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Author Topic: Joel's VCE journal  (Read 8137 times)

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DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Joel's VCE journal
« on: June 03, 2018, 02:40:17 pm »
+13
Someone told me I should start a VCE journal so once I'm in uni I can look back at how dumb I was back in high school. With that established, here's a self introduction:

My name's Joel and I'm currently in year 11 at a (sort of) private school in Melbourne's west. Currently doing 7 subjects, including 2 3/4s:
• English
• General Maths
• Global Empires (revs 1/2)
• Food tech
• Chemistry (bludge)
• Ancient history 3/4
• Auslan 3/4

I know what you're thinking (I get these questions a lot). Auslan? Seriously? Yes. Am I deaf? Not really. Do I wear hearing aids? No. Are my family members deaf? Yes. Does that bother me? No, unless I'm on the toilet and suddenly run out of toilet paper, cos no matter how loud I yell it won't help (that bothers me quite a lot).

What am I gonna do after VCE? I'm not sure. My subjects are a little all over the place, as you can probably tell, and I'm not exactly strong in any of them. So far my favourite subject is probably food, least favourites are English (sadly compulsory) and chemistry (which I am only doing due to peer pressure from my much more academically brilliant friends). I'm planning on dropping chem in year 12 anyway, since I'm doing Auslan externally but my school still requires me to do 6 internally.

Little bit more about me (hope no one's getting bored), I'm aiming for an 85+ ATAR but honestly I won't be surprised if I end up with a 75. My grades so far aren't the greatest: averaging a B in all my subjects except maths (C) and chem (pretty much failing). My older brother graduated 2 years ago with an ATAR of 97 and currently studies commerce at Melbourne, so I feel like my parents are pushing me to be like him. As you guys might have guessed, I'm not nearly as ambitious.

I recently just did a maths sac (are they even called sacs at year 11?) and I'm probably getting a 60% (I can feel it).

I'll aim to update at least once a month lol. Probably more often once I'm actually in year 12 when my life gets a lot more dramatic.

Is anyone still reading this...
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

sweetiepi

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2018, 02:48:05 pm »
+5
Hey!
Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to reading more updates! :)
It must be interesting living with deaf family members, I've always wondered how I'd cope with that to be honest! :)

What interests you about Food Tech? :)
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2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2018, 04:25:30 pm »
+4
Hey!
Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to reading more updates! :)
It must be interesting living with deaf family members, I've always wondered how I'd cope with that to be honest! :)

What interests you about Food Tech? :)

It's pretty interesting hahah! It's actually surprisingly loud (so I've been told) as most of the time we talk normally since we find lip reading easier, though recently I've been forcing everyone to sign to help me with Auslan.

Food tech is a fun subject (even though I'm one of the only 2 guys in a class of 20 girls hahah). I probably won't do anything food related in the future, but I'm keeping my options open. Also, cooking's pretty easy and when compared to my other subjects the theory is easy to grasp too. I guess it's mainly the idea of a more hands-on approach to class that really interests me.
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2018, 11:13:02 pm »
0
Hey man! I don't want to sound creepy, but I think I know you... (Or I could be wrong and this would soon turn incredibly awkward. Just ignore me if I am mistaken). I'm also at a private school in the west and there's a year 11 called Joel in my Ancient History class. Any chance that's you? ;D
Is there a dude in your class that has a year 12 jacket with potassium written on the back?
Are you Delia's brother?
« Last Edit: June 03, 2018, 11:31:06 pm by DogBlackTheBlackDog »
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

sarangiya

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2018, 11:18:50 pm »
+1
Are you Delia's brother?
I'm not sure if it's explicitly against the forum rules or anything, but it might be best to keep personally identifiable information between the two of you via private messaging etc.
Just my two cents.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2018, 11:46:29 pm by K888 »
Sometimes you make choices, and sometimes choices make you.

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Sarangiya's 사랑하는 VCE Journal
Is Repeating a VCE Subject Worth It?

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2018, 11:23:13 pm »
0
I'm not sure if it's explicitly against the forum rules or anything, but it might be best to keep personally identifiable information between the two of you via private messaging etc.
Just my two cents.

Oops sorry! I've changed it :)
« Last Edit: June 03, 2018, 11:36:40 pm by DogBlackTheBlackDog »
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

Joseph41

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2018, 09:24:00 am »
+1
There are so many things I love about this thread!

First of all, where'd you get the VCE journal recommendation, out of interest? Somebody from school?

Otherwise, I love your subject selection! Really interesting. Auslan in particular - I actually wish I knew heaps more about this (studied linguistics at uni, but only touched on Auslan briefly).

This journal has really excited me haha, particularly because we can follow almost all of your VCE journey! Can't wait to hear more. :)

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DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2018, 04:11:45 pm »
0
There are so many things I love about this thread!

First of all, where'd you get the VCE journal recommendation, out of interest? Somebody from school?

Otherwise, I love your subject selection! Really interesting. Auslan in particular - I actually wish I knew heaps more about this (studied linguistics at uni, but only touched on Auslan briefly).

This journal has really excited me haha, particularly because we can follow almost all of your VCE journey! Can't wait to hear more. :)

Thank you!

I was recommended to start one by a friend who's already in uni, who said that it was pretty fun to read after graduating. I guess it kinda motivates me to study cos a lot of people in this thread got 40s and even 50 in their year 11 subjects.
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

Joseph41

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2018, 04:14:04 pm »
+1
Thank you!

I was recommended to start one by a friend who's already in uni, who said that it was pretty fun to read after graduating. I guess it kinda motivates me to study cos a lot of people in this thread got 40s and even 50 in their year 11 subjects.

Love it!

Can't wait to share your journey (in a small way) with you. :)

Oxford comma, Garamond, Avett Brothers, Orla Gartland enthusiast.

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2018, 04:19:39 pm »
+6
Post-GAT feels...
Longest 3 hours of my life. At least it’s over and now I can go home and listen to some music while trying to make awkward conversation with a girl half my age, eat some grapes, clean my windows, and wait for a roast duck to fly into my mouth.
(Did anyone do the GATchphrase btw? I made a really subtle hint to it in the second writing task)

Anyway, an update on school overall:
For my 3/4 subjects, I'm currently averaging a B+ for Auslan and B for ancient, which sucks. I was especially pissed at my Auslan mark, since I was so close to an A, but I got a mark taken off cos I was mouthing the words while signing and apparent that's not allowed. I went home and checked previous examination reports and it didn't mention anything about mouthing words. Maybe my teacher was just extra picky.

I can't really whine about my B for ancient though, since I must admit I haven't worked on it too much. I'm average in my class right now, (my teacher has a system of marking so that B is always the average grade no matter how easy or hard the SAC was). We're starting Rome soon though and I'm really excited. Hopefully I'll be able to redeem my grades, since so far they haven't been ideal.

As for my 1/2s, chem is definitely my worst nightmare right now. My teacher had engraved the words 'carbon' into my mind to the point where I get headaches when people mention global warming. Recently we had a sac which I failed - 32%, though I passed the redemption with 88% (which I'm REALLY happy with). I got about 2 hours of sleep the night before though, since I was too busy cramming stuff into my head (if only grades like that came without the expense of my mental health lol). The 88% really boosted my morale, it's probably horrendous to some people out there but to me that's amazing.

English - I still haven't gotten the hang of this subject. It's so subjective, I feel like I can do something on one essay and get an A, then do the exact same thing on another essay and get a D. Got nothing else to say about it. So far averaging somewhere between C+ and B. We’re starting 1984 soon.

Maths - well our SAC finished, got a solid 64% (at least I passed). Even by my standards I think that was horrible, especially when the average was around 75. With the holidays coming up soon I'll be diving into the world of mathematics and I'm planning to get ahead and finish all the textbook questions for the next chapter before our teacher starts teaching it, that way I won't be lagging behind like I always do. Hopefully will update on my progress.

Food - I have a love-hate relationship with this subject at the moment. Love because it's the most practical and hands on subject I do, it's probably the most applicable-to-real-life subject in doing, AND it's fun. Hate because it actually scales down so much it's depressing. Recently I visited the careers counsellor at school who encouraged me to drop food tech and keep chem for year 12 instead of sticking to my original plan of dropping chem instead. (I thought career counsellors were supposed to encourage students to follow their interests instead of scaling 😂).

I know a student last year who did similar subjects to me (except PE and busman instead of Auslan and ancient), she ended up with a 60-something ATAR, but could've gotten an ATAR in the mid-80s if raw scores were taken into account instead of scaled.

Of course you could argue that I should just work super hard and get high 40s for all my subjects so they no longer scale down, but it doesn't seem that realistic.

Till next time! Hope everyone’s getting a well deserved break after the GAT.
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2018, 04:19:44 pm »
+3
School started on Tuesday, and on the same day I got two sac marks back. First, I got an 86% for our last auslan sac, which I’m more than happy with (finally an A ye boi). My latest chem score isn’t nearly as pleasing to look at though... I just passed (at least I don’t need a redemption this time).

I also have 2 sacs coming up in week 3, for food studies and ancient. I’m feeling pretty prepared for food, though nowhere near as confident for ancient. Rome is confusing as hell and it’s so content heavy. I’m not stressed about it at the moment, but I know once week 3 comes I would freak out, since ancient is my 3/4, unlike food. (Less than a month ago I was so excited for Rome, now I just wish we could go back to studying Greece)

Global hasn’t been too bad at the moment. That and food are probably the only subjects I can say I’m thoroughly enjoying right now, plus my teacher is so passionate about this subject it’s contagious. Learning about the Phoenicians is especially interesting, cos in ancient we’re learning about the exact same geographical area, just different time periods.

One problem I do have with global is, why can’t they just make it 1/2 revs?? There are four revolutions in revs anyway, why can’t vcaa just split them in half and make two of them 1/2 and the other two 3/4? As fun as the content is, the fact that 1/2 global empires has nothing to do with 3/4 revs is kinda unmotivating.

That’s enough ranting from me lol... till next time.
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #11 on: July 21, 2018, 08:56:10 am »
0
Thanks man for that much needed motivation!

On a side note - weren’t you year 12s supposed to be at formal on Friday evening? What were you doing on atar notes 😂
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

Joseph41

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2018, 02:57:57 pm »
+2
What were you doing on atar notes 😂

Being on ATAR Notes is never not appropriate. ;)

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DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #13 on: August 31, 2018, 12:02:57 am »
+5
Haven’t posted in a while, so here goes -

We just had a general sac, and for once I’m feeling pretty confident. I managed to finish the entire sac and had time to go over and check my answers, so I would say that’s already an improvement. We also got back our chem report recently, and I did a lot better on it than I thought I did. Most of my marks were unsurprisingly lost due to the discussion part, but other than that I’m pretty happy with my score.

English and food studies have been slipping recently. Maybe it’s because I’ve been spending a lot more time on my 3/4s and chemistry. We’ve got a sac next week on 1984 and blade runner, and I’m not feeling confident at all. As for food, my interest in this subject has dropped quite a lot. The theory is just so dry and I can’t motivate myself to study for it. Content-wise, there’s a slight bit of overlap between food studies and chemistry though, which is helpful. Practically - I’d still say that I cook better tasting food than my classmates!

Global empires has been alright, we just got back our source analysis sac for global, and I was spot on with my prediction of B+, though annoyingly I was quite close to an A. We still have a final essay sac left, so I’ll hopefully redeem myself.

As for my 3/4s, the auslan exam is looming closer and I’m now less than 2 months away from the exam! I’m really annoyed with the date, as I’ll be having a particularly depressing 17th birthday this year. I’ve been forcing my family to sign instead of just to lip read for the past week. Ancient has been improving, I got an A on the last sac, second in the class! (And just behind @Lsjnzy13 lol).But lately we’ve been missing quite a lot of classes and are really behind schedule.

We have trial exams coming up soon and my schedule is absolute hell! Why on earth would the school put english and general on the same day?!?!

Thanks for putting up with my random as rants lol!
« Last Edit: August 31, 2018, 12:04:58 am by DogBlackTheBlackDog »
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: Joel's VCE journal
« Reply #14 on: October 09, 2018, 04:26:37 pm »
+4
So school has started again, and I’ve got about two weeks to go before the auslan exam which I’m not prepared for.

Rant - I hate how the exam doesn’t actually test whether you know auslan or not, but rather just whether you can answer the question the same way the assessors asnwer them. I was doing a practice exam on the weekend and the question asked for something along the lines of ‘how is [insert name here] planning to celebrate easter’ and I wrote he’s planning to do an easter egg hunt. I ended up losing a mark because in the video the person signed ‘chocolate egg’, so you HAVE to write ‘chocolate’ even if anyone with common sense knows that the chocolate eggs you eat during easter are called bloody easter eggs.

I’m not feeling overly stressed for it, i think the stress will hit probably a day or so before the actual thing. I’ve done a lot more preparation for ancient. We got our final sac back and I got an A (again, beaten by lsjnzy). My trial exam finished today, as I only have 1 3/4 in school. I think, no wait - I KNOW - I messed up. For the greece essay I had to argue whether ‘pericles was a detriment to athens’ and I had no idea what to write for my final body paragraph, so I just wrote something along the lines of ‘pericles was a detriment to athens because he died’, which I guess kinda contradicts my point. If the most detrimental aspect of some guy was that he wasn’t around for longer, I guess that just proves he wasn’t a detriment.

The yr11s also have our subject selections due on friday. I’m still deciding whether or not I want to continue with chem or food. I have to do eng, and I’m not planning on dropping further, as I’ve finally started understanding the concepts. Global has been pretty dull but apparently 3/4 revs is a lot better, so it’s either chem or food that I’ll have to drop. I think if I do drop food, it’ll mainly be due to the scaling which I know isn’t the best reason.

That’s it for this update. I’ll try and update again after my auslan exam!
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash