Year 8

Key Dates

Examinations

Attendance at examinations is compulsory. Should your child be unable to attend school, an email must be sent to me and ssabsence@redlands.nsw.edu.au. A supporting medical certificate must be provided. 

Included are some final tips and hints for parents and students to assist with preparation. 

At least a few days before the exam, encourage the following:

• Ensure students continue to exercise so they can burn off the pent-up stress that can come before exams.
• Provide your child with lots of water to juice up their brain, healthy food, decent sleep.
• Purchase any equipment your child may need, including extra calculator batteries, pens, rulers etc.
• Revise examination equipment lists with your child.
• Ensure that students have a clear pencil case and clear drink bottle to take into the examination room.
• Encourage revision of key subject points.
• Revise the examination schedule with your child.

The night before the test or exam, students have been encouraged to:

• Pack their school bag with everything they will need for the next day, ensuring they have all the necessary equipment.
• Plan what time they need to leave to ensure they have plenty of time for unexpected delays.
• Avoid going to bed too late – they need to make sure their brain is fresh and alert.
• Avoid ringing friends and discussing their preparation or the examination.
• Just before you go to sleep, look through your notes briefly.
• Check the timetable to doubly confirm the date, time and location of the exam.

Finally, on the morning of the test or exam students should:

• Visualise success.
• Review notes.
• Eat breakfast.
• Be on time.
• Avoid negativity.

House Theatresports Competition

We congratulate all Houses on their fantastic effort in the House Theatresports Competition which was held in the Drama Studio on Wednesday evening. All teams performed with enthusiasm. The competition was extremely close and ended with McDouall being announced as the Overall Winner. Yr 8 competitors included Claudia Lalich (Dumolo), Isabella Treloar (McDouall), Sabrina Blasco, Jessica Marshall and Sienna Wessels (Cowper). Well done to all competitors for another entertaining show. 

ICAS Maths

In September, 29 Yr 8 students participated in the UNSW ICAS Maths Competition. 17 students received Credits. Congratulations to Jamison Houchell, Kokoro Sawa  and Lucinda Baird for being awarded a Distinction.

Elective Performance Examinations

Well done to all Yr 8 Music and Drama students who completed their performance examinations this week. Notable mention goes to the following Drama students who received an award nomination for their efforts this year in the following categories, with the award recipient being announced at the annual Drama Celebration Night:

Yr 8 Pastoral Program Term 4

In Term 4, Yr 8 are exploring Positive Psychology. Positive psychology is not about putting on a happy face all the time. Life can be hard and disappointments and challenges are inevitable. However, scientific research has shown that there are identified strategies and skills that allow people to navigate the challenges of life more effectively and enjoy life despite the upsets. Elements of positive psychology and best explained through the PERMA framework. To promote PERMA, one Tutor Time a week for Term 4 will be dedicated to TimeOut Thursday. During this time, Tutors will facilitate a fun mindfulness activity eg. colouring, origami, reading etc. For those students needing some extra time to move, they are able to join Mr Warrell and me for some outdoor activities or downtime. As places for outdoor activities are limited, students were asked to sign-up via iLearn. Sign up was extended to Wednesday this week.

Ms Marita Jansons 
Yr 8 Advisor
mjansons@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9819