Year 7
Many schools begin a transition program during Semester 2 of Year 6. Make sure you attend any orientation or ‘meet the teacher’ events offered by your school. It will make Year 7 easier if you know what to expect, how the school works and who to talk to about issues. Staying in touch with your child's progress is harder than primary school as they may have a different teacher for each subject. Getting to know the staff is important.
Some questions to ask at information sessions:
- Is there a parent or student portal with details of timetables, assessment tasks, excursions and so on? How do you access it?
- Who is the year adviser for Year 7 and how do you contact them?
- How do you contact individual teachers with any concerns?
Homework and study
In high school, students need to do both homework and study.
Does your child have a homework and study planner or diary? Are they using it? Check it weekly. If they aren't using it, find out why. Some will prefer scheduling homework and setting reminders on their iPad or phone, but you still need to check they are keeping up with their homework and study each week. Add all assessment task and exam dates to our term assessment planner (DOCX 53.57KB) – print a copy to keep it on the fridge as a reminder. A study timetable (DOCX 52.96KB) will help students plan some time each week to revise their work.
Your child will do NAPLAN this year, assessing their literacy and numeracy skills.
Year 7 assessment booklets
Download our Year 7 assessment booklets for information on assessment dates and procedures.
Year 8
Your child should be settling into high school by now. Attend any parent-teacher events offered. Meeting your child's teachers makes it easier to communicate with the school if there are issues.
Electives
From Term 2 onwards, schools will ask Year 8 students to select electives for Year 9. Go to the information events and ask questions. Discuss elective choices with your child. Encourage them to choose subjects they enjoy and expect to do well in. Year 9 electives are about following interests, not setting up career paths. For some students, vocational education and training (VET) subjects may be an option in Years 9 and 10.
Year 8 assessment booklets
Download our Year 8 assessment booklets for information on assessment dates and procedures.