We made it! Term 2 almost down and TGIH (Thank Goodness It’s Holidays!

There are several great things about this time of the year:

1. SNOW (which has been coming down in spades of late…)

2. For Year 12 students…you’re past the half-way mark of the year (hasn’t it gone quick)!

3. Some really good movies come out in holiday time.

4. It’s a great chance to just feel a bit more ‘normal’ and get some perspective back in your life!

For many students it is also a time when they fall completely in a heap and don’t look at any school work. Don’t get me wrong you must have a break. Everyone is tired and needs a break to freshen up…even the high achievers amongst us. You’ve just come off a long term and to be perfectly honest you won’t get much of a break until after the VCE exams (gulp).

The september holiday break goes the fastest because there is so much that needs to be done. You absolutely deserve a break these holidays but for goodness sakes…DON’T DROP THE BALL! By that I mean… If you avoid study completely or don’t construct any summary notes or don’t complete any holiday homework set for you or…spend all night partying and sleep all day …only to do it all over again the next night

…you’ll end up making the same mistakes that countless thousands of VCE students are also making.

Believe me. Some graduates are still trying to dig their way out of these mistakes! And couldn’t that drastically affect your VCE results! You see with increased freedom comes responsibility and you are at that age where you are getting more and more freedom. Yeehaaa!

But I know many students who are already 18 and have literally lost the motivation or the vision to persist with their VCE goals and consequently have ‘dropped the ball’…some unfortunately will never pick it back up again.

The reason being is that their motivation for Year 12 was ‘lost’ in the rush to turn 18 and party. (Remember what I said about freedom and responsibility) By all means allow yourself some time to chill out, check out the latest flicks, play sport or go shopping etc as long as you keep it in perpective.

…and you’ll need to do a minimum of 3 hours of school work per day to stay ‘on the ball’. That’s a fact.

Have you ever had the experience where you come back from holidays and your brain is well…a little slower than usual! This induced state of ‘slowness’ is a product of failing to continue to nourish that brain of yours with exercise, quality nutrition and the right combination of relaxation and study.

If you over do it…you won’t be refreshed to tackle the biggest Term…Term 3. Yet if you under do it you won’t have the head start you really need for Term 3.

Without fail I see VCE students at the beginning of Term 3 with one of the following conditions:

1. Brain ‘slowness’ or “fuzziness” as I described earlier.

2. A distinct lack of drive by many students (not all mind you) as their motivation is low to continue working on their VCE.

3. It takes students a couple of weeks to ‘get going’ at the beginning of Term 3.

4. Many students become disillusioned with their VCE or ‘burnt-out’ from studying too much with little to no R & R time.
…and consequently they are behind the 8 ball in preparation for their exams (which are usually worth between 25% & 50% of your overall grade).

What is one possible solution? I wrote about the working school holiday concept earlier on in the year which you might find interesting.

Secondly…start the holidays with a plan.

1. Make a list of all the things that you must get done.

2. Then on a separate sheet of paper make a list of all the things you should be completing over the holidays.

3. Make a list of all the things you want to do over the holidays. This includes down time, fun activities, R & R etc.

Grab yourself a study planner or calendar

…and make a plan for the entire 2 week holiday period. Block out some time for you to have a complete break. At a minimum you should have 5 days completely off…and then pick up where you left off.

Try a ratio of 2:1:2…that is 2 “must do” things, 1 “should do” thing, 2 fun things you “want to” do. It doesn’t matter your ratio as long as you end up mostly doing the “must do” things AND you end up having a break.

Without a plan you will do work when you feel like doing it…and 99% of people when presented with “work” or “holidays” will choose the later every single time. So many students have been in this boat before (have you?).

The only time that you “feel like doing work” is when you start to fear the consequences of not doing the work.

Don’t get caught out. Make a plan and enjoy your school holidays.

Another couple of thoughts:

1. Review your goals.
Remember your goals from earlier this year. Review your goals from the start of this year and what you have achieved so far this year. Now is a great time to re-evaluate your goals and more importantly the method that you are using to achieve them.

2. Learn from your mid-year reports.
It can also be a good reality check and reward to read over the comments from your mid-year reports. What have you done well or not so well? Has there been any consistency amongst the teachers comments?

3. Evaluate your performance so far this year.

What has worked? What hasn’t? What have you learnt about yourself? Should you approach Term 3 differently? Do you need more help? A tutor?

4. Get off to some revision/preparation classes if you can.

There are many Unit 4 preparation programs out there of which most of them will be of great benefit to you. Not only in terms of saving you time preparing notes but also giving you a head start in preparing for Unit 4 and the upcoming exams.

You can start making the preparations you need for a relaxing holiday break and a successful Term 3 now.

Wishing you a better 2nd half to your VCE.

With your success in mind,

Heath

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