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Senior School

 
 

The Senior School at Mooroolbark College comprises Years 10, 11, and 12. Students in the Senior School are challenged to see beyond their secondary schooling and to be outward-looking, active, and responsible citizens.

In VCE, students have the opportunity to choose the courses of study that will help them achieve their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or Vocational Major (VM). The information in the Senior School Handbook will help guide them in these choices by providing information about the diverse range of programs and subjects offered. The Vocational Education and Training (VET) opportunities, as well as the VCE and VCE-VM courses, are explored in detail, including outlines of what is required to be successful in each course. A summary of each VCE unit is also provided. Many of the requirements of VCE/VCE-VM are set by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). The House and Pathways team, along with the Senior School Leader, are guides to support students in choosing their courses of study. For more detailed information, please refer to the Senior School Handbook.

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)

VCE Requirements for satisfactory completion of the VCE

The Victorian Certificate of Education will be awarded to students who satisfactorily complete at least sixteen (16) units, including:

  • At least three (3) units of English Group, and
  • At least three sequences of Units 3 and 4, in addition to English
  • Units 3 and 4 are necessary for an ATAR
  • Meet the 95% attendance requirements

A Vocational Education and Training (VET) certificate can be incorporated into a VCE course and generally counts as four units of study. VET study scores can be included in the primary four subjects for ATAR calculations.

Requirements for Satisfactory Completion of a VCE Unit

Satisfactory Completion of VCE Units

In order to satisfy the requirements of VCE units at Mooroolbark College, students must meet each of the following requirements.

Each subject has clearly stated Learning Outcomes for each unit of study. Learning Outcomes describe the skills and knowledge students should have by the time they complete the unit of study. In order to satisfactorily complete a unit, students must demonstrate achievement for each of the outcomes as specified in the study design.

Students must submit work on the due date.

If work is not submitted on the due date it will be given an assessment of zero towards the appropriate School Assessed Coursework (SAC)/School Assessed Task (SAT) in Year 11.

SACs and SATs for Units 3 and 4 not submitted on the due date will receive ‘NA’ (Not Assessed). This will be reported to the VCAA and marked zero in the calculation of the student’s study score for that subject.

The ‘Application for a change in SAC/SAT conditions’ must be completed by all students submitting work late.

Students are required to attend a minimum of ninety five percent of classes in each subject, unless supported by medical documentation, or the absence has been approved under special provisions by the student’s House Leader.

Regular attendance is essential to enable coursework tasks to be completed, mainly in class time, thus ensuring authenticity of student work assessed.

Authentication is the process of ensuring that all work the student submits is genuinely their own. To meet this requirement students must ensure that all unacknowledged work submitted is genuinely their own.

Students who knowingly assist other students in a breach of rules may be penalised. Students must not submit the same piece of work for the completion of more than one assessment in any subject.

All student work will be assessed according to the Assessment and Reporting Policy.

Supporting VCE Students

If a student is:

  • Significantly affected by illness (physical or psychological) or by factors relating to their personal environment or by other serious causes, or
  • Disadvantaged by a disability or impairment, the College can apply Special Provision

There are three forms of special provision for assessment available to students:

  • Alternative arrangements or variations to school assessment requirements
  • Special arrangements for external examinations
  • The calculation and use of Derived Examination Score

These circumstances do not include matters or situations of the students own choosing, such as involvement in social or sporting activities or school events. Students who think they might be eligible for this special provision must apply to their VCE Coordinator. For a medical condition, students will need to provide their school with a current medical letter outlining their diagnosis, and the symptoms and issues which will impact on their school performance. Students who have experienced a recent personal trauma will require current external evidence. Long-term impairments/disabilities will require a medical statement or recent intellectual and educational testing evidence (learning disability) and a history of how they have been assisted at school over the years.

Students are expected to complete the Learning Outcomes for a unit during the semester in which the unit is undertaken. In exceptional cases the College may decide to grant a delay of decision about the satisfactory completion to allow time for a student who would otherwise receive a result of N, to complete work or resubmit work so that the students result may change from N to an S. It is the Colleges prerogative to grant a delay of decision. It is not a students right to be given it, and it will only be granted in very few cases.

Students need to be aware of their responsibilities when undertaking either the VCE or VCAL. Students need to take time to make themselves familiar with the requirements of their course of study

What happens if a student is absent for an assessment or school assessed course work? In this situation the student must seek permission to be allowed to complete the assessment. It is not automatic. To be granted permission to complete the assessment, the student will need to fill in an Application for an Alteration to SAC/SAT Conditions. It requires the signatures of the appropriate House/Cluster Leader. If you are ill, a doctors certificate is needed. Where absences are due to legitimate causes other than illness, then appropriate evidence will be required after discussion with the VCE coordinator and the Head of Senior School.

VCE students are allocated study periods. These times are not designed for students to arrange part time work. Students will be required to be at school during some of these periods for compulsory activities. If students are completing a Unit 3 & 4 subject, SACs in multiple classes such as PE, General Maths & Psych will also be timetabled into these periods.

The panel is available for students who would like to appeal the decision of a teacher. Applications must be in writing. There is an application form that can be collected from the House rooms. Students may bring their parent/guardian. The parent/guardians role is to support their child, but not advocate for them. The student must present their own case and use their own words to describe what has happened. SAC planner A SAC planner is produced every year. The SACs that are running each week will be published on COMPASS.

Victorian Certificate of Education Vocational Major (VCE-VM)

The Victorian Certificate of Education Vocational Major (VCE-VM) is a hands-on option for students in Years 11 and 12. The VCE-VM gives students practical work-related experience, as well as literacy and numeracy skills and the opportunity to build personal skills that are important for life and work. Like the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), VCE-VM is an accredited secondary certificate.

The VCE-VM is a recognised applied learning program for students in Years 11 and 12 who are interested in taking up a traineeship, apprenticeship, TAFE studies or employment after Year 12. The VCE-VM curriculum is based on outcomes and competencies which are evidenced through projects and practical applications both at school and within industry training. The program design has high relevance to personal strengths, develops resilience, confidence and self- worth, and strengthens connections with the community.

The VCE-VM qualification aims to provide skills, knowledge and develop attitudes to enable students to make informed choices regarding pathways to work and further education. The VCE-VM program pursues the development of knowledge and employability skills that help prepare the student for employment and for participation in the broader context of family, community and lifelong learning. The development of knowledge and skills is targeted for each student so that they are able to make informed vocational choices within the specific industry sector and/or to facilitate pathways to further learning.

What Do I Study?

VCE Vocational Major Literacy focuses on the development of the knowledge and skills required to be literate in Australia today. The key knowledge and key skills encompass a student’s ability to interpret and create texts that have purpose, and are accurate and effective, with confidence and fluency. Texts should be drawn from a wide range of contexts and be focused on participating in the workplace and community. Further to this, texts should be drawn from a range of sources including media texts, multimodal texts, texts used in daily interactions, and workplace texts from increasingly complex and unfamiliar settings. As students develop these skills, they engage with texts that encompass the everyday language of personal experience to the more abstract, specialised and technical language of different workplaces, including the language of further study. The applied learning approach of this study is intended to meet the needs of students with a wide range of abilities and aspirations.

VCE Vocational Major Numeracy focuses on enabling students to develop and enhance their numeracy skills to make sense of their personal, public and vocational lives. Students develop mathematical skills with consideration of their local, national and global environments and contexts, and an awareness and use of appropriate technologies. This study allows students to explore the underpinning mathematical knowledge of number and quantity, measurement, shape, dimensions and directions, data and chance, the understanding and use of systems and processes, and mathematical relationships and thinking. This mathematical knowledge is then applied to tasks which are part of the students’ daily routines and practices, but also extends to applications outside the immediate personal environment, such as the workplace and community. The contexts are the starting point and the focus, and are framed in terms of personal, financial, civic, health, recreational and vocational classifications. These numeracies are developed using a problem-solving cycle with four components: formulating; acting on and using mathematics; evaluating and reflecting; and communicating and reporting.

VCE Vocational Major Personal Development Skills (PDS) takes an active approach to personal development, self-realisation and citizenship by exploring interrelationships between individuals and communities. PDS focuses on health, wellbeing, community engagement and social sciences, and provides a framework through which students seek to understand and optimise their potential as individuals and as members of their community. This study provides opportunities for students to explore influences on identity, set and achieve personal goals, interact positively with diverse communities, and identify and respond to challenges. Students will develop skills in self-knowledge and care, accessing reliable information, teamwork, and identifying their goals and future pathways. PDS explores concepts of effective leadership, self-management, project planning and teamwork to support students to engage in their work, community and personal environments. Through self-reflection, independent research, critical and creative thinking and collaborative action, students will extend their capacity to understand and connect with the world they live in, and build their potential to be resilient, capable citizens.

Work Related Skills (WRS) examines a range of skills, knowledge and capabilities relevant to achieving individual career and educational goals. Students will develop a broad understanding of workplace environments and the future of work and education, in order to engage in theoretical and practical planning and decision-making for a successful transition to their desired pathway. The study considers four key areas: the future of work; workplace skills and capabilities; industrial relations and the workplace environment and practice; and the development of a personal portfolio. Students will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills gained from this study in the classroom environment and through Structured Workplace Learning (SWL).

Your VCE-VM learning program must include industry specific units from Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs or VCE VET. However, you are not required to focus on or complete any single VET certificate. For example, you can choose to undertake various modules or units from a range of VET certificates to meet the VCE-VM requirements, and gain experience in a range of vocational areas. The range of VET options is extensive with registered and recognised training packages available from industries including automotive, engineering, building and construction, hospitality, business, community services, equine, retail, agriculture, horticulture and hair and beauty. You may also undertake a School Based Apprenticeship to meet the needs of the Industry Specific Skills.

The aim of a VCE-VM program is to provide students with a hands-on practical learning experience which prepares students for work or further industry training upon completion. Students are required to undertake a Vocational Educational subject (VET) or a School Based Apprenticeship (SBAT) as part of their VCE-VM certificate. This meets the Industry Strand requirements. Students can select from the wide range of VET certificates offered within the Yarra Valley VET Cluster and any certificate offered at an outside Registered Training Organisation (RTO) as long as it fits into the student’s timetable and has been approved by the VET/VCE-VM Coordinator

 

We respectfully acknowledge the past, present and emerging Elders and Traditional Owners of this land, on which we are meeting, the Wurundjeri people. We are honoured to share this land we all live on together and recognise our connection to all Aboriginal communities who have resided in this area and pay respect to the ongoing connection to land, sea, culture and heritage.

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