News from Dean of Studies
Having started at the College in Term 2 last year, as Dean of Studies, this is my first Term 1 with our Senior Students. My focus is on the senior curriculum and ensuring all students in Years 10 to 12 leave the College having received the best possible learning and teaching opportunities, knowing they have worked hard to achieve their best. My goal is for every student to have a post-Year 12 pathway that they are prepared for and excited about pursuing.
We have already had a busy start to the Term; once again navigating online learning, followed by the induction of our Senior Leaders and the Senior Class of 2022, and at the end of this week we will see Year 12 enjoying their glamourous Formal Dinner at Links, Hope Island.
As we move into the second half of the term students are starting to reach their assignment deadlines and to prepare for the Term 1 exams. Year 12 are completing assessment tasks that contribute towards their final grades. Year 11 are approaching the half-way mark of their formative senior year, and building the foundations on which their Year 12 results will stand; and Year 10 are just starting to think about the direction they want their senior studies to take. No matter which stage they are at, our senior students all have one thing in common – the desire to do their best.
To help them achieve their academic goals, some of our talented Senior School teaching staff provide subject specific opportunities for students to consolidate their classroom learning and to work on their study skills. Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) time sees each year group attending Academic Writing Tutorials and student-nominated subject tutorial sessions. New this year, the Academic Writing Tutorials have been developed to help students hone appropriate writing skills, tailored to the requirements of each of the senior subjects offered at the College. They will look at everything from sentence structure, through to the difference in writing for assignments versus writing to respond to examination questions.
Also, commencing this week, I am very pleased to announce that we are extremely lucky to welcome back, in a tutoring capacity, some of our highest achieving students from the A.B. Paterson College Academic Academy and the class of 2021. Available during SRL time these students will provide subject specific assistance. They offer recent and relevant experience of the senior syllabus and ATAR system, and will be sharing quality study practices that helped them achieve their outstanding results.
I look forward to seeing your children thrive through the opportunities provided to them during the course of the year.
Warmest regards,
Rachel Horner
Dean of Studies
