Riverside RAP Edition 7 2010 - Riverside Christian College

Welcome to the business end of Semester 1!Final assignments, exam blocks and reports will all becompleted in the coming weeks. Please remain prayerfulfor students and staff alike.The following are some tips for the Year 8 & 9 studentswho sit exams in Week 8 and the Senior students who sitexams in Week 9.1. Be Organised. Have a revision timetable. Writedown the dates and times of the exams. With yourchild, work out what needs to be done by when and‘reverse engineer’ a revision timetable. Don’t letthem leave difficult subjects to the last moment.2. Target specific topics in the revision timetable, notwhole subjects.3. There is no correct revision method. Find the way to revise that works the best.4. Concentration increases with adequate hydration and a low GI diet.5. Exercise regularly.6. Forty minutes is about as long as a child can concentrate in one stretch. The brain’s ability to concentratedrops after 35 to 40 minutes so it is best to take a break at that point for 5 or 10 minutes. The brainmaximises beginnings and endings but not the middle, so this method effectively minimises that middleperiod. It’s a good time for a drink and some fruit (or nuts.... but NOT high sugar food). Be warned that TVor computer entrainment/socialising at the break will make it very hard to get started again.7. Remind them that just staring at notes doesn’t help. They need strategies to ensure the material is beingabsorbed- writing it down, repeating it aloud, testing themselves.8. Seniors should revise exam technique, using past papers (if available). Every question should be attemptedand the answer planned out before starting to write.9. Accept that children are worried about exams and tend to be grumpy. Remind them about stress-reductiontechniques like exercise and calm breathing. Reassure them that you value their efforts more than perfectresults.10. On the morning of an exam, avoid wishing them ‘good luck’. Talk of luck can raise anxiety levels. Schoolexams are not a lottery; they are one way to appraise learning. It’s better to say - “I hope everything goeswell’.REMINDER: the last day of Term for students is Tuesday 22 nd June.UPDATE: the first day of Term 3 is Tuesday 13 th July.REPORTS: can be collected from College Reception on the morning (only) of Friday 25 th June. Uncollected reportswill be posted home.Blessings,Stuart TaylorDeputy Principal