A YEAR 10 PARENT S GUIDE TO COURSE COUNSELLING

Transcription

1 A YEAR 10 PARENT S GUIDE TO COURSE COUNSELLING In Term 3 all year 10 students will select their senior study program for This booklet will provide some information to help you guide your son or daughter through the course counselling process. Common terminology: VCE Victorian Certificate of Education VCAL Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning - an alternative senior program VET Vocational Education and Training units which teach practical industry skills TAFE Technical and Further Education programs eg. Certificates and Diplomas Study a VCE or VET subject Unit a semester length subject. Year 11 studies are Unit 1 and Unit 2. KEY DATES Pre-requisite a VCE study that is required for a University course. Degree a three year or four year bachelor course at a University or TAFE. ATAR the ranking of a student s VCE results (used for University entry) Tertiary study degrees and diploma courses at University, TAFE or college, after completing high school. Traveller a student who undertakes a study at another Alliance school July 15 th Year 10 Information Night Compulsory Parents & Students July 29 th Course Counselling Interview Compulsory ** Parents & Students August 14 th August 14 th Course selection must be completed for all students Cut-off date for choosing a course based at another Alliance school August 17 th Work Experience commences Compulsory August 17 th VCAL session at Hallam Compulsory for all students commencing VCAL in 2016 VCE at Gleneagles Secondary College Gleneagles offers the two year Victorian Certificate of Education. Students will select six studies for year 11. An English study is compulsory English, EAL, English Language or Literature All other VCE studies are optional Students who are completing a Unit 1&2 study in year 10 can select the Unit 3&4 sequence

2 One VCE or VET study may be taken from another Alliance school (Hallam or Fountain Gate), or An external LOTE from the Victorian School of Languages (Saturday classes). External TAFE studies are not normally permitted in the VCE at Gleneagles Students Considering Transferring to Hallam Senior College or Fountain Gate SC Gleneagles, Hallam and Fountain Gate share the same course selection software and it is used to process all course selections for all students from each of these schools. Hallam Senior College offers VCAL or VCE, as well as a wide range of VET studies on campus. Fountain Gate SC has many but not all of the VCE subjects offered at Gleneagles and some additional VCE subjects not available at Gleneagles. This ensures the widest range of subjects can be made available to students studying through the Alliance. Students seeking to transfer to another Alliance school must follow the Alliance course counselling protocols and timelines. Course counselling at Gleneagles is the starting point for any discussion about changing schools. This is not an attempt to stifle transfers merely a strong focus of ensuring changing schools is well thought through and supportive of future career pathways. Student s base school will reflect the location of the majority of their studies. Students can explore the travel option if they wish to access one or subject at another Alliance school. Please discuss these options with your course counsellor. When it is appropriate, given the student s study/careers plans, the course counsellor will assist you to arrange an enrolment interview at the appropriate school e.g. if you chose to study for a VCAL certificate you will transfer to Hallam and an enrolment interview for Hallam will be organised on the night of course counselling! Decisions about what and where you are going to study are finalised at the course counselling interview. It is compulsory for all students that are going to study at any Alliance school to attend the Gleneagles course counselling interview **. There is no need to contact the other schools directly and indeed you would simply be referred back to Gleneagles for course counselling. PARENTS AND COURSE COUNSELLING 1) How can I support my son or daughter through course counselling? First discuss whether the VCE or VCAL would be the best option for your son or daughter check their semester report when making this decision and base your advice on evidence the evidence before you. Look up the following resources together: Where to now? (explains the difference between VCE and VCAL):

3 VICTER 2018 guide (University entry requirements for available mid-july) VCE Planner Year 10 Guide (buy the Herald Sun newspaper on Tuesday 21 st July for this important liftout ) VCAL: The hands on option (booklet available in many languages) VCE study designs look up VCE studies in detail on the VCAA website Meet with the Careers co-ordinator Chris Wood to check tertiary pre-requisites If your child wants to transfer to Hallam Senior College for year 11, make sure that you attend Open Day (Thursday 30 th July) or book a tour on a Wednesday morning 2) How do we prepare students for this process? All students in year 10 experience a range of activities and classes during our taster week at the end of Term 2. They have visited Deakin or Monash universities for a full day of activities and been presented with detailed information regarding their options for English and Mathematics. Interested students visited Hallam for a tour and information session and all year 10 s have been given detailed information regarding the differences between VCE and VCAL, how VET works within both these certificates and future pathways leading on from school. They have been advised to choose their senior program based on how they best learn and what they have achieved so far in their schooling (evidence of practice not what they intend to do in the future). If selecting VCE studies they should be guided by what they are good at, like and need (for future studies). They will Have two weeks to read about and choose their studies for VCE or VCAL Be given a Username and password to access the on-line Course Selection program Enter their studies into the Course Selection program between th July. Talk to their teachers about their choices Use the VICTER 2018 guide to look up VCE pre-requisites for future tertiary study and/or see Chris Wood (Careers Co-ordinator) for specific queries 3) Course Counselling appointments are compulsory All Parents/guardians are requested to book and attend a 15 minute Course counselling appointment with their child on Wednesday 29 th July, to confirm their program and studies for 2016 with a senior Gleneagles teacher. There are no classes for year 10s on Course counselling day. Parents will use the subject selection software (SSO) on-line to book your appointment using your username and password (same process as PTO). Please print out your course counselling appointment time for future reference. 4) My son/daughter is leaving Gleneagles at the end of 2015 do I still need to attend Course Counselling?

4 Yes. Your son/daughter must enrol in a program for 2016, unless you already have enrolment confirmation at a non-alliance school or a training contract for an apprenticeship. This also applies to applications for courses at Chisholm TAFE and Berwick TEC. Please provide this evidence to Mr Sainsbery, Ms Weir, Mr Barker ASAP. If the evidence is pending, please discuss this at the course counselling interview and it will be noted. Gleneagles is required by the Department of Education to track all students who exit the school prior to completing year 12 and must receive written evidence of the student s next destination, whether it is another school, training, apprenticeships or employment. Note that the minimum school leaving age is 17 years. QUESTIONS THAT YEAR 10 STUDENTS WILL NEED TO ANSWER FOR COURSE COUNSELLING 1) What subjects am I good at? Your son or daughter s strengths and abilities are very important when selecting their year 11 studies. Do they have a maths brain, are they good at writing, are they creative and artistic, are they musical, do they love the environment and the natural world, do they have an ability with computers and programming, do they love sport and physical education or are they a hands-on learner who likes very practical subjects? Students should choose subjects in year 11 that they enjoy and are good at. 2) What are my choices for 2016? The choices are: VCE the VCE is a two year academic program available at Gleneagles with an emphasis on academic performance, theory and assessment. VCAL - an alternative senior program which is very practical and assessment is competency, rather than exam based. Offered at Hallam Senior College VCAL and VCE can also be studied at TAFE institutes and other training providers Pre-apprenticeship or other Certificate courses at TAFE The Australian Government encourages all students to complete a year 12 program (VCE or VCAL) or higher to improve their chances of gaining employment. Employers of apprentices now prefer students who are 18 years old, have a driver s licence, have completed a year 12 and a pre-apprenticeship qualification. 3) Will I be able to cope with the demands of the VCE? The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is a two year program which is academically challenging. It requires a high level of commitment, completion of regular assessments (SACs), exams and 90% school attendance. The academic workload and level of difficulty increases significantly from Year 10 to Year 11. Check your Semester 1 school report and Common Assessment Task (CAT) results to see whether you are performing at the expected level. Your teachers will also be making recommendations about your study choices.

5 4) Should I take a VET study in my VCE program? Choose a VET study if you are a hands-on learner and would like to study a practical unit as part of your VCE. You will need to travel to Hallam Senior College (taxis are arranged). All VET studies count towards the ATAR (scored VCE VET units can be counted in your top 4). If you are unsure about your academic ability, you are encouraged to choose a VET study for year 11. Students can only change to VCAL at Hallam mid-year if they are taking a VET unit and have passed all unit 1 studies. Students who undertake the VCE at Hallam Senior College are permitted to take two VET studies. 5) What subjects do I need to study for my future course or career? Many University courses require the completion of specific subjects in the VCE such as Maths Methods, Chemistry or Physics, as well as a minimum study score in an English study. Check the VICTER guide for 2018 at: for pre-requisites to enter Bachelor degree and Diploma level courses. 6) What will I study in the VCAL? Literacy, numeracy, personal development, VET studies and work related skills are compulsory in the VCAL. You can also take one or more VCE studies in the VCAL and can substitute VCE General Maths for Numeracy. 7) Can I go to University if I do the VCAL? Yes (via a TAFE pathway). After completing VCAL Senior (year 12) you can apply to start a TAFE Diploma or Certificate, as there is no ATAR rank (for direct University entry). There are many pathways from TAFE Diplomas into degrees. Chisholm Institute (our local TAFE) has agreements with Deakin, Monash and La Trobe Universities for Diploma students to go into the second year of relevant degree programs (with credit for first year). 8) TAFE versus University in the future? Many students who are achieving well at school will complete the VCE then go on to University. Other students undertake a TAFE Diploma after VCE because they want to obtain a vocational qualification before undertaking a degree. TAFE programs are very hands-on and students learn practical skills. TAFE has small class sizes and there is less emphasis on exams assessment is competency-based. Chisholm and Holmesglen Institutes now offer degree courses. Three Universities (RMIT, Victoria and Swinburne) are dual sector and offer TAFE (vocational) courses. Universities recognise TAFE Diplomas as pathways into degrees and will give students credit into degree programs. Students often find that studying at TAFE first gives them more confidence to start a University degree. Please see Ms Wood in the Careers office for more information or contact her by (wood.christine.e@edumail.vic.gov.au)