Welcome back to all our students and a special welcome to new families who have joined the College community.

The College has once again subscribed to the ELES Online Study Skills Handbook. Working through the units on www.studyskillshandbook.com.au  will help students build skills and learn techniques to become more effective learners.  We encourage all students and parents/carers to log into the site and browse the units to become familiar with the topics covered. Also click on THINGS TO PRINT after you log in, scroll to the bottom of the page and you will find lots of useful grids and planners to help you. The login details are:

username: edmundrice                                  password: 13achieve

Following are five tips for students about making the most of their time at school this year and working efficiently at home. Also included are names of units in the Study Skills Handbook with strategies that may support your son with his learning.

1. INDEPENDENT LEARNING: There are two types of work in secondary school. The compulsory work that your teacher tells you to do, and independent learning that you are expected to do when you have no homework. You can print a handout that will give you examples of the types of things you are supposed to be doing for school when you have no homework.
2. WORK SMART: Keep your personal life and schoolwork separate. Don’t do work in front of the TV, switch off your phone and take a little break from social media. Work in half hour blocks and focus only on your schoolwork during that half hour block. If you are super busy with lots of activities then a great idea is to draw up a timetable for the week and allocate time for schoolwork over the week. You might like to visit these units on the site: Time Management Skills, Dealing with Distractions, Overcoming Procrastination.
3. BE ORGANISED AND PLAN: Have an organised space to work in, record homework in your diary, keep track of completed work and reschedule work not done. When you are told about a test or an assignment, plan the work out to be done over the available time. Make the most of your time in class, being organised and focused in the classroom means you will find it easier to complete your work and work on big things like assessments at home. Check out these units on the site: Home Study Environment, Organisation and Filing, Managing Workload, Using Classtime.
4. ASK FOR HELP EARLY: If you don’t understand something, ask for help. The sooner the better. If there isn’t time in class see your teacher before or after class or during the break times. One of the most important contributors to being successful academically is to ask for help often and early. Attend the Homework Club in the Narandha Learning Centre. There is a unit on the site all about Asking for Help.
5. LEARN HOW TO STUDY PROPERLY: The main things to remember about study for a test are: Make study notes or summaries first (write down in point form what you need to learn), learn these notes not just by reading but by testing yourself on them and do as many different questions as you can as practise. You can learn more from these units: Summarising, Active Studying, Preparing for Exam Blocks, Test-Taking Techniques, Your Brain and Memory.

LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA

The College is continuing the whole school approach to the use of Learning Intentions to commence lessons. A learning intention for a lesson is a statement presented to students at the commencement of a lesson that describes clearly what the teacher wants the students to know, understand, and be able to do as a result of the learning and teaching activities. The Learning Intentions will support students to focus on what they are learning, not just on what they will be doing.

During 2021, teachers will engage in professional learning on the use of Success Criteria. These are statements presented to students to support the teacher and student make judgements about the quality of student learning and are closely linked to the Learning Intentions. Research shows that the use of this strategy allows students to focus for longer periods of time, be more motivated and active in their learning and take greater responsibility for their own learning.

PROBLEM OF THE WEEK

The number A8 is a two-digit number with tens digit A and units (ones) digit 8. Similarly, 3B is a two-digit number with tens digit 3 and units digit B. When A8 is multiplied by 3B, the result is the four-digit number C730. If A, B, and C are each different digits from 0 to 9, determine the values of A, B, and C.