#australianhighschool

okay but where does time go?

this time last year i was preparing for my own mock exams... how has it been a year ???? some updates: i have completed my first very eventful semester of university, my oh my what a learning curve in every aspect of my life but i am lovin it, i’m back into studying and netball, finally got my license woop woop and have started tutoring peeps.

just a friendly psa to anyone about to sit their mock exams: it’s okay if they suck bc guess what most of my grade failed theirs and then by the time externals rolled around, we weren’t half bad. don’t freak out about cramming for them- external exams are still a very long way away! peep my wall after mocks:

three main tips:

- revise what you find hardest. if you just revise and spend time doing questions or topics you're good at, that's cool and all but you gotta get to the crunch of it if you really want to improve your performance. plus, it's super satisfying when you have that "aha!" moment. you can and will get there, keep it up.

- it's over-said but pls- take breaks and rest. i was a smidge away from burnout for pretty much all of year twelve and i do not recommend. take time off, lounge, walk, whatever.

- don't overthink your mocks: like i was saying above, srsly i know many people who straight up failed their chemistry mocks and then ended up picking up to a very high 90+ standard by the real thing. use it as a learning tool. prepare, but don't cram. use it as a chance to figure out where you need to dedicate your time.

it’s kind of early holidays however we don’t want to completely forget what we’ve learnt however we value mind-off time however this is year twelve however physical and mental collapse ain’t welcome please and thank you so here you go.

some baby itty-bitty lil light things to do here and there so holidays aren’t advancing you towards that next spicy burn out sesh but also so we don’t return to school as useless as the school planner they hand out at the start of the year... if we actually even go back hah... the idea is that these are short and pack a punch:

open your math/bio/chem/phys/whatever textbook to a random chapter and do three random questions - make sure you mark your responses and if you struggle, congrats! you found an area you’re a bit rusty on and can revise briefly now or note it down for later. the main thing is- ensure you do something about it some point soonish.

pick a syllabus objective for a subject or a topic in a subject and blurt out everything you know - write, draw, sketch etc. down everything you know, or if you’re super lazy, just say it out loud. if it’s on paper, check what you’ve written and add things you’ve missed by looking at notes or a textbook. active recall, peeps.

watch a khan academy vid or a crash course vid - five minutes while lying in bed and then you can go back to that episode of glee whatever. what i like to do with my current glee obsession: between each episode, watch a biology video related to ecology. expose that brain to info again.

set a timer for fifteen minutes and do as much of an assignment as you can, and do it as focused as you can - if you can, stretch it out to a few pomodoro sessions (twenty-five minutes work, five minutes break, repeat) but lately my motivation and concentration has been pretty low so i’ll opt for fifteen minutes on my history assignment, and then i’ll disappear into the pool for an hour and then hop out and do another fifteen. the key is the bite-sizedness of this method: do this four times a day and that’s an hour of focused assignment work. for holidays, that ain’t bad at all...

make a mindmap - pretty easy on the brain and can be fun (pull out the ol’ coloured pencils). make links between topics (i do this for bio a lot) and summarise main categories/characteristics/points of info. will probably do a whole post on mind maps, i- cannot recommend enough. good study tool when it comes to exam season as you get a nice umbrella view of what you need to cover.

drill through flashcards for eight minutes - don’t know why, but eight minutes is the magic number for flashcards. don’t have any? quizlet, or time to make some. don’t have to be pretty. facetime friends and drill them together.

read through the exemplars for the assessments coming up - if you haven’t already, have a squizz at the sample responses for each assessment that have been released by your state currriculum authority. note what you have to do to achieve a high level response, and what’s the difference with a high level and mid or low level response. try to maximise your marks. look at the assignments you’re doing right now and see how you’re comparing so far. keep doing this throughout the year. 

organise your binder/papers/folder/desk/bag/pencil case - not really a proper study thing, but staying on top of your shiz can seriously keep you efficient and improve that academic performance. if you’re like me, by the end of the term, your bag and desk are a wild jungle of paper and just- trash. finally got the time to reorganise- so do it. 

cheeky tip 02

essentials i carry to every single class:

water bottle - for the love of god, please stay hydrated.

headphones - i’m a desperate music addict appreciator, watch out for some playlists but yes; headphones in when i can do assignment work or solo activities help me hone into my schoolwork.

stapler - comes in handy more than you think, plus others around you might need one. that’s another thing. help your comrades, be friendly with your fellow atar peeps.

a book to read - usually a history wider reading. teacher a few minutes late? standing in the thirty-people-line for the loo? whip out that lil paperback and increase those brain juices, little things add up

tissues - clumsy with hot drinks rip and sneeze a lot so these are a must. little travel size pack is perfect.

post it notes - i’m obsessed, in short.

of course, there are your basic things like pencil case, books, ipad etc. but i’ll get into the specifics i carry in my bag at a later date.