Term 3: Letter to parents, guardians, students

(for this week's work, scroll down to the two blogs below this)

To those students, parents, and guardians who use this blog:

Term III has just begun. It is a long one and it is worth 60% of the year's mark. Despite its length, May and June sneak up on us rather quickly. And then the panic and the reality set in: MELS June exams are around the corner and some students realise that they really should have done more, sooner. That is why I'm writing this on an early Sunday morning in February; I know what awaits you!

The HCE-IV exam is extremely difficult, and it is worth 50% of the final mark. There are no "gimmies" with course, nor with this exam. That being said, it is not impossible; however, this is the time to become implicated in history class. To achieve success, big or small, it will require consistent effort, organisation, completed homework and engagement in class. For some of you, it might even mean going over classwork and notes every night for 20-30 minutes. Doing these things give you a fighting chance in a course this difficult; I say this because it is true. Many students did not take this term seriously last year; they also ignored our pleas to study and to do homework. We had an enormous number of students fail in June, and thus fail to earn credits for history at the end of secondary IV. Not one of you wants to wake up in July with the news that you have failed history. You can't realise too late that the time is NOW to work (using this blog is one way...).

There are about 65 school days left. This means there are probably about 28 classes left, and still a lot to cover. It is important to keep in mind that term III has many disruptions to class time (simply a statement of fact) that interfere with the flow of learning. Starting with Carnival, provincials in basketball, spring-break, Easter (two and a half weeks after spring-break), spring sports, Kaleidoscope... and various other activities. These will impact history classes. It is important to limit the number of absences you have from class,(not just history). Lastly, parental involvement is crucial AND key to the success of a student.

The fact that only about 37% of the year remains might cheer many of you; but keep your cheering for after the June exam. You are all able to pass this course; some of you have to change bad habits. I've seen some great successes in term two by those students who did as I outlined above.  I'm cheering for all of you: so just do it! After all, what's 65 days?