Author: suzannewiles
//Welcome Back!
We hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer. We also hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year.
We are delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community.
We welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education, and we look forward to working with you and your children in 2022.
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Having run over 5000 study skills seminars over the last 20 years, Dr Prue Salter has been asked many questions about study skills. Below are the top 5 questions parents ask.
Different schools will have different expectations, but the general guidelines are that junior students should be doing around 1 hour of self-learning most nights, seniors between 2-3 hours most nights.
In Primary school, students are used to just doing the work their teacher specifically tells them to do. Many students do not realise that things should be different in secondary school; there are actually two types of learning students should be doing. The first is compulsory work such as homework, assignments, and preparing for tests. The second type of work is independent learning work. If students have no homework that night, they are expected to undertake some independent learning in secondary school. This could be reviewing what they have learnt that week, making a mind map, reading ahead, researching an area of interest, making study notes or reviewing difficult concepts.
The general rule is that if students are undertaking learning that is not difficult, it is OK to listen to music. It makes them feel relaxed, makes them feel like the time is going quicker. However, if they are doing work that requires intense concentration or memorisation, it is best to switch the music off (or else have slower music with no vocals such as classical musical) as otherwise it will take them much longer to absorb and learn the information.
Unless students are doing something mindless like sticking things on a poster or colouring in, it is best not to do work in front of any devices such as phones or TV. Instead, students should do their home learning in an environment that is as distraction-free as possible. It works well if students do their learning in distinct blocks of time and remove all distractions during those blocks. Some students find they have the self-discipline to manage technological distractions, others need a helping hand – such as their phone in a different room for the half-hour period where they are focusing on schoolwork.
Have a discussion with students about doing schoolwork in focused blocks of time so that they can really enjoy their time away from the books (or computer). If students find it challenging to be disciplined, they can also look at self-blocking software such as Self Control (MAC) and Cold Turkey (PC). If students are still struggling, parental management programs such as Family Zone allow families to block particular sites at particular times.
Parents and students can learn more about studying efficiently and effectively by working through the units on www.studyskillshandbook.com.au.
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Dear Parents/Guardians,
In 2022, similar to 2021, Parents/Guardians will not be required to re-select a preferred payment method and frequency at the start of the school year.
The payment method (direct debit, or credit card, or BPAY) and frequency of payment (weekly, fortnightly, monthly, three instalments or annual upfront) that you had in place in 2021 will continue automatically in 2022.
The dates to note for payments (based on frequency) next year are:
1 upfront payment due on 31 January 2022 (2% discount); or
44 weekly payments starting on 3 February 2022; or
22 fortnightly payments starting on 3 or 10 February 2022; or
10 monthly payments starting on 2 February 2022; or
10 monthly payments starting on 17 February 2022; or
3 instalments (BPAY only) on 18 February 2022, 18 May 2022 and 18 August 2022
You will not be required to take any action, unless you would like to change the method of payment or frequency of payments. In which case, please contact the Accounts Receivable team on 9243 2103 or email accountsreceivable@ststephens.wa.edu.au as soon as possible.
If you wish to change your credit card, or bank account details, you are able to do this at any time throughout the year via the Parent Portal. Click on the ‘School Payments’ tab and select Manage stored cards and direct debits to bank accounts (https://edinfo.ststephens.wa.edu.au/ManageStoredCards.aspx).
On 11 January 2022 your annual fee invoice will be available for you to view on the Parent Portal in the ‘School Payments’ tab – select Statements and receipt history (https://edinfo.ststephens.wa.edu.au/fin.aspx).
All the best for the holidays and wishing you a Happy Christmas,
From the Accounts Receivable Team
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Looking for activities these school holidays?
STEMSmart are coming to St Stephen’s School Duncraig with STEM fun for all ages.
Previously Fire Tech Australia, STEMSmart run two-day STEM workshops in coding, ROBLOX, Minecraft, VR and Lego stop-motion.
Dates: 10th – 14th January 2022
Cost: $260 (or $230 BYOD)
For more information visit their new website at https://www.bestemsmart.com.au/courses/in-person-camps/holiday-workshops/
or call STEMSmart on 1300 347 383.
//Y11 ATAR Biology students were exploring the vast biodiversity down in Busselton by exploring a range of ecosystems and sampling the environment. The 3 days were packed with diverse experiences allowing all students to understand the value of WA’s environment and how to save it for future generations. They explored 8m underwater at the Jetty along with a range of beaches, bushlands and caves to apply what they have learnt throughout the year in our Biology course. A great time was had by all!
Nicola Ross
Teacher – Science/Assistant Dean Timae
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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.
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).
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.
The West Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is awarded to students who have successfully completed senior secondary schooling and have met the specific WACE requirements.
These include either achieving an ATAR score (complete at least four Year 12 ATAR courses) or a Certificate II (or higher) in a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification, plus meeting literacy and numeracy standards, grade standards and studying a breadth of subjects. More information about the requirements can be found on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website at senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au.
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
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.
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
//This year North Beach Baptist Church are having our annual Free Fun Fair & Community Carols Event at North Beach Primary School Oval on the 19th December from 5pm.
//Following success with the implementation of the filtration system designed to remove the iron bacteria in the water, we experienced a very unexpected failure with the steel casing within which our bore pump is housed. After 35 years, the casing effectively collapsed (rusted through) necessitating the drilling of another bore hole. This has resulted in a period of a lack of irrigation and our grass turning brown.
As of last Thursday, the new bore hole was operational meaning water is now coming out of our sprinklers. We expect the grass to return to its previous lush condition in the next few weeks.
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Master Mind Australia will be conducting January Preparations Programs for secondary school students in the January school holidays before school commences in 2022.
The program is divided into two distinct and separate courses.
TRANSITION SKILLS PROGRAM
MIDDLE SCHOOL PREPARATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
SENIOR SCHOOL PREPARATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Website: www.mastermindaustralia.com.au
