Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

Year 12 Parent-Teacher-Student Conference:

In this edition of the Newsletter we continue with some more COVID-19 changes to the way in which the College delivers its learning and teaching.

Beginning this week, the College has made changes to the traditional “Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences” where parents would normally attend a night session in the College Hall and discuss the latest Semester Report. 

For the Year 12 Reports and PTS Conferences, the College has encouraged parents to engage directly with Classroom Teachers through a variety of media, including ZOOMS, Q&A emails and the more traditional - scheduled telephone call. 

MANAGING STRESS:

At this point in the academic year, students will have a variety of assessments and in particular for this year - ongoing assessments to determine their grades. 

As we move from Remote Learning back to Onsite Learning from Week 5, there will no doubt be a heightened level of anxiety and increased levels of stress around assessment. 

The following is from our online Study Skills Handbook subscription and may be a useful conversational tool for parents to engage with their child regarding managing stress:

The signs of stress can be grouped into either physical or non-physical. Students can tick which of these they experience when feeling stressed.

PHYSICAL SIGNS OF STRESS:

• headaches
• sweaty palms or increased sweating
• shallow breathing
• dry throat
• getting lots of colds
• your skin breaks out in pimples etc
• feeling physically ill in the pit of your stomach
• fluttery feeling in your stomach
• indigestion
• racing heart, increased heart rate
• muscle aches and pains
• feeling tired but not being able to sleep
• clenching your jaw or fists or muscles
• sleeping too much
• difficulty getting to sleep
• interrupted sleep

NON-PHYSICAL SIGNS OF STRESS:

• feeling worried or tense
• becoming cranky, irritable at friends and family
• becoming moody and easily upset
• feeling like you could cry at any moment
• difficulty concentrating in class and at home
• not being able to sit still
• not being able to work
• feeling unhappy or depressed for no obvious reason
• feeling less confident about yourself
• feeling indecisive and not able to make decisions
• getting upset or anxious over trivial things
• not feeling hungry
• experiencing bad dreams and nightmares
• overeating
• eating much more junk food than usual
• stopping talking to people about how you are feeling
• doing silly/self-destructive things (alcohol, drugs etc)
• feeling negative about yourself and your abilities
• losing pleasure in the things you normally do
• lots of negative thoughts
• becoming forgetful
• not being able to relax
• feeling no enthusiasm for anything, listlessness, lack of motivation
• feeling greater levels of aggression for no reason at all!

Further information on how to ‘manage’ stressful times can be found via our subscription. Year 12 Students will workshop this notion during this week’s Super Wednesday and the above may be of parental support post PTS Conferences and in preparation for continued HSC assessments. 

Visit Study Skills Handbook to learn more about how you can make your life easier by being a more effective and efficient learner:

Username: stjohnpaul

Password: 89success

In addition, our subscription to Elevate Education may assist in this area:

This online platform contains resources and useful study tips that all SJPC students will find effective. We encourage them to access this Student Portal and try some of the strategies. Students have the password to this site. The password can also be found on the Curriculum Noticeboard.

James Furey
Assistant Principal
Learning and Teaching