Dean of Studies | Mrs Julie Quinn

One of the highlights of Term 4 for our Year 11 students is their appointment into leadership roles for next year. The Senior leadership of our school creates and promotes the culture of both a caring community and a community that strives for excellence.

Each year we are blessed with boys who are willing to support their fellow Terracians. Examples of this leadership can be witnessed in many arenas from a student offering to help a visitor find our reception, to boys helping carry books for their teacher, to boys thanking staff at the end of each lesson or to boys tutoring a mate.

Preserving our culture of excellence requires our leaders promoting best practices in their classrooms and their study. Our Seniors this year have been outstanding role models in this area.  A number of boys regularly conducted tutorials for fellow Seniors. These tutorials were well attended, and the respect offered by the students in the room was a credit to the maturity and commitment of all of our Senior students.

As this newsletter goes to “print”, our Seniors of 2018 are completing their final assessment for the year. My heartfelt thanks to this group who have been a pleasure to work with. We wish them well for their final Assembly, Mass and Valedictory Dinner tomorrow. Our hope is that these young men will move into a world where they can contribute to making a positive difference.

To the remainder of the school, we still have to complete our exams. Having a study plan that explicitly states what is to be studied in a particular allocated study time is imperative for efficiency. The plan needs to cover all topics and exercises as per the checklist.  The checklist needs to be used as if it were an exam – using pen and paper, respond to the item on the checklist, then correct the response. Just reading over notes can result in a student not realising their lack of understanding until faced with the exam.

I encourage boys to work hard until the final pen stroke is made on the final exam. The holidays will be even more rewarding if the year is finished successfully.
 
On a practical note, I remind all boys that they need to ensure that they return all text books to Book Hire prior to finishing school.  Some Year 11 texts can be kept by students as these will be needed in Year 12.  The College App provided details for which texts can be kept.

Finally, my sincere thanks for the wonderful occasion at Tennyson last Saturday recognising my time at Terrace. I am truly humbled by the kind words and well wishes from the community. Thank you for such a memorable occasion. It will live with me forever.