Summar Harrison

Year 12 Graduation
Whilst we are many months away from celebrating the completion of Year 12, I wanted to share some preliminary details about the Year 12 School Graduation. Please mark your calendars for the 6th of November 2025. The event will be hosted by Wests City, Newcastle. We will provide more information to parents and carers as the date draws nearer.

Senior Study Guide
This week, Year 12 students were provided a digital copy of the 2025 Senior Study Booklet, a valuable resource designed to support them during their busy assessment periods. This booklet includes:

• Scaffolds for planning study and assessments
• Mindful colouring activities for wellbeing breaks
• Scaffolds to assist in answering HSC questions
• Tips for using the course syllabus to guide study
• Hints on breaking down questions and understanding directive verbs
• Information on APA referencing, including a link to a bibliography generator

This guide aims to equip students with the tools they need to succeed in their studies. Students can find printed copies of the booklet in the Senior Study and digital copies on TEAMs and Compass.

A huge thank you to Mr Nathan Sultana for his time developing the activities in this resource for Year 12.

HSC Seminar Day at Singleton High School
The college is exploring the possibility of organising a visit to Singleton High School for their HSC Seminar Day. This event is designed to upskill students in their subject areas to support them as they approach their HSC. This event will only be possible if there is sufficient interest from our Year 12 community. We encourage parents and carers to have their children complete the survey available on TEAMs and/or Compass to indicate their interest. We believe this will be a useful event for our Year 12 cohort, however a lack of interest will mean that this event is not feasible.

University of Newcastle – Strategies for HSC Success
The University of Newcastle is hosting an online webinar titled “Strategies for HSC Success.” This webinar, scheduled for the 19th of March, is tailored for Year 11 and 12 students. Led by a Senior HSC Marker, the session will cover effective study techniques, exam hacks, and strategies for excelling in HSC assessment tasks. This webinar offers expert insights and practical advice for both students and parents.

Use the following link to sign up for the online webinar: Register Here

Study Skills – Session 1: Scheduling Study
In Weeks 5 and 6, we conducted the first of a series of Study Skills sessions, specifically aimed at helping students plan ahead for busy assessment periods by looking at assessment schedules. These sessions focused on creating realistic study timetables that consider study, part-time jobs, social commitments, and importantly, their own wellbeing. If your child needs support in this area, please reach out, and I will gladly assist them.

Study Skills – Session 2: Directive Verb Deconstruction
In a similar style to our Week 5 and 6 study sessions, we will be running sessions on deconstructing directive verbs in Weeks 8 and 9. Directive verbs are those that give instructions about what you are required to do to answer a HSC question. Understanding these terms will assist students in better preparing for their exams. There will be two sessions on deconstructing directive verbs:

• Session 1: Week 8, Monday 17th March, Break 2, DO102
• Session 2: Week 9, Monday 24th March, Break 1, DO102

The following link will take you to the official NESA HSC Glossary of Key Words that will be the focus of these sessions. Please encourage your child to attend these sessions to support their HSC preparation: NESA HSC Glossary

Sleep Resource
Adequate sleep is crucial for academic success and overall wellbeing. As has been an ongoing theme, our recent Pulse Checks highlighted that many students are experiencing insufficient sleep. As we reach the halfway point of Term 1, it is important that we check-in with ourselves and our teenagers to see that we are getting enough sleep to support our academic and wellbeing success.

The following website from the Black Dog Institute is a useful resource for parents and carers wanting to support their child’s sleep habits. The website provides suggested tips for the promotional of optimal sleep as well as a range of resources that are targeted at support teenagers to understand the importance of sleep.

Black Dog Institute

I encourage all Year 12 students to reach out if they are needing support in this area.

United in Mercy