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VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => The VCE Journey Journal => Topic started by: Thommo333 on March 08, 2019, 05:32:25 pm

Title: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: Thommo333 on March 08, 2019, 05:32:25 pm
To keep track of how I'm progressing and to give me something to look back on once it is all said and done, I've decided to start this journal.

A little bit about myself:
I am in year 11 with the following subjects:
English Language
Methods
Psych
Indo
P.E.
History

Outside of school, I play 2 instruments (guitar and drums), enjoy reading, listening to podcasts and music and watching sport, especially footy.

My goal at the end of VCE is to receive a Tuckwell Scholarship at ANU and do a Bachelor of Arts. That's possible but not likely, so my back up is to do an Arts degree at Monash or UoM.
Title: Re: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: Bri MT on March 08, 2019, 06:05:43 pm
Hey! :)

What's your favourite subject so far?
How long has that been your goal?

Look forward to seeing this journal develop over the year - good luck!
Title: Re: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: Thommo333 on March 08, 2019, 06:57:01 pm
So....first update.

This has probably been the least busiest week of the term so far, with not to much homework and only a few assessments. With the long weekend ahead, it gives me a chance to get ahead with some work and relieve some stress. This weekend is also my semi final for cricket, although I haven't enjoyed this season so I don't really care. This week I also discovered the Tuckwell Scholarship and it's the first thing I feel like I can really push and aim for in year 12.

English Language
I had my first assessment due this week. It was an 8 piece folio of Analytical Commentaries. Considering this was the first time learning all the metalanguage and writing AC's, I feel like I went pretty well so I'm expecting around 80%. I still find it tough to pick out all the different metalanguage in a text. Even though the content is a bit dry at the moment, I still much prefer it to regular English.

Methods
I got my mark back for my 2 tests on the first topic of Linear and Quadratic Equations, I got 67% and 76%. I don't enjoy Maths much, especially when the teacher is not very good, so I'm finding it hard to be motivated towards it this year. Last year I worked myself up to 2 A+'s in the exam, so I had high hopes for what I could achieve this year. However, even though this is the subject I've done the most study for, I'm struggling. Next Friday, I have tests for Functions and I have no idea where I stand. I'm seriously considering Methods being the subject I drop heading into year 12.

Psychology
I got my mark back for the test on the brain and nervous systems, I got 98%! This was way above what I expected considering I found the content boring and only studied a little for the couple of days leading into the test. My teacher now wants me to extension work which will allow me to push myself. This week I feel like we have done no work, so I'm going to try and get ahead on this subject this weekend.

Indonesian
I've been really fortunate to find Indo rather easy heading through high school. I'm also lucky to have a teacher that actually comes from Indonesia. We had our first oral SAC on Wednesday which included some questions about myself as well as an introduction on a topic of our choice. Again I crammed instead of studying consistently but I came away with 100%!! It wasn't actually too bad, it was basically all memorised.

P.E.
Had our first test last Friday on the musculoskeletal system and received 94%. Again this test was definitions based with little application so it was really easy, however the class average was only 66%. I really enjoy P.E. so it's not to much of a chore to study. This week we've moved onto the cardiovascular system.

History
I love history, like love, love history! We had our first SAC on Tuesday, a document analysis on post WWI peace treaties, League of Nations and ideologies of the interwar years. I finished which is always tough to do in a history SAC but my teacher is a harsh marker so I'm only expecting a 70%.

My other life
Books: This week I finished reading 21 Problems for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. A fascinating book on what we could potentially face in the future and whether we are equipped to face it or not. After reading it I feel a weird mixture of optimism and fear, especially when it comes to technology. I'm a huge fan of the Beatles, so I started reading the first volume of what is going to be the definitive biography on the Beatles. I'm 170 pages in and it is still discussing their years in primary school, now that's detail!
Music: I haven't played much drums this week but I've started learning Blackbird by the Beatles on the guitar, my first finger picking song. I've only been playing guitar for 6 months, so I'm not good by any stretch of the imagination but I'm really enjoying it. The favourite album I've listened to this week is Pink Moon by Nick Drake. A really simple album featuring a man and his guitar, battling depression. Released in 1972, this was sadly his last album.
Podcasts: I almost exclusively listen to the Joe Rogan Podcast and have just finished listening to his whirlwind 5 hour podcast with Alex Jones. If you want to listen to a bloke rambling on about conspiracy theories for five hours then that episode was made especially for you. I've just started listening to one with author David Wallace Wells on climate change, a really scary prospect.

Anyway, that is probably more than enough for my first entry. Now to actually do some study!
Title: Re: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: Thommo333 on March 08, 2019, 07:03:04 pm
Hey! :)

What's your favourite subject so far?
How long has that been your goal?

Look forward to seeing this journal develop over the year - good luck!
Hey miniturtle,

My favourite subject is definitely History and am seriously considering majoring in it at uni. There is just endless amounts to learn.
I only discovered the Tuckwell Scholarship on Wednesday. Previous to that, I had never thought about studying interstate because of accommodation fees. Since the Scholarship covers tuition fees and accommodation fees, it is really something to aim for. I've looked at the arts degree at ANU and there are so many cool things to study!
Title: Re: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: PhoenixxFire on March 08, 2019, 07:14:55 pm
I only discovered the Tuckwell Scholarship on Wednesday. Previous to that, I had never thought about studying interstate because of accommodation fees. Since the Scholarship covers tuition fees and accommodation fees, it is really something to aim for. I've looked at the arts degree at ANU and there are so many cool things to study!
Good luck! I'm so jealous of the people who have Tuckwell scholarships :'(
I was overseas when interviews were held so I couldn't even try for it (not that I would have gotten it anyway )
You need a decent amount of leadership/volunteering/extracurricular stuff to have a decent shot of getting it btw.

Let me know if you have any questions about ANU! (No guarantees I'll know the answer though haha)
Title: Re: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: Thommo333 on March 08, 2019, 08:30:24 pm
Good luck! I'm so jealous of the people who have Tuckwell scholarships :'(
I was overseas when interviews were held so I couldn't even try for it (not that I would have gotten it anyway )
You need a decent amount of leadership/volunteering/extracurricular stuff to have a decent shot of getting it btw.

Let me know if you have any questions about ANU! (No guarantees I'll know the answer though haha)
Yeah, I've seen that extracurricular stuff is a big part of it. I feel I do a fair bit but not so much at school. I currently volunteer for a local radio station commentating the local footy. I used to also coordinate Milo cricket. Whereas at school I am looking to be a prefect and was in the Senior vocal ensemble last year. That's probably not enough.

How's the social life at ANU? Is there plenty of societies and sport clubs to join?
Title: Re: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: PhoenixxFire on March 08, 2019, 09:53:00 pm
How's the social life at ANU? Is there plenty of societies and sport clubs to join?
Depends - If you're an extrovert you'll be totally fine haha.

I'm living on campus and there's regular organised social activities & clubs (games nights, debating, theatre, interhall sport, etc). If partying is your thing there's groups from my hall that go out pretty much every week (although I'd imagine not so much around exam time).

A lot (all?) of the sport clubs at ANU (that aren't run by halls) are run through ANU sport. There's heaps but I don't know what they are exactly. The big residential sport thing at ANU is Inward bound which is an orienteering/long distance running interhall event. Teams get driven to an unknown location blindfolded and dropped off with a map and have to find their way back, from up to 100km away. Sounds rather hectic, and way above my skill levels haha.

There's societies for just about every degree area, some of which are far more active than others. They normally organise BBQs/drinks, not really sure what else they're supposed to do.
Title: Re: Thommo's VCE Journal
Post by: Thommo333 on March 15, 2019, 07:37:39 pm
Update
This week has been my most productive of the year by far.
On the weekend I finally decided to convert my man cave into a study room. The only issue was that Dad and I had to set up a flat-pack desk and we are the two worst handymen on the planet, so it took 2 hours to set up.
Working the public holiday was hectic as usual, so I've been trying to recover the whole week.
We won our cricket semi final on the weekend against the top team, so the grand final is on this weekend. I've never won a grand final in cricket before and I feel like we're a real chance to win.
We had a person from ANU come to the school to talk about the courses on offer. The speaker studied international relations which is one of the majors I'm looking at so it was cool to hear what's involved in the course and what the job prospects are for it.

English Language
This week's been mostly revising over metalanguage in preparation for our test in two weeks. There is so much to remember! Is there any tips for memorising metalanguage and how to pick it out from texts. I also got my mark back for my Analytical Commentary's, 88%. I'm quite happy with that mark as I mentioned before, I struggle to find metalanguage. My teacher said I will make a fine journalist one day. ;D

Methods
I had the Methods test today for Functions. I studied super hard throughout the week as I've struggled with the concepts because our teacher doesn't explain them clearly. I heard it was pretty easy from the class that did the test before us but I still wasn't confident, however, I think I went really well, like really really well. As long as I didn't too many silly mistakes that I make in Maths, I reckon I should get an A on both tests.

Psychology
Again, I feel like we've done no work in class this week, however my teacher has promised that she will set me extension work which should make class more interesting. She also reckons that I should get a state library membership and start reading research papers on the fields I'm interested in, so that's something I will need to investigate this weekend.

Indonesian
This class has also been a bludge. All we did this week was watch an Indonesian rom-com called Single. I have to admit rom-com's are a guilty pleasure of mine so I really enjoyed it. This subject is the only one where I don't have a test for the rest of the term which is nice.

P.E.
This week has been all note taking which can get really dry. My class gets through notes super slowly, so I go at my own pace and get the notes done 20 minutes before the rest of the class which allows me to either revise the notes or to do the homework. We've been learning about the cardiovascular system and how it relates to exercise. I don't find this content very interesting, however I can grasp it rather easily which is helpful.

History
We've been learning about the causes of WWII this week. We have gone over the post-WWI peace treaties, League of Nations, the Great Depression and territorial aggression, so we've covered plenty of content. We had a TEEL paragraph on how the post-WWI peace treaties caused WWII due on Tuesday and my teacher critiqued it in front of the class. :-\  He said that my paragraph was worth 45% but he gave me a lot of constructive criticism to take on. I sent my teacher a 2nd draft and he said it was much improved. I've just finished another 2 TEEL paragraphs that have been sent for feedback.

My Other Life
I've listened to a lot of music this week, 9 albums to be exact. Most of it has been instrumental music to listen to while studying. I've never listened to music while studying but I found it has helped me keep my concentration on my work without distractions. I've listened to so many different genres, Indian, Electronic, Jazz, Rock, Psychedelia, Alternative and Classical. I also reckon I've discovered one of my favourite artists this week, Pond. They're a psychedelic rock/electronic band from Perth. They released a new album a couple of weeks ago that I heard good things about and I was blown away when I heard their mix of synths with rock instruments and dreamy melodies.

So overall, I've had a pretty good week that will hopefully continue into next week.