Senior School
Dear Families,
We wanted to update you on a few key developments in the Senior School.
Trial GAT
On Friday, our Year 12 students, along with Year 11 students completing Year 12 subjects, will participate in a practice General Achievement Test (GAT). This trial helps us better prepare students for the real GAT exam, which will take place on Tuesday, June 17th.
GAT 2025 – 17th June
The GAT is a pen-and-paper test that assesses general knowledge and skills. It is taken by students completing their senior secondary studies and plays an important role in quality assurance for VCE assessments. It also provides students an opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in the Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Standards. No special study is required for the GAT, but past study in subjects like English, Mathematics, Science, and History helps students build the general knowledge and skills needed in writing, numeracy, and reasoning.
For more detailed information on the GAT, please click here.
Attendance
We are pleased to report a strong start to 2025 for both our Year 11 and Year 12 students, with Year 12 attendance at 95% and Year 11 attendance at 92%. Consistent attendance is crucial for VCE success, as it ensures students receive the support they need. If a student misses a SAC (School-Assessed Coursework), a medical certificate or statutory declaration is required. All SACs are listed as green events on students’ Compass accounts, but you can also contact the Senior School for confirmation.
Year 12 Formal
The Year 12 Formal will be held on Friday, June 20th. More details, including ticket sales, will be provided early in Term 2.
Year 11 Subject Changes
Requests for subject changes for Year 11 students will open in Week 4 of Term 2. Students can request a review of their subjects, and the Senior School will make every effort to accommodate requests within the constraints of the school timetable.
Elevate Education
We will continue to work with Elevate Education in 2025. They offer seminars and workshops to provide Year 11 and 12 students with study tips, advice on effective studying, and other helpful strategies. These sessions will take place during Personal Development on Tuesday mornings.
Athletics Day
Our annual Athletics Carnival will be held on Wednesday, May 14th. We encourage all VCE and VCE-VM students to attend. There will be a Year 12 Parade, and we look forward to seeing the creative costumes our students come up with.
Communication
We would also like to inform families about our Academic Escalation Process. Some of you may have started receiving emails from classroom teachers about this. Here’s a quick overview:
- Not Yet Satisfactory (NYS): This indicates that a student has not demonstrated a satisfactory understanding of the key knowledge in the study design. This could be due to incomplete coursework or an unsatisfactory SAC. An NYS will outline the next steps for the student, such as redemption or completing coursework by a specified date.
- At-Risk Meeting: This occurs when a Senior School staff member and classroom teacher meet with families to create a plan to support the student in achieving a satisfactory result. This plan outlines the next steps required.
- N Notification: In limited cases, this is issued when a student has not demonstrated satisfactory understanding despite all provided support. This means the student has not passed. A letter will be sent home to inform families. It is important to note that students and families would have already met and implemented interventions before receiving an N notification, unless there has been a major academic breach (e.g., cheating or plagiarism).
We encourage families to reach out to teachers or the Senior School team if there are any questions or concerns.
Asli Dulger
Year 11 & 12 Leading Teacher
VCE VM
What is VCE VM?
VCE VM also known as Vocational Major is designed to prepare students for the future into the workplace as well as apprenticeships, traineeships, and further education. The Vocational Major focuses on more practical subjects compared to VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) which focuses more on pathways to further study at university.
If you’re planning on completing the VCE VM you have to complete every single piece of work you get provided, however you don’t really sit exams, and you have to partake in the workplace on Fridays.
The workplace on Fridays allows students to get the chance of experiencing work early on. This can help them get jobs in the future as they can put on their resume that they have been experienced in the work field.
Although these things may be presented as a lot, there are teachers that will help you. If you believe you can’t manage your work or you’re falling behind, teachers will try a number of things to help you pass and successfully leave the school in Year 12.
Other things that are included are SAC’s but some of the SAC’s are more hands on than others. Vocational Major aims for its students to get a more clear and definitive understanding of the workplace as VCE:VM is here to get students prepared for their adulthood.
Students who are doing VCE:VM are required to sit the General Achievement Test also known as the GAT test. It is the only exam we have to take. It assesses a range of skills you’ve learnt from literacy and maths and just generally sees where you’re at. If you fail your GAT test you have the ability to reset your GAT test. VCE:VM’s work load is as much as VCE’s work load at school, but we do have to do Structured Workplace Learning and our VET Competencies are an on-going assessment. This means that it seems that we don’t have as much study because it is different. We also do not get an ATAR Score.
Hopefully this information on VCE VM has given you a more of an understanding on VCE VM and what it has to offer.
By: Raul – Year 11
Careers
Year 10 Careers ABCN Excursions – 13th & 25th March.
Students and staff made their way into the CBD to meet and engage in a 3.5-hour workshop to improve their interview and employability skills. Interview 2 Impress is an ABCN program, that assigns students to a mentor who aids with learning and developing interview skills.
Thanks to the Microsoft Team, students discovered how body language impacts on communication and ultimately affects job interview chances, heard from their mentors about their job interview experiences, participated in informal interviews and received personalised feedback from their mentors.
Topics covered included:
· effective non-verbal communication,
· building rapport,
· understanding a typical interview structure, and,
· what sorts of questions to expect.
John Tikulin
Careers Teacher