BOS 27/09

The following minor amendments to the Science Years 7-10 Syllabus clarify the scope of additional content and the intent of the essential content related to outcomes 4.1, 5.1, 4.4, 5.4, 4.13, 5.13, 4.15 and 5.15.

The amended Science Years 7-10 Syllabus is now available on the Board of Studies website.

Effective: Commencement of 2010.

Contact:

gina.grant@bos.nsw.edu.au

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The latest Board of Studies NSW Assessment Resource Centre (ARC) upload sent 102 new graded work samples for English and Mathematics online.

The award-winning ARC now holds more than 1800 real student work samples across all learning areas, graded to an agreed A-E scale by practising teachers.

This means teachers and parents can readily view the quality of work that is typically produced by, for example:

a student demonstrating a B grade level in Science at the end of Stage 4 (Year 8), or

a student demonstrating a C grade level in Mathematics by mid-Stage 3 (Year 5), or

a student demonstrating an A grade level in English at the end of Stage 1 (Year 2).

While the earlier development of the ARC concentrated on demonstrating student work for the end of each two-year stage of schooling, all of the most recent ARC additions are 'mid-stage' samples for English and Mathematics. This gives teachers and parents a clearer view of expected standards in Years 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.

The ARC site includes full explanations of A-E grades, how to view a student's progress over time, and links to school-specific information about reporting achievement.

The ARC also holds the Board's standing invitation to teachers to contribute class activities and student samples to the project. In addition, teachers can comment directly to the Board on the grade allocations and make their own suggested grades. Every graded sample includes a 'grade commentary' written by the teachers who agreed on the grade for that piece of work.

Many parents have found the ARC a useful way to understand their child's progress. Some community language translations about the A-E grades are provided on the ARC.

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Year 10 students, their parents and teachers can now see the updated Higher School Certificate Course Descriptions.

To view the new course descriptions, download the PDF from the HSC support materials page.

The HSC Course Descriptions are an important resource for Year 10 students making subject choices for their HSC study.

Many schools also provide detailed descriptions of the courses on offer to their students, as well as holding subject information sessions for both students and parents.

Year 10 students with questions about courses on offer for the HSC should speak to their Year Adviser or school counsellor.

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A podcast tour of Gallipoli, photographs of Australian nurses on Lemnos Island and a huge collection of Anzac teaching resources are available at www.anzacday.gov.au

The Board of Studies NSW developed this educational website in 2006. It features personal photos, sketches, transcripts, maps and other images of the Gallipoli campaign from the archives of the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.

The rarely seen images are published with permission on the 'Anzac Day' website www.anzacday.gov.au and are an invaluable resource for all NSW students when they study Gallipoli and the Anzac legend in the NSW History syllabus.

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UPDATE: Hundreds of new subscribers have signed up for the Board's email service since the below article was published last week. Many others are now following the NewsAtBOS Twitter feed or reading updates on their own RSS feed. These subscribers won't miss out on new information on the Board's website - will you?

If you're not already a subscriber, read on. If you are, make sure your colleagues and friends know how easy it is to keep up to date with what's new and important from the Board of Studies NSW.

The Board of Studies website is one of the largest and busiest education sites in the world. For anyone in the education community - teachers, principals, parents, students and others - this site contains essential reading.

So how do you keep track of what's new and what's important to you?

1. You can subscribe to the email notification service (see the box to the right of this article). When new items are published you will receive a message in your inbox the following morning containing links that you can follow if you're interested in the content. You will never get more than one email from us per day, sometimes less.

You can cut down your emails even more by only subscribing to Official Notice alerts (see the box at right). Official Notices are about important Board rules, procedures and syllabus changes. The last Board Bulletin for 2008 reminded schools that from 2009 Official Notices are only published online.

2. You can subscribe to an RSS feed in your favourite News Reader (see the RSS icons to the right of this article). Read more about the Board's RSS feed.

and now...

3. Do you like your news in quick, short bites? Want to see BOS news as it happens? Want the choice of updates to your web-enabled mobile phone? Get your updates on Twitter by following NewsAtBOS

Board of Studies Liaison Officers (BOSLOs) are highly experienced teachers who are seconded by the Office of the Board of Studies to provide advice and assistance to schools and the community on matters relating to Board of Studies policies and programs. There are nine BOSLO offices located across the state. Three are situated in metropolitan Sydney and six are based in regional centres.

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The Board of Studies website is one of the largest and busiest education sites in the world. For anyone in the education community - teachers, principals, parents, students and others - this site contains essential reading.

So how do you keep track of what's new and what's important to you?

1. You can subscribe to the email notification service (see the box to the right of this article). When new items are published you will receive a message in your inbox the following morning containing links that you can follow if you're interested in the content. You will never get more than one email from us per day, sometimes less.

You can cut down your emails even more by only subscribing to Official Notice alerts (see the box at right). Official Notices are about important Board rules, procedures and syllabus changes. The last Board Bulletin for 2008 reminded schools that from 2009 Official Notices are only published online.

2. You can subscribe to an RSS feed in your favourite News Reader (see the RSS icons to the right of this article). Read more about the Board's RSS feed.

and now...

3. Do you like your news in quick, short bites? Want to see BOS news as it happens? Want the choice of updates to your web-enabled mobile phone? Get your updates on Twitter by following NewsAtBOS

A record number of students are enrolled in HSC courses this year. Written exams begin on 16 October 2008. Find out key enrolment trends by subject, statistics for each course and region, as well as information on support services and the release of results in the 2008 Media Guide.

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There is no proposal to allow students to use mobile phones, iPods, or the internet during Higher School Certificate (HSC) examinations.

General Manager of the Office of the Board of Studies, Dr John Bennett, said strict rules govern the HSC exams which prevent students from taking such devices into the exam room.

‘This year’s HSC students must remember that if they take a mobile phone into an exam, they risk a zero mark in that course’, Dr Bennett said.

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Now available - Studying for the NSW Higher School Certificate - An Information Booklet for Year 10 Students, 2008

This booklet is produced each year to assist students who are currently in Year 10. It may also assist other HSC candidates, such as those studying part-time or resuming their studies.