Scott Warnock

In the last edition of The Nest I made some brief comments on some of content being covered in Year 10 Study. In this edition, I want to provide a spotlight on this course and debunk some myths that may exist.

When Year 10 students first received their timetables a short 8 weeks ago (time flies!), many eyes lit up when they say ‘STUDY’ timetabled for a Thursday afternoon in Week B. For some, this eagerness was due to the possibility of 100-minutes of uninterrupted deep revision and assessment preparation where as for others, this 100-minute opportunity provided a potential opportunity to catch up on the latest episode from their streaming platform of choice, or perhaps peruse online shopping websites for that perfect hoodie for winter. But for the vast majority of students, they were unsure what to study or how to study for this period of time.

Our Year 10 Study program is multi-faceted. It provides us the opportunity to embed practical study skills for students to learn, implement and assess their effectiveness, scope for guest presentations from institutions such as TAFE NSW, Universities and industry partners, as well time for individual quiet study. Moreover, it provides space within the fortnightly timetable to meet some of the requirements from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) including Minimum Standards Testing and All My Own Work. As students develop the academic maturity through their Year 10 year, we will gradually release the responsibility of self-directed study to them, particularly at busy times of the term.

This week’s study session featured an update from our Careers Adviser, Miss Cass Barnett. The opportunities available to students at CMCC are significant, and it has been pleasing to observe the manner in which students are registering their interest for these extra opportunities and courses. I would encourage all families to sit with their son or daughter and peruse the opportunities on the Careers Team page, and support them in meeting any administrative deadlines. One of exciting opportunities in Year 10 is work experience, and we are starting to disseminate information from this week.

The second key part of this week’s Study session was around Directive Verbs. Please see an excerpt from my presentation below:

  
The five directive verbs that we focussed on this week were:

• Identify
• Explain
• Discuss
• Justify
• Evaluate

By unpacking each of these terms, in the context of what they are currently studying in Year 10, we are starting to teach students how to best answer an exam question, so that they can best demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.

This will be a skill which we will develop over time, as we look to optimise our capacity to be assessment-ready learners.

As always, if you would like to discuss your son or daughter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

United in Mercy

Scott Warnock