Year 12 Results Release – What Next?

Receiving your year 12 results via text message will likely be one of the more stressful moments in your life. In the lead up it can be hard to know what to expect, and you might feel like there’s a lot of pressure placed on you.

Make sure you have someone on the day with whom you can discuss your results who isn’t also in year 12. It can sometimes be really hard to discuss your results with a friend when they have also just received theirs, and are trying to digest the information themselves. You’ll want someone who will share in your success or empathise if you don’t do as well as you thought. Your parents could be good people to have this chat with, although if they’re putting a lot of pressure on, you might want to find another close adult like a family friend or aunt or uncle you could talk to. Often schools will have careers counsellors working on the day you receive your results, so be sure to ask them anything you need to help you understand the implications of the score you have just received.

If you do as well as you wanted or better than expected

Congratulations! Enjoy the moment and have a quiet celebration with your family. If you’re planning to go to university, consider whether you want to change your preferences at this stage. You might have changed your mind in the last couple of weeks, or you might have done better than expected, and you can add a different course to the top of your list.

Please be sure not to change your preferences just for the sake of ‘changing’. Often doing a course simply because you achieve a certain ATAR may, in fact, lead to disappointment.

If you don’t do as well as you thought

Firstly, ‘Well done’ on all your hard work and on finishing year 12! It’s still a great achievement. If you would like to change your university preferences, you’ll have a chance to do so now. Almost all universities have information sessions or the chance to drop in and speak to an advisor during the change of preference period. Go and talk to someone about your options.

And remember, you DO have options. For example, there are often multiple pathways to help you get to your ideal course. Speaking to staff at a university can help you plan an alternative pathway and allow you to make the right decisions. Or you can take the opportunity to actually do something completely different than what you expected and embrace this as the opportunity to embark on a new phase of your life.

However, at the end of the day we are all individuals. Other people might not be having the same reaction that you are, so while you can certainly ask other people about their results, make sure the conversation moves on, as it can be a hard time for people who didn’t do as well as they expected. Rest assured, though, your life will not be determined by your ATAR. In fact, your results won’t matter in a few months time, so take a breath, play with the cards you've been dealt and start planning the next exciting phase of your life!

Staying motivated for your last exam

When you have a number of exams spread across a couple of weeks it can be easy to get burnt out and stop studying for the last one or two. You might feel like you’ve put all your energy into your first two exams, and you don’t have enough energy to keep up your studying stamina for another week.

However, it’s quite possible your strongest subject is coincidentally at the end of the exam period. Remember that almost all your subjects are weighted equally, so all the exams are important!

Here are some tips on how you can stop yourself getting burnt out and tired during the exam period.

Make a schedule

Write up a schedule of what you want to get done every day between now and the end of exams. Be specific about what you’re going to get done, for example, “Chemistry: 2014 VCAA exam”. Make your study goals realistic, but also make sure you’re working hard. This is the last time you’ll have to study for these subjects, so put in your best effort!

In terms of making your goals realistic, don’t convince yourself that you’re going to get up at 7 am and study consistently until 8 pm, with one break for lunch. You might be able to do this for one day, but it’s not a sustainable study method.

Set yourself up for productive study

When it gets close to exams, it might feel like a good idea to go all out and start cramming and studying crazy hours. However, if you have a long exam period, this is unsustainable. When you’re studying, you need to make sure you’re taking regular short breaks, like going for a 15-minute walk, so that you can keep working.

Keep your phone away from your study area, and only check it during your breaks. This is especially true if some of your friends have finished their exams and have forgotten that you’re still in exam mode.

When you relax, really relax

It can be easy to get caught up in total exam mode and forget how to relax. However, when you’re taking a break from study, do your best to completely switch off from it. Schedule in relaxation times, which could be something like watching your favourite TV show, going for a swim, or catching up with a friend (and promising not to talk about study!)

If you have a really long break before your last exam and you’re feeling prepared, it might even be a good idea to schedule a whole day off. You could get out of the house and take yourself out for lunch or to see a movie, or stay home and chill out all day. This is a good way to recharge the batteries and feel refreshed before diving back in to studying.

Look after yourself

You’ll get burnt out even more quickly if you’re not looking after your body. Make sure you’re getting lots of sleep and eating regular meals.

It’s also a good idea to have some of your study breaks involve exercise. Exercise gives you endorphins, which will help you feel good, and it will also mean you sleep better. If you’re sitting down at a desk all day, sometimes your body isn’t tired enough to sleep well at night. Exercise can help with this problem.

Year 12 English exam – Be Prepared!

Author: Maria D'Amato

The English exam is always the first of the VCE exams and it is often the one you are most nervous about. This blog will discuss how to tackle the exam and more importantly what to focus on. Master these points to be sure you will get the very most out of yourself and achieve a result that you can be proud of.

General Exam Tips

• Remember to take a dictionary.

• Use black or blue pen.

• Answer every question.

• Devote equal time to each of the three sections – they are equally weighted.

• Spend 2-3 minutes planning, and write short plans only. Plans will not be assessed.

• Spend no more than 50 minutes on each of the sections, as you don't want to run out of time.

• You must bring each of your essays to a conclusion.

• Allow 3–5 minutes to proofread and edit your work. Check spelling and grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraphing and clarity of expression. Ensure you have included all the components of your plan.

• Please learn the correct spellings of authors’ names, characters’ names, and text titles. The assessors will view this favourably.

• Put the pen down momentarily and take a deep breath before commencing the next essay.

Section A: Text Response

• Select one of the two questions. Select the topic you know you can answer best.

• Look carefully at the key terms used in the prompt and unpack their meaning.
  Essay questions are set up very carefully and each key term needs to be addressed.

• The introduction needs to directly answer the prompt.

• Don't memorise essays and reproduce them in exams.
  Remember to respond to the prompt and focus on what’s relevant to that prompt.

• Be consistent with the development of the contention across the essay. Each paragraph in the body of the essay needs to develop your contention.

• Examples and evidence are drawn only from the text. You cannot bring anything external to it.

• Learn a comprehensive series of quotations from the beginning, middle and end of the text.

• Don’t forget to mention the ways in which the author expresses or implies a point of view and/or values.

• The conclusion includes the fulfilment of your line of contention.

Section B: Writing in Context

• You will be given a prompt to which you must respond, which is almost like a universal statement.

• In Section B you are able to express your thoughts and ideas relating to the overall theme in whatever form you choose, be it imaginative, persuasive or expository; however, you must work with the prompt regardless of what format you choose.

• The studied text is there for inspiration, not to write a text essay on.

• You need to show knowledge of the text but can also go beyond it and draw on related ideas (such as current affairs, your own experiences) to develop your argument.

• Don't just retell the story; you need to explore the quality of ideas and link back to the text.

Section C: Analysis of Language

• You should devote at least 10 minutes of reading time to read the written material in this section. This will enable you to gain an impression of the overall issue.

• Remember the what, how and why language is being used in an attempt to influence readers/audience.

• Identify the Context, Contention, Tone, Audience and Purpose.

• You need to focus on specific phrases and analyse how the language used by the writer shapes the beliefs/feelings of the reader.

• Paragraphs for language analysis are essentially “point, evidence, analyse”.

• You also need to analyse how the visual material shapes the beliefs of the reader.

• Keep your language simple and straightforward.

• Don’t forget to use language of comparison to show the differences/contrasts of opinions.

And finally,

GOOD LUCK 😃 

Preparing for the exams

Exams can be scary for many people. Even for the best prepared! While we can’t take the exam for you, we can give you some tips on how to prepare, as well as what you can do in the room to maximise your exam time.

• Try to get a good sleep the night before. There’s no use staying up late studying – sleep will be more beneficial than another practice exam at this late stage. However, you’ll probably be nervous, so try not to stress if you can’t sleep – you’re still resting your body and mind if you’re lying down in bed. Having a bath, drinking a cup of tea (without caffeine!), or doing some meditation are also good ways to relax the night before.

• Don’t skip breakfast. Make sure you’ve eaten a healthy and substantial meal before the exam so your brain has enough energy. Stay hydrated, but be careful not to drink so much water that you need to take a toilet break!

• Don’t talk about the exam before the exam. I find that it’s best not to hang out with friends before the exam. However, if you think being around people is what you need, then talk about something other than how much you’ve studied and what you think will be on the exam.

• Use your reading time wisely. Decide before the exam what you’ll read during reading time. Will you quickly glance at the whole exam? Or will you focus on one question and try to work out an answer? What is essential is that you use this time to plan in your head what you are going to do.

• Decide your exam approach in advance. You know what the structure of the exam is going to be, so decide in advance in which order you’ll do the sections. Start with your strongest section/s first. However, be sure to plan your time correctly so as to not rush at the end.

• Stick to a time limit. Further to the above, set time limits for each section, and don’t go over them. It’s better that you finish all sections of an exam and don’t have time to read over them than miss out on writing the last paragraph of an essay, for example.

• If you’re stuck on a question, move on. If there’s a single question you can’t work out, don’t stay on it for too long. It’s quite likely your brain just froze for a second, and that when you come back to it, it’ll be more obvious.

• Don’t leave early. There’s always something more you can have a go at. If nothing else, review your work and read your responses aloud in your head. I’ve seen far too many people leave exams early and lament their responses once they get to re-read what they have submitted. Remember, VCE exams are not intended to be finished early so make use of the time allotted.

• Decide what you’re going to do afterwards. Most people find it extremely unhelpful and distressing to talk about the exam after it’s over. There is nothing you can do to change it now, so don’t talk about it. You could do something fun such as relaxing with your friends, or you might want to go home and chill out before studying for your next exam.

• If something unexpected happens on exam day, find out if you can apply for special consideration. If you were sick or think your circumstances affected your ability to sit the exam on the day, find out more here.

The best way to prepare for your exams

Authors: Maria & Chris

There unfortunately is no quick fix when it comes to acing your end of year exams. The simple fact is that the best way to prepare is to do lots of practice and, just as importantly, to take your practice exams seriously.

If you’re sitting practice exams at school, do not waste the opportunity to test your skills in an environment similar to what you will experience on the day. After all, you’ll be sitting your real exams at school, so try to make it a practice run for the real thing. Prepare for them as well as you can within the time remaining. Rehearsing your exam day a number of times at school is a good way to control your nerves on the big day (although a little bit of stress can give you adrenaline!) And even though it is just practice, don’t leave early – you can never read over your work too many times, and there’s always something else you can have a go at!

But to set yourself up for success you really should also be doing practice exams at home. Responding to a wide variety of questions is a great way to be prepared for whatever the exam may throw at you. Past exams are available on the VCAA website. You should also be able to access some different exams from your teacher.

When you sit practice exams at home, it’s important to practice them within the same conditions you will be under, including sticking to the time limit. It’s no use being able to answer all the questions on the exam in seven hours – you need to give it the best shot you can under a time constraint. Try not to become disheartened if it feels like you’ll never do everything under the time limit – you’ll get quicker and be able to include more detail with more practice.

Furthermore, try to complete your exam without the aid of study notes and textbooks. You won't have access to them on the day, so best you learn to wean yourself off them now. If you have done the preparation beforehand then this should be easy. If not, then you know you have a bit more work to do. The good news is that you still have time to prepare.

After you do a practice exam, it’s really important to go through it afterwards and see which bits you got wrong and which bits you can improve on. If you’re doing a VCAA exam, you absolutely should read the exam reports on the website – they not only have answers to the exam, but specific advice about what the examiners are looking for, and what a lot of students missed or consistently get wrong.

Practice makes perfect when it comes to acing your exams. By preparing to perform under exam conditions, both mentally and physically, you have the best chance to succeed on one of the biggest days of your life (no pressure of course!)

Choosing your VTAC preferences

As the date for submitting your VTAC preferences approaches, we want to give you some tips for making this choice. Selecting your VTAC preferences can feel intimidating. I think there are two main reasons why this might be scary.

1. What if I don’t get into any of the courses I choose?
2. What if I choose a course, and then when I start studying, I hate it?

But your VTAC preferences are not the last study or career choice you will ever make. If you’re still feeling unsure about your choices, don’t worry!

What if I don’t get into any of the courses I choose?

• Make sure you put a whole range of courses on your preference list. The first one or two should be your dream courses, even if you think there is no chance you’ll get into them. The body of your list should be ones you want that are realistic. Then make sure the last couple are courses you would still be happy to do, but which have entry requirements you’re pretty sure you can achieve.

• Your first round selections are not the ‘be all and end all.’ You can change your preferences once you know your ATAR. Learn about change of preference here. If you realise you did much better or much worse than you expected, you can change your course preferences so that you have some more realistic options.

• Put your courses in order of preference. This seems really obvious, but a lot of people put their preferences in order of highest ATAR to lowest ATAR, or some other method. However, the entrance score for a course can change from year to year. You never know exactly what you’ll get, so make sure you list the courses in the order you actually want them.

What if I choose a course, and then when I start studying, I hate it?

You won’t know exactly what a course is going to be like until you’re in it, but here are some things so you’ll have a better idea of what uni will be like.

• Be prepared. Find out as much as you can about all the courses you’re applying to. It’s best to be well-informed. You can tour universities to get a feel for them. You can read about courses on the university’s website. You can search the internet to see if current students are blogging or leaving reviews for their course or subjects. You can find out what subjects are offered within individual courses. You can look up what graduates from those courses are doing. Think about what’s important to you – it might be leaving university with a job, or leaving simply with an open mind.

• You can transfer between courses once you’re at university. If you hate your course, you can usually transfer to a different course at the same university. You might even get credit for the units you’ve already studied. I know someone who purposefully applied for a course she didn’t want, because she knew she would be able to get into it and then transfer to the course she did want. I also know someone who applied to a course she didn’t want, and then discovered that she loved it, and has changed her career path.

• University will be a bit difficult for at least the first semester. Once you start, try to separate your feelings about the social side of uni from your feelings about the academic side. The first semester can be lonely – you might not know many people, and you might have moved out of home for the first time. It’s harder to make friends than at school, as you don’t spend as much time with the same people. If you’re struggling to make friends, it’s totally normal, but feeling lonely doesn’t mean the same thing as hating your course.

Finally, the reality is that University isn’t for everyone. Success can often be measured in pretty confined terms – go to a “good” uni, get a “good” job, make lots of money. But your happiness is also really important. Measure success in terms of goals you set yourself, rather than ones other people set for you. Listen to people’s advice, but make up your own mind at the end of the day.

Overcoming Frustration

When you’re studying hard for a long period of time, you might start to feel burnt out and frustrated, and your workload might feel completely insurmountable.

Sometimes we may lament that “There is so much to do that I’ll never get it all done – I may as well do nothing”. This is understandable, but unhelpful in the long term. Instead, follow some of these tips so that you can find the drive to go on and overcome the frustration of feeling like you’re stuck in a rut.

• Set achievable goals. If you’re writing a list or thinking about what you want to achieve in a day, don’t expect too much from yourself. This isn’t an excuse to do one small task and call it a day, but you do need to set goals that you can reasonably achieve. Achieving every task you set yourself to do in a day gives you a great feeling of accomplishment. Setting achievable goals on a consistent basis will also prevent you from getting burnt out.

• Break work down into small chunks. If you know that you’re super behind in chemistry, try not to think about the enormous amount of work you need to do to catch up. Instead, you can break it into smaller sections and focus on completing one section at a time.

• Study in short blocks. Know the amount of time you can reasonably concentrate without a break – this might be one hour, for example. There’s no way you can concentrate for five hours straight. Schedule breaks throughout a study session, and don’t make your breaks longer than the scheduled time.

• Save your easiest tasks for the end of the day. When you’re tired after an hour or two of really good study, it can be tempting to completely switch off. But at the end of the day you could also quickly do a small task that isn’t too much of a mental strain. This could be some kind of repetitive task like revising vocabulary for your LOTE subject. The flipside to this is making sure you do your trickiest work at the beginning, when your mind is fresh.

• Make your study space a study sanctuary. I find that when I’m particularly unmotivated, it helps to make my study space as nice as possible. This makes it feel like somewhere I want to spend time. Light a scented candle. Put some flowers in a vase or move a houseplant into your space. Play some instrumental background music, if this isn’t too distracting for you. Make a special flavour of tea in your best cup.

• Look after yourself. Try to make your breaks positive. For a short break, make a fun, healthy snack, like a fruit and veggie smoothie. For a longer break, go for a walk, run or swim. If you’re studying in front of a screen, try not to take breaks in front of a screen as well.

• Remember that things will be better tomorrow. If you’re feeling frustrated or sad about your studies, remember that things will be better after a good night’s sleep. If you’re really not getting anything done, try to go to bed early.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

If your body doesn’t stay healthy, it’s really hard to stay focused on your studies, as well as all the other things going on in your life. While we can’t prevent all illnesses coming our way, here are some tips you can follow to avoid getting sick, and looking after yourself if you do.

Before you get sick

There are some good things you can do to help build your immune system, making it less likely that you’ll get sick.

• Get enough sleep.
• Eat healthily, including lots of fruit and vegetables – they contain heaps of vitamins!
• Do regular exercise – maybe you could got for a walk, or play a team sport. Exercising will also help you sleep better.
• Avoid infections by washing your hands regularly.

There are some other things you can do that have been shown to increase immunity.

• Try not to be too stressed. This one seems counterintuitive to doing year 12, but in general, it's a really good idea to learn how to manage your stress as well as you can. You can help manage your stress by staying connected to important people in your life, practicing meditation, and getting more organised.
• Maintain strong relationships. There is some evidence that that staying connected to people can raise your immunity. Positive relationships with family and friends are good for your mind, at any rate, so try not to isolate yourself, even when you're studying hard. 

It’s also a good idea to prepare yourself for the fact that you might get sick at some point during year 12. There are some things you can do so that this will hit you less hard.

• Stay organised throughout the year where you can. If you unexpectedly get sick, you don't want this to completely throw a spanner in the works. Stay on top of everything as much as you can so that a couple of days in bed isn't going to set you back.
• Don't take on too much. It's important to learnt to say no to things – you probably won't be able to do every activity that comes your way, so choose the ones you think are the most important.
• Prioritise rest. Make sure you have scheduled times for chilling out in your week. This might mean that on Friday nights you stay home and don't study.

While you're sick

If you do get sick, there are some things you can do to try to recover.

• Rest! Get as much rest as you can. This will help you recover more quickly.
• If you feel up to it, go for a walk. You shouldn't do intense exercise, but going for a short walk to get some fresh air is a good idea. 
• Stay hydrated. This is good for you at all times, but particularly when you're sick (especially if you're taking cold and flu medication).
• Avoid making others sick! Cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze to avoid spreading germs and disease to other people. 

If being sick has affected your studies, make sure you talk to someone about it.

• Get a doctor's certificate if you miss important dates like a SAC. It's important to keep a record that you were sick so that you don't miss out on getting marks for a test.
• If you've been significantly unwell during year 12, it's possible you can apply for special consideration, which can assist you getting into uni if your illness has impacted on your studies. You can find more information about this on the VTAC website. If you have an acute or chronic illness, you might be eligible for special provision in your school-based assessments and exams.

Managing the relationship with your family during VCE

During year 12, you might be starting to feel more independent from your family, or like you want more freedom. This comes at the same time that you have to start focusing on your studies a lot more. It might feel like your family are hassling you during this time, but they can actually be your greatest allies.

If it feels like your parents are too pushy and they are more stressed by VCE than you are, firstly try to remember that they are only doing this because they care about you. However, if the pressure they’re putting on you just increases your stress, then you might want to have a conversation with them about backing off just a little. Try to approach this with kindness, because they really do just want you to be successful. Accept that they’re not going to stop caring about you, and try to think of their pushiness as a positive.

If your family mostly just leave you to do your own thing, then lucky you! However, if you know that you struggle with motivation, you can ask your family if they can help remind or encourage you to do your homework or study. Remind them that the VCE is important to you, but also try to absorb some of their chill vibes and remember that you’ll be okay.

If your family is really busy and have priorities other than your VCE, then you might need to remind them that year 12 is really important to you. This might include taking some time out from family activities to study, or setting up a quiet space designated for study at home. You can also find great support in other places. If home isn’t the best place to study, you can usually stay after school and study in the library for an hour or two. You could also go to your local public library. Your teachers really want you to succeed, so ask them for help if you need it. You might also want to think about finding a tutor.

You can use your family to your advantage during VCE. Your family want you to succeed, and they can be your best allies. You could ask them to practice flash cards with you. You could teach them the new topic you learnt in class today – teaching to someone else is one of the best ways to revise. Teach to your pet if your family is busy, as a way of reinforcing concepts learned. You could have a group study session with your siblings.

As someone who has a few years’ distance from trying to get along with my family during VCE, I know that they were my biggest allies during this time. My relationship with them has become so much better, and I appreciate them a lot more now. Try to appreciate your family now if you can. They might annoy you sometimes, but at least there’s someone around who always cares and will always laugh at your jokes.

Overcoming lack of motivation

Author: Chris Ebbs

It can be difficult to stay motivated for long periods of time, and during year 12 this can become a real problem. It’s important to maintain motivation so that you can keep studying at a consistent level throughout the year. However, when the end feels too far away, it can be tricky to push yourself to study as much as you might want or need to. Here are 5 tricks you can try in order to stay motivated throughout the school year.

The ‘just do it’ method. For some people, the hardest part is getting started. They might need a lot of convincing to get off the couch and to sit at a desk, but once they’ve got their books in front of them, the actual study part isn’t so bad. If this sounds like you, then remember to ‘just do it’ and you’ll thank yourself for it later. You might want to set a time that you promise to be at your desk every morning or ask a family member to help you get motivated to start. For best effects, remember to wear your fave Nike gear.

Work first, have fun later. This is an important trick to keep practising throughout your life. Once you start doing something fun, it can feel impossible to drag yourself away from it to get back to your desk. However, if you finish everything you were planning to first, then watching that tv show or meeting up with your friend will be so much sweeter.

The reward method. This is a similar concept to ‘have fun later’, but it’s much more defined. For some people, creating specific rewards for completing certain tasks really helps them get through it. If you study for an hour you could reward yourself with a snack. For the whole day you could watch the latest episode of your show. It’s also a good idea to have bigger rewards: for doing a SAC you could buy yourself something you’ve had your eye on for a while. And then make sure you have some kind of reward in mind for finishing year 12 – maybe your parents will take you out for dinner or you can plan a fun day with your friends.

Study with a friend. Some people can’t study well with others (I know I can’t). But some find that this helps them keep going. For this to work, you need to know that your friend isn’t going to distract you (and make sure that you’re not distracting them either!) But having a friend around can make the experience more fun, and also help you stay motivated as you learn together. If they’re studying, you might feel bad about taking a break and power through an extra hour. You can also help explain key concepts to each other if you’re studying any of the same subjects.

Go to a library. While having a consistent study space can help get you in the zone, sometimes a change of scene is just what you need. At home, there can be a lot of distractions, and if you’re alone in your study space, there is less accountability about taking extremely extended ‘breaks’. Going to a library is perfect – it’s quiet, lots of other people are studying, and you can usually turn the Internet on and off depending on whether you need to use it or you need to avoid distractions. (You could combine this one with Study with a friend.)

Dealing with stress

Author: Chris Ebbs

School can be stressful, particularly during year 12 when there are all sorts of expectations and goals you want to meet. But finding ways to manage your stress will help you be much more successful. It’ll also help you be healthier and happier!

• Sleep. I’m sure you’ve noticed that being tired seems to make everything worse. It also makes it harder to study and harder to make decisions. Sleep is an important part of the learning process, as it can help commit things you’ve learnt to memory. Teenagers need more sleep than adults, so see if you can go to bed half an hour earlier tonight. Sleep can help you cope with everything else going on in your life, and can be a simple way to improve your health.

• Exercise. Exercising is obviously good for your physical health, but it’s also good for your mental health. It can improve sleep, and if done regularly, can help you cope directly with stress. Go for a run or a swim, join a sports team, go for a walk with your friend, pet or family, or dance around your room.

• Extracurriculars. Activities outside of school aren’t just something to put on your resume. It’s a good idea to have a variety of activities going on in your life. This could be something like playing an instrument or playing a sport. Even a part-time job can be a good distraction from the other things happening in your life. It doesn’t even have to be as formal as going to a piano lesson. You could create some art or get really into looking after your pot plants. Anything that’s getting you away from study for something else positive is a good way to cope with stress.

• Say no. On the flipside of extracurricular activities, sometimes you have to cut down what’s going on in your life. If you’ve taken on too many shifts at work or you’re trying to make the Olympic team, it’ll probably be hard to stay focused on study. If succeeding at school is your goal, sometimes you’ll have to cut back on some of the other things in your life in order to manage your stress levels.

• Talk to positive people in your life. Stay connected to your friends – don’t stop hanging out with them because you need to study all the time. Positive relationships can help create a sense of belonging, increase happiness and reduce stress. Your family is also an important part of your support network. They can help you cope with all the things you have to do when you’re stressed, whether it’s being there for a chat or letting you off your chores for the week.

• Just do it. The homework that’s adding to your stress won’t provide stress once it’s done! Some of your stress could be reduced by sitting down at your desk and completing a task. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start with something you know you can do. Ticking things off your to-do list can give you a real sense of achievement.

• Get help if you need it. If stress is really taking over your life and you feel like you’re not coping or it’s affecting your health, talk to someone about it. You can start with a trusted friend, family member or teacher. You can also talk to a school counsellor or nurse, or find a professional counsellor or psychologist. Headspace is a great place to check out if you need some help with your mental health.

Make time for your friends in year 12

Author: Chris Ebbs

During some of the more stressful times at school, it can seem like a good idea to shut yourself up at home. However, it’s really important to stay connected to your friends. Year 12 can be stressful, and it’s a good idea to have a broad support network. Your friends are an integral part of this!

It’s likely that if your friends are in year 12 too, they’re also stressed. It’s a good idea to have friends with whom you can completely unwind. Try not to talk about study too much. Find another activity that will bring you together, something like going to see a movie, playing a sport together, going out for a meal, baking something, going for a walk or just hanging out.

The results of a recent study into the role of friendships in adolescent health conducted by a PhD student from Murdoch University showed that teenagers were less likely to become as emotionally affected by life stressors if they had a friend with them after they became upset. By monitoring their mood in real-time, it was observed that those with strong, healthy friendships were more resilient to the daily stressors of life.

When I was in year 12, two of my closest friends went to different schools. Although it’s sad that I didn’t get to see them every day, having friends at other schools was actually really great. It was a nice way to escape some of the day-to-day drama that was going on at my own school. So, if you have a friend you haven’t seen in a while, make a date!

While it feels like we can stay connected with our friends all the time by messaging and snapping and following them online, it can be really nice to catch up with them face to face when you can. It’s also a good way to separate your study time from your relaxation time.

So remember, when you’re studying, do it 100% – put your phone in a different room and really focus on what you’re doing. And then when you’re relaxing, do that 100% – try not to think about your studies.

Enjoying time with your friends is a great way to do just that.

The Essay-A-Week Challenge

Author: Chris Ebbs

Writing one essay per week sounds scary. But it doesn’t have to be. The whole point of this challenge is to take the scary factor out of essay-writing.

In year 12, everyone is doing at least one subject that involves writing an essay in the exam. This is tricky – how do you remember everything you wanted to remember, think of a really great argument and write coherently under a time limit? The best way to get better at something is to practice, and this is no exception.

By the time you’ve reached year 12, you’ve probably learnt all the ‘rules’ about essay-writing. But knowing these rules doesn’t automatically equate with producing good essays.

Find out the expected style of the exam essay for each subject. Write an essay on whatever you’re studying in class that week. You’ll practice your essay style, but you’ll also be developing and revising the ideas you learnt at school.

It’s never too early to start. Try not to be embarrassed or disheartened if it feels like you produced some ‘bad’ work – this is all part of the learning process. Set aside an hour or two every week for the essay challenge. Try to make it a regular part of your schedule. Make sure you set yourself time limits – you won’t have four hours and a laptop for research in the exam.

Your teacher or tutor will be happy to mark your essays and discuss them with you. They want you to improve, and this is a great way to do it. You could also check out the exam reports on the VCAA website for advice.

Let us know how the challenge goes for you!