Last Tuesday during Pastoral Care, The College Principal, Mr Gough, spoke to students about intrinsic and external motivation in order to achieve success in Year 12. The students also heard from Mr Sozio, Director of Learning and Teaching, who presented information to Year 12 regarding scaling in the HSC and the importance of consistency when it comes to application towards their studies. Leading up to this, students have been reflecting on their career aspirations and discussing with their Pastoral Teachers and parents the SMART goals that they are working towards this year. Students have been asked to record two SMART learning goals and a wellbeing goal that they can work towards in 2022. Working towards goals is not easy. It requires both intrinsic and external motivation, good habits and at times sacrifice. The following students gave up their free time during their summer holiday to attend the University of Wollongong Summer Master Classes. By participating in these Master Classes, students have a 95% success rate to get into the University of Wollongong. Through their choice to participate they have been guaranteed an Early Admission Interview to all Wollongong University degrees that align with the Summer Master Class subject they completed. These students will also receive credit towards a UOW degree that could make them eligible to skip a whole subject If they decide to study at UOW.
Congratulations to each of the students below for taking a step out of their comfort zone and putting their hand up for an experience that will help them achieve their aspiring career goals.
Ahmed Hijazi
“I quite enjoyed this year’s UOW summer master class. I participated in the English course to try and further my understanding of text analysis and essay writing, and I can say that the class has clearly made an impact on my writing skills and my ability to analyse unseen texts. The on-campus experience that we had on the first day was great. Meeting my lecturer and my mentor along with all the new people that were partaking in their own classes was definitely one of the many great experiences on the day. We were also given a tour on the campus to locate all the facilities, which are all extremely impressive and cater to an extensive range of courses that can be done at the university. I really enjoyed this new experience and took a lot out of the English course to help further my studies. The staff were also extremely helpful and really open to any questions. I can recommend that any student considering the course should definitely go for it as it will be beneficial for themselves and their studies.”
Mark Souffy
“During the summer holidays, I was fortunate enough to participate in an intensive 3 week Summer Master Class in Creative Arts with the University of Wollongong. The course was delivered by university lecturers and provided me with the opportunity to extend and deepen my knowledge and exposure to various mediums of art. Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions classes were shifted online and the on campus experience was not possible. However, collaborating and sharing with students from various High Schools inspired me to create several artworks and reflect further on my own Major HSC body of work. Not only was it a rewarding experience which I recommend, but I have also now completed a university level subject that can be credited towards future undergraduate studies.”
George Delaveris
“Throughout the summer holidays, I took the initiative to complete the UOW 2022 Summer Masterclass which was a really successful program which allowed me to experience what studying Visual Arts at The University of Wollongong is like over the span of three weeks. Unfortunately, the majority of the course was undertaken online over zoom due to the current climate of COVID-19, although it was a really intimate experience, allowing us to experiment with mediums and artforms we aren’t familiar with. Our lecturer Michelle Cawthorn guided us through the creation of our minor body of work, which reflects upon our HSC Body of Work seen through a lens of new materials and creative techniques, accessing this through blog posts and exploring artists through our research. The course bonded us together through the exploration of art, allowing us to meet new people and really experience the life of a visual arts university student, deepening our understanding of art and how it communicates to different audiences. Overall, the course was a success, by completing assignments and meeting new people everyone was gifted with the opportunity to experience what life is like as a university student – also inspired me to choose a course in the future at the University of Wollongong which includes a visual arts degree.”
Kane Davison
“For 3 weeks in the holidays starting in early January finishing a week before going back to school I did the Health for the Future, Health for Now Summer Masterclass run by the UOW. At first, the thought of taking out 3 weeks of my holidays to do more study didn’t excite me, but after understanding that I was coming into my second term of year 12 and within a couple of months I would be going to uni I decided to take up the challenge. I chose a course that suited the field that I want to partake in, to open my doors into uni life and get a headstart on the early admission process. By completing this course I am already guaranteed a panel interview for UOW; I will receive 6 university credit points ( meaning one less subject in the first year ) and a 95% success rate for early acceptance into UOW. I quickly realised that the positives far outweighed any negatives. The course itself, I found very interesting and easy to engage in ( even though it was online ) due to how much I enjoy exercise science. I learnt a lot more in those 3 weeks then I thought I ever would. Overall, the summer master class was a great experience and I think that I have grown better study habits, learnt more and become more motivated to pursue my learning goals in the future.”
Riley Caldwell
“Partaking in the UOW Summer Masterclass was honestly pretty interesting; although circumstances demanded we do our classes solely at home, rather than on the marvelous university campus (excluding orientation day). The content covered was interesting, well communicated and the mentors were exceptionally helpful. The course I did was Controversies in History ‘ASSH002’. We covered primarily contemporary history and there were quite a variety of topics and time periods (although none any earlier than 1900). It honestly made me extremely keen for university. All students are studying their chosen areas for a reason, and so they’re passionate, participative and definitely worth getting to know while you’re doing the masterclass together. Above all, you will receive the 6 credit points and the guaranteed interview for early admission to the Uni. Additionally, if you get early entry to the uni, that’s a soothing weight lifted off your shoulders, keep studying though!
Hey year 11, you should do it next year.”
Mrs Russell
Year 12 Assistant Pastoral Care Coordinator