Senior School Pathways Information Night East Doncaster Secondary College Have this slide on the screen when parents arrive. Also have one of the two presenters hand out cards at the door and encourage parents to write down any questions that they might want answered in the session. Collect and respond to questions at the end. Introduce yourself and the purpose of the evening. Encourage parents to ask any questions that they may have along the way. Senior School Pathways Information Night for Year 11 Students 2012

Context and Challenges POINTS TO CONSIDER: Outline the journey of students through East Doncaster and how we endeavour to have students meet their goals We are here to assist your son or daughter to make informed choices. We want you to make the right decisions that are critical for a successful student pathway. this evening is to advise and not tell students what to do it is important to match aspiration with achievement significant choices to be made – VCAL, VET, VCE, employment good decisions lead to good outcomes the challenge is to make the best choice

Potential Pathways 33 VCE Units offered at East Doncaster Secondary College VCE/VET Units – Mullum Cluster VCAL – in collaboration with Doncaster College TAFE studies Each student is different. Each course needs to be tailored to the individual needs of students important decisions need to be made in the next week regarding the type of course to be chosen refer the parents to the handout for information about the 33 VCE Units on offer, the VET units offered through the Mullum cluster, the introduction of VCAL and TAFE studies opportunities. Introduce VCAL in a little more detail tease apart the variety of choices and the different ways in which the programs meet student needs

Choosing your Pathway CONSIDER: Interests, passion, aptitude Pre-requisites Personal ambition MIPS/Career Voyager feedback Pathway investigations in World of Work and Work Experience Work your way through the points. give examples of interests and passion and talk about the need to make balanced choices it is healthy to do an Arts subject, for instance, even if you are going to be an engineer talk about the need to establish important pre-requisite subjects Half of the group will have completed Pathways investigations in World of Work and others will be starting soon All students will have completed MIPS interviews in groups of 6 and the Career Voyager activity. They should use this information to inform their decision.

And what if I don’t know what I want to do? That’s not unusual – but it is time to start thinking seriously about this issue IN THE MEANTIME Keep your options open Consider your strengths as a learner Be realistic If you are not sure what you want to do, stay in VCE discuss the difference between prerequisite subjects and preferred subjects Common question - Which maths should they do? – it would depend on how strong you are at maths. A strong student might be encouraged to stay with the top maths for instance. talk about being realistic and lead into the graph on the following page

Useful Resources VTAC publications VICTER VTAC Guide Job Guide There will be examples of some of these documents in the room hold them up and encourage parents and students to refer to them over the next few days while making decisions

Course Selection Procedure Subject selection sheet – indicate your interest Application for acceleration Counselling process, including interview Validation of selections Timetabling process and confirmation of courses Talk them through the course selection procedure

Year 11 2012 Course Selection Timeline Thursday 21 July : Year 10 Student Workshops Monday 25 July: Handbooks and Course Selection Information on School Website : Subject selection forms distributed Wednesday 27 July : Year 11 2012 Parent Information Evening Monday 1 Aug: Year 11 2012 Course Selection Forms Submission deadline Thursday 11 August – Tuesday 16 Aug : Year 11 2010 Course Selection Interviews – by appointment. (15 minute interviews, Parents welcome to attend) Term 4: courses confirmed Go through this date by date and emphasize how important it is to meet the timeline

YEAR 11 COURSE SELECTION FORM VCE/VCAL Course Selection YEAR 11 COURSE SELECTION FORM NAME: HOMEGROUP: Indicate which program that you are applying for: VCE VCAL (if you are choosing VCAL, you do not need to select subjects) Proposed Year 11 Program Circle your English choice Write the name of each other choice in the vacant spaces Please list three additional choices: __________________ Course selection forms must be submitted to Senior School Office no later than Friday 29 July 2011 Student signature:____________ Parent signature: ______________ Talk to them about how to fill out this form and highlight the fact that subject choices are not necessary if students are choosing VCAL. ENGLISH Or ESL Preference 1 Preference 2 Preference 3 Preference 4 Preference 5

Senior School Courses content & questions Please join our teachers in The John Landy Centre to gain specific information about Senior School subject content and requirements Tea & Coffee available Encourage parents to speak with teachers in The John Landy Centre.

Questions Begin by checking if you have answered any questions that have been handed in by parents during the night and then ask for further questions.