Across the country Year 11 students are finishing up their final exams for the year, and in some states they have already made the transition to beginning Year 12 content.
If this is you, then you may be feeling that finishing Year 11 is not so much the end of something, but a beginning. And as you look ahead to the summer holidays, you probably recognise that these holidays are different to any school holidays prior. In addition to providing some much-needed rest before the big school year ahead, they also present an opportunity to prepare yourself to give your final year of secondary school your very best crack.
So what can you be doing to prepare? Here are our top five tips for starting Year 12 ready and confident.
- Plan ahead
Early on, think about how you want to use your holidays. Whilst you are not expected to study for 8 hours a day every day of the holidays (!), you do need to be setting aside some time for holiday homework and other kinds of preparation. The first step to acting is always making a plan to do it: Look at what you have coming up in terms of family holidays, paid work or other commitments over the summer and intentionally allocate time for Year 12 preparation.
- Set up
Ensure that you have all the resources you will need for the year ahead, including a dedicated study space, books and stationery. Think about what you want to use to organise your things and your time next year and purchase any necessary organisers. It can also be useful to familiarise yourself with the curriculum website of your state so you get a sense of what will be coming up for each of your subjects.
- Catch up
Look back on your Year 11 work and consider whether there are any foundational areas which you didn’t learn or grasp at the time — it may be beneficial to review these areas so that you don’t start Year 12 behind. Then file away your books and other resources so that they are ready to hand if you need to draw on them next year.
- Keep up
If your school has assigned you specific tasks to prepare for your subjects over the holidays, make time to complete it. Start early and don’t leave it all to the end — you don’t want to risk beginning Term 1 already behind in your work, or worn out from trying to cram it in at the last moment!
- Get ahead
Think about what you can be doing to make a start on Year 12 content and reduce some of the busyness you will experience once the school year starts. A helpful and achievable goal for many students is to do pre-reading of set texts for English. That said, try not to set unrealistic goals or overburden yourself with work — it is also very important to get some rest so you are at your best capacity when Term 1 officially begins.
Finally, if you are finding it hard to motivate yourself to do schoolwork during the holidays, consider that by this time next year it will all be over — exams finished, school completed, and enjoying a true break before you begin the next stage of your life.
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My child is starting Year 12 — what can I do to help?
If you are the parent of a Year 12 student, especially if this is the first time you are seeing a child through Year 12, you may have questions too! Here are a few quick tips to start preparing yourself and your child for the year ahead:
- Familiarise yourself with the key dates and events for the year and the assessment process — school-based assessment, final (and possibly trial/practice) exams, the due date for tertiary applications, etc. Your child’s school is a key resource for this information, but much can also be learned online.
- Guide them in exploring options for after secondary school. The summer holidays are a good time to be doing this while there aren’t too many demands on their time and they can do some research into work and study opportunities and available pathways. While students don’t need to feel any pressure to have fully made up their minds, it can certainly be helpful to have goals they are working towards throughout the year ahead.
- Don’t forget to keep your relationship with your child and your child’s wellbeing the priority. Make the most of family time over the holidays and work on your relationship so you are in a good place to offer support when challenges arise. Help them to take stock of their commitments and responsibilities in the coming year, work on a healthy balance between study and other pursuits, and be sure to give them the space to step up and take responsibility for themselves.
If you would like to find out more about how we can support you or your child through Year 12, please get in touch with us today.
