Year 8

Welcome back to Yr 8! We hope every student and family had time to relax, re-energise and spend time with family and friends over the holiday season. The buzz this Wednesday as students returned to school was powerful and it is exciting to start a new year with so many new experiences ahead of them. 

Yr 8 is a year of growth in maturity and students will begin to take even more ownership over their own learning. Students will be encouraged to represent themselves proudly and to try something new to continue learning and growing as they move through the Secondary School. 

While students will be helping to determine a theme for this year’s Pastoral focus, the Yr 8 Pastoral Program includes positive and negative risk-taking, resilience, positive psychology, study skills and getting along with others in an online world. Yr 8 also culminates with STEAM week. Therefore, our Service projects this year will focus on our local and broader environment.  

Important Dates and Upcoming Events

School Photographs

School photographs will be taken on Monday 3 February and Wednesday 11 March. Yrs 8 -12 portrait photographs are scheduled to be taken by Advanced Life on Monday 3 February. Secondary School sibling photographs and Yr 7 portrait photographs will be taken by Advanced Life on Wednesday 11 March.

An envelope and flyer will be distributed in Week 1 and orders for photography packages can also be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using our School Order Code: NWL 4NR ETY. Portrait and group package orders are due by photography day. Should you have any queries concerning school photographs or online ordering, please direct them to enquiries@advancedlife.com.au.

Dr Prue Salter’s Study Skills

How Much Time Should You Spend on Schoolwork?

In Secondary School if you do not have any specific homework or assessments to work on, you are then expected to spend some time that night on independent learning. This is where you ask yourself, what else COULD I be doing that will help me understand my subjects better and improve my results? Examples of independent learning are: reading ahead in your textbook, making a mind map about what you have been learning, doing extra research on a topic that interests you, making study notes, reviewing work you find difficult… the list is endless.

However schools do not expect students to spend all of their time on schoolwork! We want you to play sport, see your friends, spend time with family, do activities you enjoy and have some rest and relax time as well. If you work effectively, then you can do your work for school, but still have a life. So given this, how much time are you expected to spend on schoolwork?

It depends on your year level, your school, your parents and your own abilities and goals. First, check your Student Planner or ask your teacher what is expected. Then discuss these outlines with your parents and see if you can both agree what is right for you.

As a general rule, expected time to spend on schoolwork at home:

Junior Years: In the first years of Secondary School students usually do at least half an hour to an hour each day. In many schools it is around 1-1.5 hours on average or 7-10 hours of home learning over the whole week.

Middle Years: In the middle years of Secondary School it should be at least an hour. In many schools the average is around 1.5-2 hours or 10-14 hours of home learning over the whole week.

Senior Years: In the final years of Secondary School students do at least 1.5-2 hours a day and this will increase as students approach the end of their schooling. Most Yr 11 students do 2-3 hours per day (14-21 hours over the whole week) and in Yr 12 around 3-4 hours (21-28 hours over the whole week).

Remember this is just a guide. Some parents and some schools will expect more (or less!) so treat these as guidelines. What about the weekend? The amount of time students need to spend on schoolwork on the weekend will depend on their current workload and how much work they complete during the week.

You also need to ensure you are getting enough sleep.

Ms Alissa Ynson
Yr 8 Advisor
9968 9863
aynson@redlands.nsw.edu.au