the second week and we are heading towards the end of the Half Yearly Examination period on Tuesday morning, March 29th. Students will sit for Studies of Religion 1U and 2U and they will return to normal classes after Recess. Teachers have been busy marking papers and the final week and a half of Term will involve a combination of an exam de-brief and return of papers as well as a continuation of course content. It is certainly not a time for students to switch off.

Monday’s Mathematics exams presented a logistical challenge for us as the weather was extremely poor. I was very impressed with the cooperation of the boys who, despite the heavy rain, got to the Hall on time and enteredby course in alphabetical order. This was a great effort and it meant that everyone was settled and calm for the exam.

Less impressive has been a few studnets who arrived late for exams further into in the week. I always wonder what their first few answers are like as they fumble into their seats, rushing and completely disorganised. On the whole, however, I have been quite pleased with the conduct and application of the vast majority of Year 12 studnets in these exams.

Mark Fenech

Careers News:

A large table of important careers dates will be added to the Year 12 Blog on Monday. Please stay tuned.

Year 12 Boarding News. Week 7, Term 1, 2011

Dear Year 12 parents/carers

The Year 12 News Blog will focus on the following items this week:

• St Joseph’s Day liturgy
• Cyber-bullying
• Year 12 Half Yearly Examinations in progress
• Banking Cadetships and ADFA cadetships
• Paid work available for students during the Easter vacation.

Mark and I have commended the boys for their cooperation during the exams which began on Tuesday this week. The majority have been motivated, punctual and willing to follow instructions in the exams and in study. It can be a difficult time but most have coped well with the pressure. Thank you for limiting the amount of dinner leaves and overnights as this has helped maintain a regular environment in boarding and for the boys’ study.

If there are any more overnight requests for full boarders on Saturday, could these be sent today?

The whole school have had a Mass for St Joseph’s Day today which all Year 12 s (except those with a morning exam) have attended. Yesterday Br Anthony spoke to the whole year about cyberbullying and issues that arise from new technology. This was timely and very real to the worlds of these young men. Brother is presenting this to all year groups.

Tonight there is a reunion for those who were involved in the Marist Children’s Camp at the end of last year. This is a chance to get together but also an important to “debrief” about the whole experience.

On Saturday week 26^th March we have the Summer Sports Rally at 6.30pm in the Hall. This is compulsory for all and will be finished by 7.30pm. Mass for that weekend will be at 8.15pm on Sunday and so those returning need to be back by 8pm on Sunday 27^th March.

I will be absent at a Marist Schools Boarding Conference from Sunday afternoon until Monday evening. I will still be able to access my emails and will reply as soon as possible. The Year 12 office will be manned and messages can be left on 98160845 still.

All the best until next week

Pat

Year 12 Academic News. Week 7, Term 1, 2011

Dear Parents and Carers,

Year 12 have approached their exams with impressive attitudes and application. They have been punctual and well organised and have listened very well to instructions by the exam supervisors. If what they are writing is as good as their cooperation then we should be in for some good results. Teachers have also been going the extra yard this week, putting on additional classes, marking practice papers or meeting with students individually or in small groups. It certainly is a team effort. We appreciate the support that most parents give us when we work with your boys during challenging times like exams. Most parents back the tough schedules and rules that we ask the boys to follow, knowing that it is in making sacrifices and working within routines and boundaries that young men excel. Some parents will always find it difficult to say “No” and some will choose to cover their son’s tracks when rules are broken or tough options are dodged. This does not help anyone. Parents dropping off food to boys during study may see this as a kind gesture of support. In fact, simple things like this serve to undermine routines like name checks and disrupt time management. It takes Staff away from assisting students in order to chase up other students. Please do not allow your sons to talk you into easy options.

I have scheduled the Mathematics exams on Monday morning for very specific reasons. It will allow students to study over the weekend in order to tackle these difficult tests. Also, the College will be relatively quiet with younger students away on activities for St Joseph’s day.  The challenge is to get a lot of work done this weekend and I would advise boys to stay in on Saturday night to ensure not only that work is done, but that they are fresh in mind and body on Sunday and ready for the demands that Monday will bring. It will need some parents to say “No” this weekend.

I have rescheduled the Studies of Religion exams to Tuesday morning 29th March commencing at 8.25 AM. This was necessary because of common areas of content in the 1U and 2U exams that meant they had to be done at the same time. This rescheduling should not disadvantage any student. All boys will return to normal classes after Recess on Tuesday 29th March.

 I encourage parents to take time to discuss the exams that boys have done this week and to ask about those coming up. Boys appreciate an ear to bend. Be a patient listener and give advice at the appropriate time. It is very important that parents don’t panic or jump to the wrong conclusions as anxiety will only spread to your son. Ask them how they have been getting ready for the remaining tests or who they have been working with.

Exam time sees me out of the office a fair bit. I like to be there at the start and end of each exam if I’m not teaching. My colleagues in the Art Department help me out by covering some classes for those important few minutes at each end of the Yr 12 exams. It often means that I may not return to my office until the end of the day so you may consider email messages more effective if you are trying to reach me over the coming week and a bit. The email address is mfenech@joeys.org

Best wishes,

Mark Fenech 

Yr 12 Chemistry, Senior Science and Primary Industries students in their exam on Thursday.

Year 12 Careers News. Week 7, Term 1, 2011

Applications for banking business cadetships are now open

(closing 11 May)

Business Cadetships is an organisation which brokers cadetship positions for international banks. For HSC students starting university in 2012 cadetships are offered at UBS and Bank of America Merril Lynch.

Business Cadets combine university study with paid work at one of these two banks. The Business Cadetships Program allows you to choose the university and your course of study. Applications for Business Cadetships are made online to Professional Cadetships Australia at http://www.businesscadetships.com.au/bc_application_form_2011.asp

Business cadets employed by these leading global companies have the opportunity to gain a breadth of experience in financial services. Cadets are in a position to develop critical financial skills and apply what is learnt at university to paid work in a relevant industry. Business cadets earn a salary while at university, benefit from corporate mentoring opportunities and graduate with sought after experience.

Entry is competitive as the rewards are substantial. Year 12s are encouraged to apply and to discuss their application with Mrs Charters. It is important that the ‘skills’ questions in the application are answered in a style expected by the recruiting companies and in line with the skills and attributes detailed on the website page: http://www.businesscadetships.com.au/bc_what.asp

HSC students. Applications to the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA).

Year 12 students considering applying to ADFA for 2012 entry should start their application process as soon as possible. The recruitment process can take several months and applications for 2012 are unlikely to be considered after July.

Students who join the defence force receive a salary and benefits while studying. All ADFA degrees are conferred by the University of New South Wales.

Students interested in applying should contact Mrs Charters by email. The recruitment process is highly structured and interviews are in essence oral and written exams. Structured questions and preparation material are available and it is strongly recommended that students use these. Interview preparation is also recommended and Mrs Charters can assist with this. Information on opportunities in the defence force can be found at  http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/ and information on ADFA is at http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/education/  and specifically http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/education/Adfa/

 Mrs Charters

Careers Counsellor

Boarding News Year 12, Week 6, Term 1, 2011

Dear Year 12 parents/carers,

The half yearly exams are just about on the boys. This should be a weekend of solid work in the lead up to them. Any weekly boarders who would benefit from staying in may do so on request from you.

During the exams, boys are expected to attend school each day as normal. They must be at all meals and sports training. We find that this is the best for most of them as they keep their routines and their rooms are well set up for productive and supervised study. Please keep dinner leaves and overnight requests to the absolutely essential during this time. As I have explained to the boys, the Trial HSC and the HSC itself are periods when leave requests are more appropriate if a boy has a break for a few days in his timetable.

At Assembly yesterday we had a very good presentation by Mr Cherry and Tim Hill from Year 12 about their unique expedition to Antarctica late last year. For a school group to go there is rare and more details about the trip are on the College website.

With Lent starting we had an Ash Wednesday liturgy. The boys are encouraged to donate at least $10 towards the Marist Asia- Pacific Solidarity over the next four weeks. Collections will be on their return to school on Sunday nights or Monday mornings. A little prompting from home can help with this.

Last night we had a voluntary Mass just for Year 12 in the Chapel. The special intention was their exams but there are many more things to pray for, of course. This is something that will be offered each term.

Our 1^st VIII rowers are attending the National Championships in Adelaide this weekend. We wish them and all sports teams the very best as the summer sports season draws to a close.

Pat

Year 12 Brains Trust (Photo by Clay Cross)

Academic News Year 12 Week 6, Term 1, 2011

Dear Parents /Carers and students,

I want to take this opportunity to make some important examination procedures very clear before the Half Yearly Examinations commence on Tuesday. These exams represent a very significant part of students’ overall Assessment marks for their HSC in most subjects. They are also the second last time that students will sit for formal exams of this nature before they do the HSC exams later in the year. The Half Yearly Academic Report is a very important document about the student as well as an indicator of his academic progress and targets.  I will expand upon these few points briefly.

• Half Yearly Examinations and HSC Assessments

Students are advised to look carefully at the 2011 HSC Assessment Handbook that they received at the start of Term 4, 2010 to check the assessment weighting of the Half Yearly exams in each of their subjects. This weighting will also be shown on the Assessment Notifications that teachers have distributed in each subject for these exams. Some subjects will weight exams heavier than others and this is quite normal. Good exam performances present as an opportunity to consolidate Rankings in each course and build upon performances in earlier Assessment Tasks.

• A Trial for the Trial HSC:

The Half Yearly Exams give us an excellent opportunity to hone our exam room skills. I will run these exams exactly as the Presiding Officer, appointed by the Board of Studies, will do for our HSC examinations in October/November.  Students will assemble on the steps of the Hall no later than 10 minutes before each exam, 15 minutes for the larger exams of Mathematics, English and Studies of Religion. I remind them again that they should only bring exam equipment to their exams – DO NOT BRING MOBILE PHONES! An electronic clock is displayed on the big screen in the Hall but students should wear a watch if they are in other exam locations.

No student will be permitted to leave the exam room before the finishing time. I expect that very student will work right through to the end of every examination. Our boys have been excellent in doing this in the past.

All Year 12 students are expected to be at the College every day during the Half Yearly exams whether or not they have a test on. Parents are asked to assist me and Pat with this one please. Do not let boys talk you into staying at home by saying they can study better. They can’t. They have their routine here and most importantly, they have their teachers here. Teachers are rostered on to supervise students each lesson when they are studying in their rooms. There is no wandering around, no visiting other boys – though students can ask to do peer tutoring in the Yr 12 Common Room if they need assistance from other boys. Students need to be very organised during their study time. There will be long periods of recreation also and normal sports training will continue during the exams. This is a crucial aspect for our boys and a wonderful pressure release. I have said to all Year 12 that there is nothing wrong with an early night if they have done all their work.

If a student is unwell when he has an exam, he is to bring it to my attention either in person, by email or by telephone. He is expected to sit for his exams even if he is unwell unless he is physically unable to sit in the exam room. Whether attending unwell or not attending the exam, I will require a doctor’s certificate.

• The Half Yearly Academic Report

The Academic Report that will follow the Half Yearly exams is a very important one. We pride ourselves on delivering reports home within a very short time after the conclusion of the exams. Most Sydney-based families should expect the report in the mail on or soon after Monday April 11^th. It that mailing will be a subject  report by page, a full boarding report. On each subject report will appear a course mark, course average and a progressive ranking.  The course mark on the Half Yearly report is a combination of the exam and assessments completed up to this point, different to the Trial HSC report which will only reflect the exam. Teacher comments will often reflect areas that need attention but mostly they will comment on progress achieved.

The Boarding Report is the last full report of this kind that a Year 12 student will receive before his Headmaster’s Reference around Christmas time. This is a statement of character that is very helpful to prospective employers and in particular, for scholarship or apprenticeship applications or applications to residential universities.

Best wishes,

Mark Fenech

Tom Smithers preparing his Visual Arts Body of Work

Boarding News

Year 12 Week 5, Term 1, 2011

Dear Year 12 parents/carers,

The main features of this week’s blog include:

• Photos of the School Athletics Carnival, award winners and class activities.
• A snapshot of what classes are doing to prepare for the Half Yearly exams.
• Important dates to remember.
• Headmaster’s message about Parent/teacher interviews.

We hope that you enjoy this news and find it helpful.

At Assembly today the following Year 12s were on stage because of their recent sporting achievements:

Matthew Vickers scored 30 points in the 1sts basketball last Saturday; Abel Bernardi took a match winning hat trick in the 3rds cricket; Aidan Blair was third in the Under 17 athletics point score at Monday’s athletic carnival, while Jack Karikios and Mark Brandon were equal second in the opens to Michael Shin, the Open athletics champion for 2011.

Also at Assembly, Br Anthony read from an email that I received this week from the organiser of the Santa Sabina dance that 35 of the Year 12s went to last Friday. She commended the boys on their behaviour and manners. Each shook her hand and thanked her at the end of the night and this was very impressive. She didn’t find it too surprising however and nor did her father who is a Joeys Old Boy!

 Other positives this past week have included the wins by the 1sts and 2nds debating teams in the ISDA competition’s first round and the very strong performances by our GPS swimmers especially Jackson Howell and Sam Lane. Angus Le Lievre was chosen in the GPS cricket squad for the second consecutive year and Eliot Frank played in the CIS water polo team on Monday.

Br Anthony spoke about what makes a strong year group. He mentioned respect for each other, the ability to relate to staff, genuine support and pride in each other’s achievements among other characteristics. This is a theme that we will continue to push with the current Year 12 in order to make them into a stronger form day by day.

Could I ask that if you hear of any parents who are not receiving these blogs or emails, that you encourage them to send me an email so that this can fixed up?

Thanks and all the best until next week

Pat Rodgers

Academic News

Year 12 Week 5, Term 1, 2011             “Make No Small Plans!”

I’ve grown accustomed to the nervous energy leading into exams. It’s a busyness quite unlike other times of the year. Most students look to their routine to get them through long periods of concentration; others wait outside staff rooms to check work with teachers; some sneak back to their rooms halfway through the supper break to get the edge that comes with a few extra minutes of work; most change their priorities such that the books get more attention than the girlfriend and a few lost souls will kid themselves that they can deal with it all later.  

I say to our Class of 2011 as they approach their Half Yearly exams in less than a fortnight – “Make No Small Plans!” These were the words of the great American architect, Daniel Burnham, who rebuilt Chicago after the Great Fire of 1873 that burnt that city to the ground. “Make no little plans;” Burnham said, “they have no magic to stir men!” It is my belief that setting big goals is the prerogative of those with opportunity and our boys certainly have that. They ought to ask a lot of themselves and strive to achieve those lofty ambitions. They are young and capable and they have the support of giants here at SJC and at home. But it will take sacrifice.

Exam Preparation in Year 12 classes:

Teachers and their classes have been doing a lot to prepare for the Half Yearly exams. This week I asked our Year 12 teachers for a snapshot of some of those things. Studies of Religion 1U students have been  given a past  HSC question on Jewish ethics and they will receive another on Christian ethics soon.  In Studies of Religion 2U, classes are carefully analysing the characteristics of essay responses in the higher Bands in order to avoid the ‘generic prepared answer’. Music 1 students are using their textbook and online resources to work through the musical concepts involved in the Aural part of their exam. In Legal Studies, students start each lesson by analysing homework essay tasks against established marking criteria. In Industrial Technology, students are finishing an Industry survey assessment task that will feature prominently in their exam. Through this unit the boys have been provided links to the OBOS website where past examinations may be accessed as a study resource this link may be located on the College iLearn page. Geographers are consolidating their content from their visit to Leeton early in the term and their case study on the rice industry. Mega-cities is another topic that Geography students are honing for their exam responses. All Advanced and Standard English students have received marked work and feedback on a practice Area of Study essay that will help them prepare for their speeches on the last day of exams. In addition, Standard English have been revising their novel Maestro as well as working on a booklet of past HSC questions. Advanced English have done the same with respect to their novel called Cloudstreet. Speech preparation and revision of prescribed texts and two self-chosen related texts is what’s keeping English Extension 1 students busy. ESL boys are focusing on past HSC questions for their Area of Study. In Agriculture key terms have been the focus of selected past exam questions and the students are also developing their own examples of multiple Choice questions which will feature in the new format exam for Ag this year. Revision of the mandatory units on the Primary Industries course as well as HSC On-line and notes from their visit to Tocal is solid preparation for the PI boys. In French, past papers also remain the focus as well as consistent practise in speaking and listening. General mathematicians will be receiving a booklet of past SJC Half-yearly exam papers to keep them busy. In Ancient History, students have been given a revision template for their first topic, complete with past HSC questions. Drama students have also been given a revision booklet and are accessing exam resources on iLearn. The same is happening in Biology (more Biology and less Drama, though) specifically in the Syllabus topic Maintaining A Balance. iLearn is proving to be very useful for students in the 2U Mathematics course while they are continuing to study the challenging topic of the Theory of Trigonometric Functions as well as the application of this theory in the calculations of Areas and Volumes. Physics boys are also accessing past exam papers on iLearn. It’s a similar story in Engineering Studies. In PDHPE, Core topic 1 revision has been completed and the boys are getting stuck into Core topic 2 via past exam questions. Right from the very start of the term, Latin scholars have been revising the translation of the 400 lines prescribed from Virgil Aeneid X, methodically working through them at the rate of 20 lines per day  in their own time and then spending 10 minutes at the beginning of every second lesson doing a multiple choice grammar test based on the previous 40 lines revised (tests sourced from Trial HSCs from other NSW schools), before proceeding with the term’s required work. In Visual Arts, the practical Body of Work is well underway while in art history and criticism the assessment task on Contemporary Artistic Practices will provide a wealth of content for Section II of the written exam. Senior Science students have been encouraged to attended early morning revision classes at 8 am each Wednesday morning in Week A and Mondays in Week B and complete Chapter tests from their text book.

In a nut shell, we’re busy alright! Top that up with training for summer sports and games on Saturday as well.

Writing Essays:

I spoke to the whole Form on Wednesday about writing essays. I reminded them that writing sentences is the first step in writing a good essay. Topic sentences are crucial to good essay structure and these need to be practised. Similarly, the conclusion is an often under-estimated part of the essay because students are rushing to finish their work in an exam. Conclusions are the last thing that the marker reads before placing a mark on the script so they are worth taking time over. One thing that parents can do to help with essays is to offer to read them back to their sons or allow them to read it to you. Essays sound different when they can be heard as well as read. Another helpful thing is to buy a cheap thesaurus to have on his desk.

Board of Studies:

On Wednesday, Year 12 students checked their HSC Entry Forms making sure that their personal details and subject selections were all in order. At the home front. parents should watch out carefully for mail sent by the Board of Studies and by the University Admissions Centre. Important PIN numbers will be one such item and these will be needed to gain access to HSC results and to make course selections for university entry. Please keep these in a safe place when they arrive. Because of privacy laws, schools do not receive copies of student PINs so lost numbers can be problematic.

Best wishes for a lovely weekend,

Mark Fenech

Boarding News:

Dear Year 12 parents/carers,

At Assembly this morning, the boys who were involved in the Marist Children’s Camp were presented and congratulated. Declan Carroll spoke about the honour of helping with these children. It was very pleasing to see so many of the current Year 12 on stage and recognised for their outstanding and generous effort last December.

There are many other examples of boys from this year group who go out of their way to contribute to the College. I commended those who are acolytes, the debaters and swimmers who give up Friday nights and those boys who have offered to help tutor younger boys in Maths before school. This is all voluntary and could easily be disregarded but it is one of the things that makes Joeys strong. I congratulated Joshua Johns for his effort in coming 2^nd in the local Oratory competition last week, Steve Brandon who won the Under 19 90 metre sprint, the flags and the 15metre sprint at the Sydney surf lifesaving carnival last Saturday. Patrick Feeney was also part of the relay team that came third at the same carnival.

We had a special visitor on Tuesday evening at Year 12 dinner. Matthew Shiells has been very involved at Riverview as a supporter at many of their events. The school has embraced his presence for 30 years which began as he moved near the College. He has become well known to Joeys during that time and he has been keen to come over to join us for dinner. Matty was well looked after by a group of Year 12s who sat with him at dinner and gave him a tour of the College which he thoroughly enjoyed. Their response to him was very impressive. We also had two senior leaders from Riverview at last week’s Assembly. They asked to come to say a special thank you after Joeys agreed to host their Year 11 formal last year. On the day of that event Riverview was struck by tragedy when a young old boy took his life near the Hall where the Formal was scheduled to be held. With very little notice, with the help of many of the boys who were at the Marist Children’s Camp the Br Emilian Hall was set up and the evening went off very well.

On Friday evening 30 Year 12s will be attending a dance at Santa Sabina. This is being held as a fundraiser for the Queensland floods and we are happy to help out with this. There are very few dances organised during Year 12 but there a quite a few opportunities for boys to attend afternoon teas at various schools. The first of these is next week at PLC Pymble.

On Monday we have the College Athletics Carnival which will run at the Park from 11am -5pm. Those boys who are returning to school on Monday must wear their athletics gear (with the College tracksuit if needed). They must ensure that they have the correct colour t shirt. Second hand colour shirts are available at the clothing pool on Friday afternoon. All boys are expected to race in a 100 metres and 400 metres event at least.

Please find a list of compulsory events for the Year 12s. These are worth highlighting somewhere at home as this will help in planning what is a year when we expect great commitment from these young men. I have given the boys a hard copy of the College calendar today. This can also be found on the College website www.joeys.org which I can recommend to you as it is constantly updated.

Pat Rodgers

Academic News:

This week I entered all of our Year 12 students and Year 11 Accelerated Maths students into their HSC courses at the Board of Studies. This is done On-line and our students are familiar with the processes of checking their personal details and courses of study on their Confirmation of Entry Forms. It is very important that these details are kept up to date as the Board will use this information to collect data for the students’ Higher School Certificates and they will forward this information to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Centre to enable students to make course selections for university. If you have a change of address at any time, please inform me immediately so that I can update this data at the Board of Studies.

Year 12 are very busy at the moment as can easily be seen on the Term 1 Assessment Schedule that was posted on this blog last week. I ask that parents encourage boys to be spending a minimum of two to three hours working on assignments, homework and exam preparation each Sunday when they return home.

I have made it my business to enter a few classes this week to see how the boys are working. I was very impressed by the rapid-fire answers given in Mr Frost’s Legal Studies class on the limitations and obligations of angencies of the judicial system. Let’s hope these answers haven’t come from first hand experience! I have also inspected several students work books this week. Students must realise that unsatisfactory work can lead to an N Grade warning as part of the process in the non-completion of a course. This is a very serious matter that may jeopardise a student’s entire HSC. Should I decide to issue such a formal warning, I would first contact parents to come in for a meeting with me and their son.

It has been wonderful to see that nearly 20 Year 12 students have offered to assist younger boys with their maths on Friday mornings under a new program promoted by Mr Thompson, Head of Mathematics. Very pleasing also was the initiative shown by Year 12 Latin students to offer the same to junior students of Latin.

Many boys have been meeting this week with Mrs Charters, our Careers Advisor. There will always be a section in this blog on weekly careers news and I encourage students and parents to read this carefully.

Best wishes until next week,

Mark Fenech, Year 12 Academic Coordinator.

Careers News:

Defence Technical Scholarship (DTS).

Year 12 students are encouraged to apply for a Defence Technical Scholarship (DTS). The DTS rewards technically-savvy students for staying on at school and completing their HSC. Defence offer a number of DTS annually. Successful Year 12 students receive $3000.00. Although there is no obligation to join the Navy, Army or Air Force after finishing school, you will need to explain why you may be interested in an ADF technical trade career as part of the DTS selection process. Applicants should be studying a Math subject and either a TVET subject, Industrial Technology or Engineering Studies in the HSC year. Last year four SJC Year 12s were awarded DTS. Information is on the DTS website www.defencejobs.gov.au/DTS or from Mrs Charters. Due date for applications is Friday 11 March.

Mrs Lorna Charters

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to the final year of your son’s education at St Joseph’s College. After a very hot and uncomfortable first week, things have settled down and the boys are in full swing as they head to the half-way point of their HSC courses. Term 1 in Year 12 is characterised by Half Yearly examinations and these are an important milestone in the Assessment schedule with these exams usually carrying a significant weighting towards students’ final assessment marks. These exams also give a very formal reminder of what will come in October and November when the external HSC examinations occur.

I have been fairly pleased with the start made by Year 12 in the classroom and in Study. As they know all too well on the sporting field, the boys must realise that personal bests must be achieved in order to achieve and sustain real progress. They need to ask a lot of themselves this year.

In the Classroom:

Students studying English Standard and English Advanced received work back from their teachers on their very first lesson back in the classroom. This was their assessment task that involved creative writing and short passage responses. The return of this work made for a very sudden back-to-work transition from holiday mode.

Geography students have spent three days away at Leeton looking first hand at rice production in Australia and visiting two farms in their case study. Mr Mark Cahill and Mr Fergus Stewart commented to me that our Year 12 Geographers were thoroughly engaged and excellently behaved. Similarly, Legal Studies students visited Maitland Gaol on Friday with Mr Darren Frost and Mr Mark Conlon where they saw real-life exemplars of their HSC topic: Crime. Students were addressed and lead on a guided tour of the gaol by an ex-convict who had some sobering and tragic stories to tell of the prison system.

Many Subject Departments have their own blog on the school website as a way of keeping parents up to date with happenings in their subject. It is also a wonderful way for students to access important content from their teachers including course outlines, up-coming assessments and topic specific information. You can use the following link for Mathematics:

http://blogs.joeys.org/maths2011

In Study:

Year 12 students are privileged to be able to spend their day-time Study Periods in their own rooms. This provides an excellent opportunity for quiet, individual study free from distraction. These Study Periods are supervised by Boarding Staff who walk the floors taking Roll Call and keeping the peace. Students are well aware that they are not permitted to visit the rooms of other students during Study, though they can ask permission to visit the Resources Centre or Teaching Staff and they can also ask to work in small groups in the Year 12 Common Room.

Every student was given a 2011 wall planner upon their arrival back to school. I encourage students to update these calendars with important dates for assessments, homework tasks, excursions, sport fixtures and exams so that they can be well organised.

Desktop computers are available on the second level of each “block” of rooms in Year 12 and wireless internet access is available to all students using laptops in their rooms. Mr Gary Evans, Director of ICT, spoke to the Form last week to explain how best to use computers in the Year 12 area. Social network sites such as Facebook are only accessible during recreation time and I encourage students to avoid using their personal electronic devices for pre-down loaded games or movies during Study or after lights out. While the school takes all possible precautions to deny access to Facebook at night, some students are able to dodge these restrictions by using proxy logins. My view is that Facebook will be the single most destructive element in a student’s HSC if they continue to abuse it. Boys are not permitted to use their phones during Study so I remind parents to leave their calls until the nightly Study Break which is between 8.30 and 9.00 PM.

There is a very comfortable air of silence around the rooms during Study Periods and Night Study. While many students prefer to listen to music while they work, they must only do this through headphones so that no loud music can disturb others. We have a very experienced team of Boarding Supervisors working with our Year 12 students this year. Mr Craig Sharpley (PDHPE) and Mr Greg Thompson (Mathematics) are Head of Departments, while Mr John Cherry (Physics), Mr Miguel Nunes (General Mathematics), Mr Craig Attwater (PDHPE) are all Year 12 teachers at the College. Mr Martin Gillogly is a senior PDHPE teacher at Oakhill College. Mr Conrad Mathias and Mr Mark Hegerty are a constant presence particularly during daytime study periods. As well as being Boarding Coordinator, Pat Rodgers is an experienced Senior English and Modern History teacher and I specialise in the area of Visual Arts. There is a wealth of experience available to all Year 12 students if they need help during study.

All Year 12 students received two important documents last week – the Half Yearly Examination Timetable and the Term 1 Assessment Schedule. Parents and carers can view these documents on the school website and also on the Year 12 Blog.

Academic Awards:

Congratulations to those students who received 2010 Academic Awards the 2010 Prize Giving Ceremony. They are:

Congratulations also to Callum Barry who completed a cultural exchange in France over the summer vacation. Callum has returned to school speaking very fluent French which will serve his HSC studies well, I’m sure.

Careers:

I strongly encourage Year 12 students to arrange appointments with our Careers Advisor, Mrs Lorna Charters over the next few weeks. These meetings are important for goal setting and layout out all options available for 2012 and beyond. Cadetship and scholarship applications often close mid-year and students should be well organised to take advantage of these opportunities. In the coming weeks I will include some links to career related items such as scholarship applications, university Open Days and so on.

Best wishes,

Mark Fenech