This week, I’ve had conversations with numerous students who are struggling to keep on top of the Term 2 work load and have found themselves falling behind or being unaware of their time line of assessments, major works or even when Trial Exams are. This signals a complete loss of motivation as well as responsibility for their own HSC campaign. The mark that you get at the end of the year is up to you. You want it to be something to be proud of and that you can look back on and say that you put everything into it. Many of the students I’ve spoken to have also expressed concern that it’s too late to turn this year around and as such have taken a ‘whatever’ attitude. However, there are more than 50% of marks still up for grabs in your HSC and plenty of time to turn it around. Some tips for turning your ‘I can’t’ into an ‘I will’:

1. Use Basecamp – the students who have really taken to Basecamp speak of its usefulness in terms of time-lining their tasks and assessments and also like the reminders that pop up, in case you do ever forget them!
2. Ask for support if you need it – There are so many people who are here to help you with your climb up Mount HSC. Teachers, family, friends and coaches can all provide assistance to the problems you are facing.
3. Find your motivation – What is it that is getting you through the HSC? Is it that awesome ATAR, your dream uni course, getting to go on that gap year or making yourself proud? What it is, know that everything you do this year is getting you closer to it. Writing it on a poster or pinning pictures on your desk can ensure that you remain focused, even when you don’t feel like it.

Having said this, HSC Coworks are here to support you in any way possible. Basecamp is an awesome tool that allows you to set reminders, use a calendar and set due dates so that you can stay on top of it. We are highly aware that some students ‘don’t do emails’. However we think that it is vitally important that you make it a habit to do so, just as you would check your Facebook and text messages. This is just another cog in the journey to becoming self-reliant and independent life learners.

We also encourage parents to keep involved with their student’s tasks and events. Reading the HSC CoWorks newsletter each week, informs you of all the programs we run as well as offering handy tips and videos.