Deputy Principal – Academic

Amy Byrnes

This week we held our Diligence Assembly based on the Term 1 Interim Reports. This was the first time we have held a virtual Diligence Assembly and I was incredibly proud to acknowledge our students who had demonstrated their commitment and diligence to their learning journey. Students were recognised for their persistence, self-discipline, concentration and perseverance.

During my speech I discussed the concept of diligence and that it is not an innate trait that we are born with. Instead, we are influenced by strong role models, life experiences and challenges, as well as what we are exposed to in our learning journey. We all have the ability to continue to strengthen our learning habits and behaviours. One such way is through the study of the brain. The brain, like any muscle, can become stronger with regular exercise and training. The body of brain research, known as ‘Neuroplasticity’ has proven that we all have the ability to increase our brain’s power and output through effort, practice and persistence.

Carol Dweck notes that “We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary”. All of our students can all be superheroes, or extraordinary learner athletes but it takes a change of mindset and diligence to achieve your goals by exercising and training your brains more effectively.

The Virtual Diligence Assembly will remain available for viewing via the Staying Connected tile until Tuesday 12 May 2020. We congratulate all our students who received Diligence Awards.

Learning from Week 4

With students in Year 11 and 12 resuming on-site learning from Monday 11 May, the College will return to the regular timetable from this date. This will begin with the Week B timetable as shown in the Learning Hub. Please find below the learning modes for the various year levels during this period:

Students in Years 7 to 10 will still continue to participate in Zoom Check-In Sessions, however, the previously published schedule will conclude on Friday 8 May 2020. Students will now need to check their Learning Hub timetable on their individual home page, if the ‘ZOO’ code is shown, students will have a Zoom Meeting at this time. Students will still receive Zoom Meeting requests via their Learning Hub pages. If a student has ‘LF_’ on their Learning Hub timetable this means students are completing Self Paced Learning @ Home during this time.
Students in Year 11 and 12 will no longer participate in Zoom Check-In Sessions with the previous published schedule concluding on Friday 8 May 2020. For students who are unable to return to school, subject resources will still be available via their Learning Hub class pages.

Assessment Calendar

Year 11 and 12 amended Assessment Calendars for Term 2, 2020 have been distributed. These can be found on the College website.

As previously communicated, all assessment in Term 2 for students in Years 7 to 10 will be formative. This will remain unchanged even if a decision is made by the Queensland Premier about a return date to school for students in Years 7 to 10. Students are still expected to complete activities to the best of their ability, and submit work at varying times, these will be used to identify student strengths and areas for improvement.

Year 11 – Unit 1 Subject Changes

Unit 1 will finish on Tuesday 26 May, with Unit 2 beginning on Wednesday 27 May. If any Year 11 students would like to change subjects in preparation for Unit 2, please email me (abyrnes@stpatscollege.qld.edu.au) so that a time can be made to discuss these changes.

Reporting

Due to no summative assessment occurring in Term 2, students in Years 7 to 10 will not be issued with a Semester 1 Report Card. The next Report Card will be issued at the conclusion of Term 3, 2020 and will include summative evidence that each subject has to date.

Year 11 and 12 students will be issued the following reports:

Year 11 students will be issued with a Unit 1 Report Card following the conclusion of the unit. This will be distributed at the end of Term 2.
Year 12 students will be issued with a Unit 3 Report Card which will include the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) Confirmed result for Internal Assessment 1 (IA1). This will be distributed at the end of Term 2.