As a student, your primary activity is learning.

Learning is not something that simply happens after you read, write and listen long enough. Learning occurs when you follow a particular set of organised procedures. Students who follow the procedures listed below will discover that their capacity to understand and remember material covered in classes will become greatly enhanced. In addition, their ability to apply this knowledge and to place it into a larger conceptual structure will also improve. The following procedures commence with effective motivation and occur as a continuing cycle.

Homework is a very important part of education.  All students are responsible for recording homework each day in their diary.

General Objectives

• To develop good reading skills.
• To revise and consolidate work that has been taught in class lessons.
• To provide opportunities for personal research outside the school environment.
• To give further practice in areas that may require rote learning.
• To develop habits of sound personal organizational skills.
• To provide for individual needs.
• To develop a high level of self-discipline.

It is hoped that students will develop sound study habits and a love of learning that will help form the basis for success in their VCE.

Homework Philosophy

Homework has two important components: work set by teaching staff requiring completion by a certain date, and regular revision of classwork in preparation for tests and examinations. Both are very important. As you move further through the school, you will find much more importance is placed on your own study routine.

Work set by teaching staff is aimed at reinforcing something that you have learned or are working on at school. Completing it means that links between areas of knowledge can be developed. It is carefully planned by the teaching staff and is very important.

Also of great importance is your own revision routine. From the first day of school, time should be spent in each homework session on review of the knowledge you have acquired. A regular program of revision ought be a part of your daily life as a student.

Further, you need to develop a system for making sense of new information. As you learn new material, this can be added to your conceptual understanding.

Homework Club

To assist students with their homework and examination preparation, the College runs a homework club throughout the year and exam preparation seminars in Term 2 and 4.  Please see the Homework Club page for details.

Year Level Requirements

You are expected to read a novel for at least 15-30 minutes per night. Effective reading develops with practice and is the foundation of all homework.

Study Techniques

Motivation means that you have the incentive to keep going at your work. Whenever you strike difficulties with it, you should continue trying and not give up too easily. You will only be able to do this if you have a reason to continue. The effort can be worthwhile for the sense of personal satisfaction that you gain.

Reaction means that you need to react to everything that you are given by teachers, read in books or obtain from other sources. The key here is to get your brain working on the information you have discovered.

Concentration can be improved by taking notes. Concentration is all about helping you to understand and remember.

Organisation refers to the way you build a picture that includes all the knowledge you have gained on a subject. Unless you organise information into a meaningful structure, no amount of memorising will have any effect.

Comprehension is understanding the main idea that a teacher or a writer is focusing on and seeing how that piece of information makes sense as one part of a larger body of knowledge.

Repetition is the key to improving your memory. Material studied for a few minutes a day will stay in your mind much longer than the same material studied for an hour at a time and never reviewed.

Transformation involves turning information into another form. Diagrams, notes, flow charts and concepts are common forms of transforming information and will help you to remember information.

Some Tips

• Copy down your homework tasks accurately from the board
• Do your homework at the same time each night
• Sit at a desk or table in a quiet area
• Have a dictionary, pens, and other study tools for home use only

As soon as you have completed your homework:

• Show it to one of your parents
• Ask a parent to sign your diary
• Put everything (homework, diary, books) straight into your schoolbag.

Note:  If you are unable to complete homework because you did not understand the work or any other reasonable excuse, ask one of your parents to write a note in your diary, stating the reason for non-completion of work.

Showing what you have learned

You will be assessed over each semester in each study by way of formal essays, reports, reviews and examinations. Each type of assessment is important and each type of assessment assesses different components of your learning. It is very important to understand that assessment is your chance to show what you have learned. Rather than looking at it as a hurdle, try to look on it as your chance to try your skills in a number of varied situations.

In preparing for examinations, make certain that you are mentally alert, that you are getting plenty of regular exercise and, where possible, it is an excellent idea for senior students to attempt previous examination papers. These are usually a good guide as to the types of questions that are favoured.

When you are asked to complete essays, reports or other projects, ensure that you take steps to understand the task before you begin. Plan your work with care as this will save a great deal of editing time later. Remember that in these tasks, as in examinations, the quality of your expression will be significantly influenced by the care you take with grammar.