̽»¨ÊÓƵ

High Notes, Vol 24 No 33, October 27 2023

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to our successful teams and individuals in the recent National Chinese Eisteddfod. Our 13-15 and 16-18 native teams secured 1st place in the group performance category.

The 13-15 native team consisted of: Alex Deng (7T), Leo Di (8E), Max Gao (9R), Clyde Wang (9M), Vincent Wang (9T), Terrence Wang (8T), Yuhai Wang (8M), Leo Wang (9S), Zi Yang Wang (8F), Rocky Wu (9R), Kevin Xie (9R), and Lucas Xu (9S).

The 16-18 native team comprised: Angelo Kwok (10M), Harvey Liao (10S), Kevin Liu (10M), Raymond Qi (10M), Arthur Qiu (10R), Daniel Su (11E), Will Sun (11M), Jeff Tse (10R), Nicky Wu (10T), Richie Ye (11S), Anthony You (11S), Oscar Zhang (10F), and Martin Zhu (11S).

In the individual performance category, Yuhai Wang (8M), Rocky Wu (9R), and Michael Zhuo (9S) all secured 2nd place in their respective groups. Great job, lads!

Interpreting Year 11 Reports - Semester 2

Teachers record individual marks for courses, and these are run against an ATAR predictor program. All the raw marks are converted into scaled marks per unit. In the iterative scaling process, students’ marks in one course are compared against all the other students who completed the same course and against their performances in their other courses. The data we use are last year’s HSC results for High. The essential comparative assumption is that boys will perform at around the same standard this year as they did last year. Means and standard deviations are derived from our HSC results from the previous year and applied to our results in the current year. A scaled score out of 50 is calculated for each course on a one-unit basis. Where candidatures are very small – eg. visual arts and LOTE- we use historical results in that course in our school to calculate the mean and standard deviation to be applied to this year’s results. This can cause errors due to individual performance variations. We use all 12 Preliminary Units to calculate our ATAR estimate for several reasons. First, we would like students to receive a realistic appraisal of their progress in State terms as well as relative to their peers at High. Second, we want them to know their relative performance in each of their courses, to inform their subsequent choices. Third, when they are given a chance to do so, it assists them to drop their weakest two units on the basis of scaled marks rather than raw marks. Next April, the estimate process will be moderated against the 2023 HSC results and calculated for the best ten units for each student.

At this stage of the year, every Year 11 student faces a choice, some have more choices to make than others. Will I do 12 units, 11, or ten? For those students who have a guaranteed entrance into Extension 2 Mathematics, they can drop two courses immediately (Extension English and a 2-unit course) and still have ten units to present at the HSC. Students who really want to exit a course and have made the rank cut – off for extension 1 Mathematics, can keep their Extension English and drop a course. Accelerants remain doing ten units until their HSC results in the acceleration course are published. After the April assessment marks are in, acceleration students have a choice to reduce their load to 8 units if they believe their HSC marks for their completed acceleration course are high enough. Students qualifying and choosing to do four units of English can drop one course. High performing students tend to use acceleration results as insurance and do ten units for the HSC anyway. Others want to be rid of a weak course and explore choosing others – eg. picking up one or two-unit studies of religion, or taking an extension unit in history, music or LOTE. Some love all their courses and want to carry 12 units to the HSC. I have no problem with that choice provided that their tertiary course has a lower entrance requirement than their current ATAR prediction and that they are well organised enough to do well in twelve units. Students I speak to when discussing their reports are thoughtful about their strengths and weaknesses and mindful of their preferred tertiary options. Pragmatism often informs their decisions. They need to have set goals for Year 12 and beyond. At this important time, future tertiary intentions are important considerations. Choices are made to maximise enjoyment, ATAR ranks or both. I hope all Year 11 students choose sagely.

Extended Leave Applications

Applications for extended leave before the end of Term 4 need to be made before the end of Week 4. Parents are reminded that students are expected to attend school right up until the last scheduled day. Access to cheaper fares is not a valid reason for applying for extended leave in Term 4.  I am loathe to grant applications based on nothing more than an attempt to gain an advantage over other travellers. Year 10 students and parents are reminded that the mandatory Life Ready course is conducted during the last two weeks of Term 4 and so travel arrangements should not be scheduled at that time.

Sentence Conscious Pedagogy:
Writing summaries – Why and When?

A summary is a brief statement, sometimes called a synopsis, that presents the main points of a text in a concise form, whether oral or written. Essential v nonessential information? We practise summarising - to boost reading comprehension; to help generate concise and accurate responses to questions; to maintain focus on the main idea and supporting details; to teach paraphrasing techniques; to provide practice synthesising information from multiple sources; to enhance the ability to analyse information; to develop the ability to make generalisations; and to aid in retaining information. We summarise when we have to relate an experience or process; describe someone or something; sum up a plot; organise points; re-make a topic sentence as a concluding statement; give directions or present a critical review. Students always need to write summaries of key concepts in their own words.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal