SENIOR SNIPPETS
TERM 2, WEEK 7 • 05TH JUNE 2025
When brothers dwell together
BY MRS LENNA WATERS
‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity ’ Psalm 133:1
Psalm 133 is one of the shortest of the Psalms, only three verses, but how rich in wisdom If you study the background of this short Psalm, it is really all about the blessing of the Lord being showered upon God’s people as they support and encourage one another, living in peace with one another with mutual concern demonstrated in their love for one another.
If we followed this example, dwelling together in unity, then we would be following the second greatest commandment wouldn’t we? If we love God first and love others second, we would be living in unity with those around us As we seek to implement and encourage the principles of Loving Others on Purpose in our school community, this will be the ultimate outworking. Allowing God to love others through us in a way that honours Him, brings Him pleasure and encourages the family of God
What a challenge, but with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can become more like Christ and live in unity let’s seek that goal together.
WHEN BROTHERS DWELL TOGETHER
PAGE 01
THANK YOU PAGE 02
NEWS AND NOTES FOR P-PLATERS PAGES 02 - 03
UPCOMING YEARS 10 - 11 EXAMS PAGE 04
THE GAT PAGE 05 - 06
2026 VET HANDBOOKS PAGE 07
2025 VCAA VCE EXAMS PAGE 08 OPEN DAYS PAGE 09
UNIT 3 VCE REVISION LECTURES PAGE 05
TSSM LECTURES PAGE 09 YEAR 10 SHOWCASE PAGE 10
SAVE THE DATES PAGE 10
2025 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL PAGE 11
ATTACHMENTS PAGE 12 - 14
Important Information:
THANK YOU
We want to thank everyone for coming out on a rainy night to attend the two Information Evenings in weeks 6 and 7 for the Years 11 - 12 Information Evening and Year 10 Information Evening. We hope that you had your questions answered and learned things that you did not realise that you needed to know
If you need further information about anything, please do not hesitate to contact the Senior School Office for further information
NEWS AND NOTES FOR NEW P-PLATERS AND THEIR FAMILIES/FRIENDS
One of the most exciting parts of turning 18 is finishing the required 120 hours of practice driving, passing the written test and driving test and… finally gaining your ‘P’s. This is just the start of many adventures on wheels. With every privilege comes responsibility and this is no different with driving If you have newly gained your P’s or anticipate getting your P’s in the near future, please ensure that you have completed the following before you commence driving to school without supervision of a parent
1. Read and sign off on all College policies about who can ride in the car, where the car is to be parked on campus, and when the car can be driven off campus during the day If we anticipated you doing this, you have already received the required information and paperwork. If you cannot locate it, please collect this from the Senior School Office
When driving ensure that all rules are followed.
2. Return all signed paperwork to the College, including ‘Permission to Ride’ signatures from parents of any other student who may be riding in the car when you drive to and from school (Keep in mind the limits regarding number of passengers allowed to ride with a driver on Red ‘P’s in Victoria, ONE peer aged passenger ) Continued on next page....
NEWS AND NOTES FOR NEW P-PLATERS AND THEIR FAMILIES/FRIENDS CONTINUED…
3. Ensure that all rules are followed Breaches of both Victorian law and school regulations will be treated seriously due to the duty of care required by the College toward every student.
If you need further information, either as a parent of a potential driver or potential passenger, please contact the Senior School Administration Office
Please consider the following information from the TAC: Young drivers move from having the lowest to the highest chance of being involved in a fatal crash when they gain their P1 Licence
While 18-25 year olds only account for 10% of Victorian licence holders, they make up 18% of Victorian drivers killed The riskiest time as a newly licensed driver is in the first 3-6 months of having your P1 licence.
Young first year drivers are seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal or serious injury crash from 10pm to 6am than fully licensed drivers.
UPCOMING YEARS 10-11 EXAMS:
Monday 16th - Friday 20th June 2025
Check your timetable carefully If you have any problems or clashes that have not been identified on this exam timetable, please see Mrs Waters by Friday 6th June
The exam timetable has now been released. Please read the timetable very carefully and note when you have exams. At the bottom of the timetable is a list of rules and other information that needs to be read and followed
Please note the following:
1. Year 10 students need to be present each day from 8:40am3:05pm.
2. Year 10 exam will finish Period 2 on Thursday and normal Year 10 classes will commence from with Period 3 on Thursday
3. Year 11 students are free to come and go from school according to their exam timetable But, once at school you will need to stay until the end of your last exam for the day.
4. If Year 11 students have a Period 1 exam, they need to be present in Home Group so exams can begin on time.
5. VCE VM classes will run as normal each day EXCEPT Tuesday when the majority of students in Year 11 and 12 will be undertaking the GAT.
6. Students who have a VET subject off campus during exams, need to attend their VET subject and make up the exam on Friday. The only exception is if your VET subject is not running in exam week.
7. VSV Exams are not reflected on this timetable If your VSV subject offers an exam, it will most likely be undertaken in your own time or under supervision on Wed afternoon
Years 9 - 11 Exams
Monday 16thFriday 20th June
THE GENERAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST (GAT)
Tuesday 17 June 2025
The GAT is coming up very quickly in Week 9 Students undertaking the GAT have already received their GAT Navigator with instructions and rules regarding the GAT test Students were also provided with a personalised download from VASS which outlines whether they are required to take Part A, Part B or both Part A and; B. Any special exam arrangements (SEA) already provided for SACs would also be listed on the paper – as these are also applicable to the GAT and end-of-year external exams
Each student is encouraged to take the GAT seriously as it measures the literacy and numeracy levels achieved across the years of schooling. Here is some further information:
3 Reasons Why The GAT Is Important
From the ACED VCE website. The General Achievement Test (GAT) is split into two sections:
1. Section A will assess literacy and numeracy, and 2. Section B will assess general knowledge and skills in maths, science, technology, the arts, and humanities, with an increased focus on critical and creative thinking skills.
The GAT is undertaken by all students enrolled in one or more Units 3 & 4 subject – but do you know why you need to do well in it?
ACED has four reasons why the GAT is important
1. The GAT could help if you’re sick. The GAT is an insurance policy for the end of the year. If you fall seriously ill on the day of your exam (e g you trip and break your wrist), VCAA (who run the exams) will use your GAT to calculate a Derived Examination Score (DES). A DES is used when students are ill or affected by other personal circumstances at the time of a VCE exam
Continued on next page....
THE GENERAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST (GAT) CONTINUED
This doesn’t mean you can get out of doing your exam (VCAA will probably organise an assessor to be a scribe for you) – you will receive either the predicted DES or your actual exam score, whichever is higher A Website
2. The GAT may be used to scale your SACs. Not all SACs are created equally across all schools, so VCAA need to statistically moderate your raw SAC scores. The only common scales that VCAA can use to moderate your SACs are the end-of-year exam and the GAT Basically, if everyone at your school does really well on the end-of-year exam and GAT, your raw SAC score will be adjusted to match these high scores
3. The GAT is used to double-check your exam scores. If your GAT predicts that you should have received a significantly higher score on your end-of-year exam than what you ended up with, the Chief Assessor will go back and re-mark your exam (remember that all exams are marked by at least two different assessors already!) Your exam score may go up, or stay the same, but it cannot go down as a result of this remarking.
Please see the following page on the VCAA Website to view a statement of results for the GAT test. Students who undertake both Part A and Part B will achieve a score out of 50 for each part of the test Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Statement of Results examples – Part A only and Part A and B.
Statement of Results examples for the GAT - VCAA Website
ALREADY DOING FIRST YEAR VET OR CONSIDERING VET AS A PART OF YOUR YEAR 10 OR 11 PROGRAM?
2026 VET Handbooks from the Northern Melbourne VET Cluster will be available on Thursday 26th June in the Senior School Office. Please come get one to see the current subjects for 2026 enrolment
You will also need to access an application for 2026. These will be available on the same day New applications must be returned to the Senior School Office by mid July Current Year 1 VET students will need to return their forms earlier. These will be expected by the Wednesday 2nd July
Melbourne Polytechnic is offering VET TASTERS in the month of June for some of the VET courses they offer to high school students If you are interested in attending, please see Mrs Stewart in the Senior School Office immediately to get a permission form Please note that parents will be responsible for transport for their children to these events And, you will be responsible for any subject matter missed while you are away at the Taster However, it is worth going if you want to see whether a particular course if for you. There is no cost for the Tasters.
All permission forms and booking will be made by the Senior School Office. An RSVP by Thursday 12th June is ESSENTIAL.
18th June Tasters
1:30 – 3:00
Early Childhood Education & Care - Preston Campus
Allied Health AssistanceGreensborough Campus
Plumbing - Epping Campus
Carpentry - Epping Campus
25th June Tasters (Epping) 1:30 – 3:00
Business
Electrotechnology
Animal Care
Horticulture
2025 VCAA VCE EXAMS
Timetable now available
The timetable for the 2025 VCE External Exams is now available on the VCAA Website This has also been posted at school Please be aware that any oral language exams will take place prior to the English Exam and any language written exams take place near the end of the exam period. Please check the exam timetable carefully as any student with three exams on one day is able to make a slight alteration to their timetable.
More information about Exam protocols will be provided later in the year.
2025 VCE Unit 3/4 External Exams - Timetable
UNIT 3 VCE REVISION LECTURES IN JULY HOLIDAYS
Timetable attached
At Northside, we take exams and study scores seriously and encourage students to organise their time to study effectively and achieve their best throughout Senior School. Units 3 & 4 are always challenging and can be stressful when considering the upcoming External Exams Revising throughout the year is always a part of a good study routine and taking a short chunk of time to think about what you need to revise in particular, is always very important
As a result, we have arranged (free to the student) revision lectures for most of the Unit 3 subjects for the July Holidays Please see the attached timetable that has already been provided to students As the College has paid for these lectures, can you please ensure that you arrange your timetable so you can attend. If you decide to attend other lectures, we ask that the times selected for external lectures do not clash with what has already been organised by the school.
OPEN DAYS AT TERTIARY PROVIDERS
July and August 2025
Throughout the months of July and August most University and TAFE providers will offer Open Days. These are special times to visit a campus to get a feel for the ethos of the school and whether you would be comfortable learning on the campus Most providers have special lectures, tours, and speakers as well during their Open Days. Some, like William Angliss, also offer special cooking courses!
Please check the Open Days list on the VTAC website
Think back to visiting the Careers Expo which providers impressed you and offered a course that sounded promising? Perhaps visit those first… but also consider visiting the smaller providers who are specialists in one or two areas and can give you lots of industry experience before graduating
It is often necessary to register for special events during Open Days, so don’t miss out Book Early
If you start visiting even two providers each year from Year 10 – 12, you will be able to visit six options for further study Ask lots of questions, talk to lots of people and take lots of tours And collect lots of loot!
Take note of what you do and do not like about the campus and atmosphere. All of these will help you to make a knowledgeable decision when VTAC opens in July of your Year 12 year.
Please see Mrs Waters if you need further help
TSSM LECTURES
TSSM is also offering lectures during the school holidays. Grab a brochure from the table near the Senior School Office.
YEAR 10 SHOWCASE
Friday 13th June
The Year 10 students will host our Middle School students, teachers and Executive Team at their annual Showcase - a space to display what the students have been working on this semester as they've explored the topic of WWII. This topic is a gateway to asking many questions about humanity, faith and loss, and throughout our History, CLS and English classes we have explored the question of truth and looked at what it takes to stand up for truth in a fallen world Students will display work from multiple classes, and will invite their visitors to ask questions about the process of research. We are so looking forward to finding out more about what this Year 10 cohort has learned and uncovered, and hopefully inspire younger year levels to consider how studying the past can help us understand the world - and God's good design for the world - so much better.
Year 12 Save the Dates
SAVE THE DATES FOR THE VALEDICTORY DINNER AND GRADUATION!!!
When planning your post-exams and pre-graduation celebrations, please keep the following dates in mind and protect them in your calendar We would love to have all families at the Valedictory Dinner as professional photos will be taken on that night with families and the graduates in their regalia.
Friday 21st November 2025 - Valedictory Dinner
Tuesday 2nd December 2025 - Graduation
Upcoming Dates for Years 10 - 12
17th June - GAT
Friday 13th June - Year 10 Showcase - Periods 3 - 4
Monday 16th - Friday 20th June - Year 10-11 Exams
Thursday 3rd July - School holidays begin
Monday 7th – Friday 11th July - Mid-Year Unit 3 Revision Lectures
WEDNESDAY11THJUNE
FREE Supported Seminar for Primary Carers of Children Experiencing Anxiety Fear Less Seminar
Open to parents and carers of children 6-12 years living in the Cities of Darebin, Yarra, Banyule, Nillumbik and Whittlesea.
Fear-Less Triple P supports parents to learn new strategies for managing their child’s anxiety. This supported seminar is for parents that are concerned about their child’s anxiety that would like to learn strategies they can put in place to support the wellbeing of their child and the family.
The topics covered in this program include:
• Understanding how anxiety works,
• Becoming the best possible model of anxiety management for their children,
• Becoming effective emotion coaches,
• Understanding and teaching the value of flexible thinking,
• Managing their children’s anxiety effectively, and
• Using constructive coping.
DATE: 23/06/25
TIME: 10:00am- 12:00pm
LOCATION: Online via zoom
How to make an enquiry:
Contact the Triple P team with your name and contact number (E: triplep@berrystreet.org.au or ph: 9450 4700 and ask to speak to a member of the Triple P team).
Enquiries must be made by 5pm on 16/06/25
Please note that enquiries do not guarantee an enrolment in the seminar and that capacity may be reached prior to this date. As such, we encourage you to reach out ASAP to avoid disappointment.
