Student Learning Surveys – See Attached 

Preparing for the Upcoming Examination Period

Congratulations to our Year 12 students on the manner in which they have commenced their HSC examinations. We continue to keep them in our prayers as the examinations continue in the coming weeks.

With the upcoming yearly examination block for Years 7 to 10 and Year 11 students preparing for their first HSC Assessment Tasks, following are some tips for students on preparing for examinations provided by the Study Skills Handbook.

• Know Your Material – The more confident you are about the topic(s) in your test, the less stress you will feel come exam time. Make sure you stay on top of your school work and homework throughout the term. Follow up with your teacher if there are things you don’t understand.
• Practise – Make sure you do practise papers if they are available, or practise questions. This might include multiple choice, short answer or essay style questions. Always study in the way you will be tested.
• Fuel Your Body and Your Mind – In the days leading up to an exam make sure you get enough sleep. Being tired makes it harder to concentrate and remember. Fuel your body and mind by eating well and drinking plenty of water.
• Manage the Physical Signs of Stress – Familiarise yourself with how your body feels when you are stressed. Do you get headaches? Tension in your neck or shoulders? Does your heart race faster? Whenever you feel these effects, quickly start some relaxation exercises. A good one to try during an exam is to breathe in deeply for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and breathe out for 8 seconds.
• Be Prepared on the Day – Make sure you have packed or prepared everything you need for the test the night before. Have a plan for how you are going to get to school on time – including a back-up plan if necessary. Eat a nutritious breakfast and make sure you are hydrated.
• Visualise – Use visualisation techniques to help reduce your stress on the day. Every day in the weeks prior to the exam, last thing at night and first thing in the morning, visualise yourself calmly walking into the exam room, preparing your equipment, reviewing and completing your exam paper and feeling good about how you did.
• Involve Your Parents in Your Schoolwork – Throughout the term talk to your parents about what you are studying. Show them your bookwork and homework.

In addition, the following modules are available on the Study Skills handbook. Parents/carers are encouraged to access these modules with their son(s).

To access these modules, go https://studyskillshandbook.com.au and login with these details:

Username: edmundrice
Password: 13achieve

Mr Gerry Sozio
Director of Learning & Teaching