Year 12 2019Attaining the Higher School

Certificate

The HSC is…

…a nationally recognized credential

…a step to work or study or both!

…a learning experience

…a partnership of students/families, teachers/College and NESA

… something that requires effort

….one hurdle of many to jump in life!!

The HSC year will be….

Busy, challenging,

Hard work, require organisation & persistence

Rewarding

Their journey…….

from this

To gone in a flash!

The HSC is......

....less than 8 months away!Term 1 – 31 class daysTerm 2 – 35 class daysTerm 3 – 34 class days

= 20 Weeks of actual class time.

The HSC is now!

Mid Course Examinations – 19th March (4 weeks)

Trial Examinations – commence 6th Aug –Week 3 Term3

HSC Examinations – commence 18th October

The HSC requires…..Consistent application Engagement in learningCompletion of formative and formal

assessment tasksOrganisationCapacity to balance school, work, leisure

activitiesCommitmentA reduced social life……..Balance.An acknowledgment that at times you may

feel tired, irritable, grumpy, stressed,….

HSC

Focus on the next target, assignment, homework etc……

The ‘HSC” will take care of itself

BE ORGANISED

A different Way to View the Next Months.

You need to:

• Understand the process

• Know your rights & responsibilities

• Know that you are supported

• Be confident that you can do this!

ASSESSMENT HANDBOOK

2018

HSC Assessment Policy & Procedures

• Principles of Fairness & Justice

• Maintaining honesty & integrity

• Appeals

• Disability Provisions

Assessment Schedule.

Task Notification.

To be eligible for the HSC students must ......

Satisfactorily complete each course – this means• followed the course set by the Authority (a)• applied themselves with diligence and sustained effort to the set

tasks and experiences (b)• achieved some or all of the course outcomes (c)

Note – Principals have the authority to determine that, as a result of absence, the course completion criteria may not be met.

The Final HSC Mark comprises

1. School Assessment Mark, submitted to the NESA at the end of the HSC Course - see Assessment Schedules for weightings

2. HSC External Examination Mark

Performance Bands

NSW Educational Standards Authority -N.E.S.A.

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/home/

All HSC Syllabuses

All Assessment guides

All past HSC papers and marking guidelines

Multiple Choice questions & answers

Disability Provisions guidelines

Further Reading and Strategies.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/hsc-study-guide-2017

What is an ATAR?

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is a numerical measure of a student’s overall achievement in the HSC, in relation to other students.

It is a number between 0.00 and 99.95 and indicates a student’s position relative to all the students who started high school with them in Year 7. So, an ATAR of 80.00 means that you are 20 per cent from the top of your Year 7 group, not your Year 12 group.

It allows a comparison of the achievement of students despite them having completed different courses.

The ATAR is calculated solely for use by tertiary institutions to rank and select school leavers for admission.

The ATAR is a rank

Calculating the ATAR.

HSC and ATAR

Board of Studies Raw ModeratedExam + Assessment Marks

UAC

Rescaled

2 units of English + next best 8 units

ATAR

Based on the quality of the candidates in that

course in that year

Calculation of the ATARThe ATAR is based the best 10 Units of ATAR CoursesThe Universities process each student’s marks and rank

each student from 0 – 99.95 as if all students had completed the same courses.

The ATAR is then presented as a percentile eg. 99.95, 99.94

ATARs below 30 are not reported

This translates as follows - a student who gets 90 has finished in front

of 90 % of students (who commenced Year 7 with them) .

a student who gets a ATAR of 65 has finished in front of 65 % of students

An ATAR of 99.95 does not mean a student got everything right.

An ATAR of 50 does not mean the student averaged 50% in each subject, only that they achieved a better score than half the other students.

Reports for the HSC Year

• New Software for reports. ‘COMPASS’

• Diocesan wide implementation

• Many advantages to the new software for the staff, and how these reports are produced and distributed to the parent community.

• Very similar sections and information but there will be some noticeablechanges.

• Parents and students will receive the report by accessing an online environment –“Compass” that will allow them to view/print/save their reports.

• allows the file to be kept indefinitely and the ability to print or send a copy when required.

• More information on this will be sent out closer to reports.

Something to think about…..

Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a

second time.

George Bernard Shaw

This is it!!!

It is their HSC

Support at school

• Teacher

• Tutor Group Leader

• House Coordinator

- Champagnat: Nick Dalton- Dominic: Kim Scully- MacKillop: Peter Wilkinson- McAuley: Cassie Mowbray

• Learning Support Coordinator – Melissa Chellis

• Careers Adviser – Julie McLoughlin• Dean of Students – Julia Lederwasch• Dean of Studies – Colin • School Counsellors – Renee Tyczynski (Tues-

Thurs), Gayna Turner(Mon- Fri)• Studies Coordinators• Classroom teachers• TGLs

• MacKillop Centre

• Library: Wed & Thursday afternoon, Tuesday morning from 8.00am

• What Works for Me

• Yoga Wednesday 8.15

• Café

Perseverance

Maintaining attention is a skillAngela Duckworth (University of Pennsylvania) hasshown that perseverance, “grit” is a better predictorof academic success than IQ scores

Sustained attention: responding to challenges;rolling up your sleeves and working harder (mindfulness, meditation, yoga, sport, work)

If people don’t keep paying attention how do weexpect them to persevere?

How can you help?

• Ask them!• (rather than lecture or ignore)

Listenwhere

when

what

Ask them to:

• Relate, describe, explain what they did today in……….shows interest…. and verbalising assists comprehension & retention

Learning is accumulative

• New ideas must be incorporated into previous materials

• Review and reflection are essential

• Put things into context - where does this fit, why are we doing this?

Support: empathy, mutual respect, balance

• Maintain positive relationships with family and friends• Allow time for exercise and leisure• Get plenty of sleep• Nutrition: Eat sensibly …breakfast, before exams..• Set aside planned study time• Be organised• Practise relaxation techniques• Space: lighting, air flow, table/chair, noise

How you can help - strategies:

Help them build self belief

• Encouragement• Support• Look for moments to give positive feedback• Patience• Don’t threaten

comparepredict failure

Balance: planning and management

• Study - targets rather than time

• Homework – different to study

• Sport/drama/music/dance

• Part time work

• Socialising

Responsibility?

• Ultimately it is the student’s responsibility• Support BUT it is their HSC• There will be hurdles… and falls

Expectations:

•Unrealistic expectations, perceived, real, parental or self can lead to overwhelming stress

•Contact the school with concerns

http://www.reachout.com.au/home.asp

http://ecouch.anu.edu.au

http://bluepages.anu.edu.au

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/parents/parent-guide

Useful websites