Term 4 – Week 8 – Secondary Notices

Wishing Your Family a Safe and Happy Festive Season

It is always a pleasure to join together with our partners in learning, the parents, to acknowledge important milestones for our students and to celebrate their successes. The presentation evenings provide us an opportunity to look back over the achievements of the year with a sense of pride in goals met, challenges surmounted, and optimism; as well as enjoy the performances through the night.  Many thanks go to the large number of staff who worked tirelessly throughout the year to guide and support our students and much appreciation to the staff who helped organise and assist through the Evening Presentations.

As the holidays begin and Christmas approaches, we wish all parents and students a restful holiday and well-earned break, with time spent enjoying family and friends and the blessings bestowed upon us through the year.

Rosemarie Dunn

Head of Campus – Duncraig

 

The Arts dates for 2023

Please click the link to view all the Art dates for 2023

The Arts Learning Area Dates 2023

 

Music & Community Excellence Scholarships

 

Scholarships

Year 9 Mentor Pen Friends

The Year 9 mentors  receiving and reading the letters from their Year 2 buddies.

Nicola Ross

Teacher – Science

Year 11 Biology Camp

The Y11 ATAR Biology students from Duncraig campus went down South for 3 days to explore its amazing biodiversity! Within our time we studied 6 different ecosystems to truly appreciate the world around us. We explored the deep by visiting the underwater jetty, studied the human impacts on our bushland and beaches as well as going underground to see a slice of ecological history with cave formations older than the current human race!

Nicola Ross

Teacher – Science

Art opportunities – Community Art Exhibition and The Sketchbook Project

2023 Community Art Exhibition

Calling all local artists

Entries for next year’s Community Art Exhibition competition will open on Monday 12 December – Monday 13 February 2023. Consider this an early heads-up to start thinking about your entry, or even a chance to get started on creating your artwork.

There is a prize of $750 for the Student Award (ages 12 to 18), as well as six other monetary and commission prizes up for grabs.

The Community Art Exhibition is set to take place at Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre from Sunday 26 March – Sunday 16 April 2023.

More information and how to enter can be found here https://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/kb/resident/community-art-exhibition-13 or contact visualarts@joondalup.wa.gov.au

 

The Sketchbook Project

Please let your students know that Whitford Library is a going to be a library hub for Propel Youth Arts WA Sketchbook Project.

The Sketchbook Project is a collaborative and visual experience that provides an opportunity for young people to share their own personal stories and passions with the wider community across Western Australia.

Sketchbooks have provided a space for the greatest works and stories of our time to grow. Tell your own story using a sketchbook provided free of charge by Propel Youth Arts WA!

https://www.propel.org.au/sketchbook-project-2022 – Information about the project, Key dates, and link to the Info Sheet
https://form.jotform.com/221768939049875 – Direct link to register.

After registering, students can collect a blank sketchbook from Whitford Library in January. They will be contacted when their book is ready to collect.

They have 2 months to unleash their creativity and fill their sketchbook with their art, poetry – however they want to express themselves – before returning it to Whitford Library by the end of March.The Sketchbooks will be displayed in a micro-exhibition at Whitford Library, before being displayed at the Sketchbook Exhibition at the State Library after the KickstART Festival. Once that has wrapped up, the books go on a travelling tour around the state, visiting libraries all over WA.

The sketchbooks will be returned to students in Feb 2024.

Anita Cheetham
Youth and Children’s Services Officer (Mon, Wed am)
School Liaison Officer (Tues, Wed pm, Thu, Fri)
City of Joondalup

Funk Band rehearsal at Superfreak Studios

The Funk Band had a wonderful four hour rehearsal at Superfreak Rehearsal Studios on Saturday in preparation for their gig at the Carramar “A Night on the Green” this weekend.

The use of the studio was provided by Duncraig Parent Graham Hamilton and the students absolutely loved the opportunity. In addition to rehearsing with their director, Mr Bell, Mr Foster – our Jazz Piano tutor kindly filled in on piano as our regular pianist is unavailable for the gig!

As is tradition, copious amounts of pizza was also consumed!

Andrea Stimson

Director of Music – The Arts

Maths Empowering Girls Day

A group of Year 9 girls attended the Maths Empowering Girls day at Curtin University. The purpose of this day is to expose girls to the opportunities that are available from studying higher maths. The girls used VR Headsets to take measurements in space, they investigated how to pack a spaceship given the parameters of a weight limit of 80kg vs the benefits that each object would have, they used code to create patterns on Arduino and investigated the maths that was involved in fashion design. Most importantly they got to explore where Maths is used outside of the classroom. They all had an enjoyable day and are excited about all of the different possibilities ahead.

Laura Manley

Head of Learning Area – Mathematics

STUDY SKILLS

A reminder that our school subscribes to the Study Skills Handbook, and Education Plus students are regularly encouraged to access the activities at www.studyskillshandbook.com.au

Please find attached an article from the most recent update to the Handbook.

CriticalThinking

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Critical Thinking Skills

There are many things you can do to develop your critical thinking skills before you come back to school next year.  Critical thinking is your ability to think clearly and rationally, reflecting and developing your thoughts. Sometimes we can get a bit lazy with our thinking and we only consider things at a superficial level. Here are some things you can do to enhance your critical thinking.

  1. CLARIFY YOUR THOUGHTS: The best way to clarify your thoughts is to try and explain your thinking to someone else. Even if you are talking to an imaginary person, you will find that explaining your thinking out loud helps you to see the flaws in your argument.
  2. QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS: Don’t take your thoughts for granted, every now and then think about why you believe a certain thought or how you know things to be true. Get in the habit of pausing and looking at what you are thinking and questioning what thoughts underlie your assumptions. Don’t just conform and accept a view because it is the popular one, instead pause and reflect on the arguments for and against that viewpoint and the strengths of each argument.
  3. LOOK FOR OTHER PERSPECTIVES: When you are presenting an argument, imagine yourself in a debate and think about what the opposing side might say. What would someone with a completely opposite view to you believe? Can you understand why they might think that way? Can you see some validity in their viewpoint?
  4. KEEP AN OPEN MIND: In order to look for other perspectives keep an open mind. If you immediately dismiss any thought that does not fit into the way you see the world, you will never be able to expand and develop your viewpoints, you will have a very fixed and limited view of the world.
  5. BE CURIOUS: Start to look outside the things you normally read and watch and think about. Learn more about things you know nothing about and were not previously interested in. Listen more to what people say, we learn so much more when we really listen rather than spend time planning what we will say next.
  6. MAKE INFORMED JUDGEMENTS: It is ok to not have an opinion about something because you don’t have enough information yet. Avoid rushing to judgements, take your time to gather information and evidence and assess it before making a decision. Try not to let yourself be swayed by emotion as this can affect your ability to assess information intellectually.

 

CAREERS AND PATHWAYS

The Careers Newsletter is updated on a regular basis to keep our community informed of the changes that are constantly occurring in post-school pathways:

https://www.ststephenscareersduncraig.com/

There are many different pathways for students to embark on as they transition to life beyond our school community, and these are discussed frequently at school events, in classes with students, and also with our staff.

One of the most recent updates for example, has been UWA’s announcement of a pilot program to enable a broader range of students to apply for entry to a select number of degrees from Semester 1, 2023. Experience-based entry is recognised by many universities and recognises there are many ways to measure a student’s potential to succeed at university taking into consideration a range of backgrounds and circumstances when assessing applications.

Exam FAQ

 Exam time can be a stressful time for the whole family. We wanted to provide a simple explanation about some of the Frequently Asked Questions we receive around results and the meaning behind some of the commonly used acronyms and phrases.

We would like to firstly note that League Tables, which have become widely used as a simple measurement of results in the media, rank schools based upon single measure metrics.

However, schools provide a range of opportunities that are not reflected in many of these tables including service learning, work experience, tours, camps and the like. Different practices between schools regarding scholarships, pathways and subject selections also mean that results are not comparing like for like.

As St Stephen’s believes in the holistic education of a child with both academic achievement and student wellbeing being central to what “success” looks like for a Year 12 graduate, perhaps a more accurate table or statistic to look at for university-bound students is what percentage of students got into university. 

  • What are the league tables?

While some find merit in the single metric measurements of league tables, at St Stephen’s, we find they only provide a limited snapshot of achievements and do not reflect all students who undertake Year 12 studies in different areas.

Since 2016, the three tables commonly reported on are: the percentage of students obtaining a WACE, the median ATAR and schools’ performance in VET (this is the percentage of students who achieve a Certificate II or higher compared to those who attempted it is the metric – in the last few years St Stephen’s has been achieving a 100% rating in this space).

  • What is the WASSA?

All students receive a Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA) when they complete Year 12. The WASSA was introduced to WA in recent years to bring the State’s reporting in line with the rest of the country. It formally records a student’s achievement in every course, qualification and program completed in senior secondary schooling and provides evidence of achievement.

  • What is the WACE?

The West Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is awarded to students who have successfully completed senior secondary schooling and have met specific WACE requirements.These include either a direct entry ATAR pathway studying four or more ATAR courses; completing a Certificate II or higher VET qualification with a combination of other courses; or selecting five General courses or a combination of General and ATAR courses. In addition requirements around literacy and numeracy standards, grade standards and studying a breadth of subjects must be met. More information about the requirements can be found on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website at senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au.

  • What is ATAR and how is it calculated?

ATAR stands for Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. It is used to rank students who wish to enter public universities in Australia relative to one another. Find more at www.tisc.edu.au/static/guide/atar-about.tisc.

The ATAR is calculated by averaging moderated school marks and examination marks to determine a combined course mark. These scores are then standardised and then scaled.

The top 4 scaled scores of appropriate course combinations are added together to produce the School Leaver Tertiary Entrance Aggregate, this is then converted into an ATAR score. Find more here: www.tisc.edu.au/static-fixed/statistics/misc/marks-adjustment-process.pdf

  • Why is calculating the ATAR so complicated?

The statistical processes used are done in the interests of fairness for all.

Moderation of school marks occurs to ensure that students are neither advantaged or disadvantaged as a result of differences in the standards of assessment and marking that occurs within different schools.

Standardising marks is to compensate for variations that may occur in the difficulty of particular examinations from year to year.

Scaling takes account of the ability of students undertaking different courses to ensure that students taking difficult courses are not disadvantaged or advantaged if they take an easier one.

  • What is VET?

VET stands for Vocational Education and Training. It provides students with qualifications recognised nationally by industry and training organisations. At senior school level, the qualifications offered are usually Certificate I, II, III, or IV courses. More at senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/vet/faqs.

Study Skills Handbook Newsletter Item for December

STUDY SKILLS HANDBOOK NEWSLETTER ITEM FOR DECEMBER

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

 

Critical Thinking Skills

 

There are many things you can do to develop your critical thinking skills before you come back to school next year.  Critical thinking is your ability to think clearly and rationally, reflecting and developing your thoughts. Sometimes we can get a bit lazy with our thinking and we only consider things at a superficial level. Here are some things you can do to enhance your critical thinking.

 

  1. CLARIFY YOUR THOUGHTS: The best way to clarify your thoughts is to try and explain your thinking to someone else. Even if you are talking to an imaginary person, you will find that explaining your thinking out loud helps you to see the flaws in your argument.
  2. QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS: Don’t take your thoughts for granted, every now and then think about why you believe a certain thought or how you know things to be true. Get in the habit of pausing and looking at what you are thinking and questioning what thoughts underlie your assumptions. Don’t just conform and accept a view because it is the popular one, instead pause and reflect on the arguments for and against that viewpoint and the strengths of each argument.
  3. LOOK FOR OTHER PERSPECTIVES: When you are presenting an argument, imagine yourself in a debate and think about what the opposing side might say. What would someone with a completely opposite view to you believe? Can you understand why they might think that way? Can you see some validity in their viewpoint?
  4. KEEP AN OPEN MIND: In order to look for other perspectives keep an open mind. If you immediately dismiss any thought that does not fit into the way you see the world, you will never be able to expand and develop your viewpoints, you will have a very fixed and limited view of the world.
  5. BE CURIOUS: Start to look outside the things you normally read and watch and think about. Learn more about things you know nothing about and were not previously interested in. Listen more to what people say, we learn so much more when we really listen rather than spend time planning what we will say next.
  6. MAKE INFORMED JUDGEMENTS: It is ok to not have an opinion about something because you don’t have enough information yet. Avoid rushing to judgements, take your time to gather information and evidence and assess it before making a decision. Try not to let yourself be swayed by emotion as this can affect your ability to assess information intellectually.

You and your parents can learn more about thinking skills at www.studyskillshandbook.com.au by logging in with the details below and working through some of the units.

Username: ststephens

Password: 100success

CriticalThinking

Funk Band Perform @ A Night on the Green – Carramar Campus

The Duncraig Funk Band performed a full set of music to entertain the crowds at Carramar’s “A Night on the Green”!

 

Duncraig WAYJO NC Jazz Musicians @ WAYJO A Night at the Quarry 

The Duncraig Jazz students who are in WAYJO enjoy a night under the stars listening to other WAYJO Big Bands

 

Final Rehearsal of WAYJO NC for Parents

Our Duncraig jazz students performed a Big Band set for the final rehearsal of the WAYJO NC 2022 Band. Many of them have been busy auditioning for WAYJO and WAAPA programmes in 2023

 

Dress Rehearsal for Presentation Night

Our musicians and Music staff travelled up to Carramar to bump in and rehearse the Swing Band, Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra, Marching Band and St Stephen’s Singers for Presentation Night 2023

Andrea Stimson – Director of Music The Arts