Term 2 is now over it is time to really knuckle down to your studies and prepare to do your best in your external and internal assessments. 

The 2019 NCEA examination timetable is available at:  https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/assets/qualifications-and-standards/qualifications/ncea/exams-and-portfolios/exam-timetable-2019.pdf. There are only 13 weeks from the start of Term 3 until examination leave begins for NCEA examinations and only 9 weeks until the school examinations. Senior Academic Prize Giving awards, NCEA derived grades and entry into Year 12 and 13 subjects are based on these school examinations. If you want to be successful, you need to get to work NOW.

Study space: Do you have a place at home set up to let you study or complete class work? Is it quiet? Free from distractions? Do you use it regularly?

Calendar: Have you a calendar on your phone or wall with all the due dates of assessments, tests, examinations? Have you planned how to work on your internals so they are not all being done at the same time? Have you caught up on class work you have missed or planned for any upcoming trips?

Do you know what you are doing in each course? If you are finding a subject difficult or having trouble with part of a topic have you seen your class teacher? There is lots they can do to help you now but as time passes everyone becomes busier...

Study time: We don’t learn the lyrics of our favourite songs by hearing it once, even after a few hearings we know the chorus but struggle to remember all the verses or remember it without the music. It is the same with your course work. Very few people retain sufficient understanding after the material is covered in class to be able to remember and apply it in an assessment but you can make this easier on yourself by investing some time now in your own academic success. Prepare with regular review, practice and application, previous examination papers with their mark schemes are available online and various support material is available from Education Perfect, Google Classroom, textbooks and your teachers but these help the most if you engage with them early.

Caregivers: How can you help? Encourage your student to study regularly. Help them establish a place to do school work away from distractions. Discuss what they are doing in class and their future options. Show them how valuable education is to their future and help them to become successful life-long learners.

Things to check: Year 11 and Year 13 students - will you get Literacy and Numeracy or UE literacy? Check now with your form teacher or check the standards you are sitting on the NCEA website. There are options to help this not become an issue but as the year progresses this will get more difficult over time.

Do you have what you need for your subjects or career path next year? Do some research and check. Please contact the Careers Department if you do not know what you need for your potential career paths or check the 2019 online course selection booklet and make sure you have what is needed for your desired subjects in 2020..

Lesley Elms

Academic Dean