Issue 14 / 4 September 2015
Middle/Senior School Bulletin
Middle & Senior School News QCS Test This week our Year 12 students completed their QCS tests. While this style of testing is stressful for our students, they faced this challenge knowing they were well-prepared and that as a College we hold every confidence that each of them will achieve to the best of their abilities. While the preparations for these tests are cumulative and something that spans across their learning experiences from P-12, I’d like to acknowledge Mrs Christina Wrigley (Head of Learning and Teaching) and the Year 12 teachers for their tireless efforts towards assisting students to achieve their personal best performances. As a tradition, to show their support and care for the Year 12 students, Year 11 students cooked breakfast for the Year 12s.
system which will include some external assessment. The College has been anticipating this announcement and has already begun to prepare for this transition. Over the coming years, the College will continue to work with staff and your children, so that they are well prepared for this change in 2018. Real World Experiences Year 10 City Xp On Tuesday our Year 10 students took part in a self-guided Brisbane based excursion. The City Xp enriches the curriculum at Year 10 where students already participate in Destinations and Work Experience as part of their ‘Preparation for Senior’ and journey through a St Andrews education. This excursion is focussed on building Teamwork, Problem Solving, Independence and Competence, as students have to navigate their way through Brisbane CBD and engage with key civic and educational institutions. On Wednesday the students were involved in an alternate learning program. Thank you to Mr Nelson for developing the program and for the other staff who have assisted in making this experience for our students possible. Readers Cup Congratulations to our Readers Cup team who placed 6th on Wednesday night at the State Final for The Readers Cup. Over 400 schools competed in the Queensland combined Year 7/8 competition and our Year 7 team performed exceptionally well. Well done, team! I’d also like to thank Mrs Stockwell for coaching. She tells me that the team is already planning a strategy for the 2016 Cup.
The Education Minister Kate Jones recently announced that Queensland will transition from the current OP system to the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) system in 2018. The new system will include a mix of internal and external exams, starting with students entering Year 11 in 2018. This was one of the recommendations of the Australian Council for Educational Research review into the state’s education system, which was carried out under the previous government. Universities have increasingly turned to ATAR as a preferred score. Our current Year 8 students will be part of the first Queensland cohort to transition into this new
Business Ventures On Friday 21 August nine of our Year 12 Business students graduated from their Griffith Business Outreach course which now sees them eligible for direct entry to Griffith to study Business. This opportunity is one of many provided to our students that link their College based studies to studies beyond senior schooling.